A
Anthology
Noun
A publication collecting multiple short stories by different creators, typically organised by theme or genre. EC Comics' horror anthologies and RAW magazine used the format for artistic effect. Weekly manga magazines like Shonen Jump are modern anthologies.
B
Ben-Day Dots
Noun
A printing technique using small, evenly spaced coloured dots to create shading and tone in four-colour printing. Named for printer Benjamin Day, they became synonymous with comics' visual identity and were appropriated by Pop Art painter Roy Lichtenstein as high-art subject matter.
C
Caption Box
Noun
A rectangular text area outside the speech bubbles, typically appearing at the top or bottom of a panel. Used for narration, inner monologue, or establishing context. The shift from caption-heavy Silver Age comics to dialogue-driven modern comics reflects changing storytelling conventions.
C
Continuity
Noun
The shared fictional history of a comic universe — the established facts, events, and character relationships that creators must respect. Marvel and DC have built 80+ years of continuity, leading to periodic "crisis" events designed to streamline or reboot their timelines.
G
Gutter
Noun
The space between panels. Scott McCloud's seminal work Understanding Comics identifies the gutter as the site of "closure" — where readers' imagination fills in the action between panels. The gutter is, paradoxically, where the magic of sequential art actually happens.
G
Graphic Novel
Noun
A book-length work in comics format, typically with a self-contained narrative intended for bookstore sale rather than newsstand/direct market distribution. The distinction from "comic book" is partly format (hardcover, spine) and partly marketing — some graphic novels are collected serial issues.
I
Inker
Noun
In the traditional comic book production pipeline, the inker traces over the penciller's rough artwork in permanent ink, refining lines and adding texture. The division of pencilling and inking labour — often between different artists — is unique to American mainstream comics production.
K
Kirby Krackle
Noun · Informal
Jack Kirby's signature visual device for depicting cosmic energy — a field of irregularly sized black dots creating an impression of crackling power. First appearing in his 1960s Fantastic Four work, it became one of the most imitated visual elements in superhero comics history.
L
Ligne Claire
French · Noun
Clear-line style: a Franco-Belgian comics technique developed by Hergé for Tintin, characterised by clean, uniform ink lines with no line weight variation, flat colors, and no shadow crosshatching. The style creates maximum legibility and a timeless quality — characters read clearly at any reproduction size.
M
Marvel Method
Noun · Publishing
The production method pioneered by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the early 1960s: writer provides a plot outline, artist draws the full story making key decisions about pacing and visual storytelling, then writer adds dialogue in the margins. Enabled rapid output but created lasting disputes over credit and ownership.
O
Onomatopoeia
Noun
Words that phonetically imitate sounds: POW, WHAM, KRAAAK, THWIPP, SNIKT. Comics use onomatopoeia not just as functional sound notation but as full graphic design elements — letterforms drawn as objects with their own visual weight, color, and shape. The TV Batman series (1966) elevated comic onomatopoeia to camp art form.
P
Panel
Noun
A single frame or image within a comic sequence. Panels are the fundamental unit of comics storytelling. Their size, shape, border style, and arrangement on the page all contribute meaning — a borderless panel suggests freedom or unreality; a narrow panel accelerates pacing; a full-page panel creates impact.
S
Splash Page
Noun
A full-page or double-page panel, typically used for dramatic impact — an establishing shot, an action climax, or a character reveal. The splash page is comics' cinematic equivalent of the wide shot. Jack Kirby's cosmic splash pages became legendary for their scale and dynamism.
S
Speech Balloon
Noun
The oval or rounded shape containing a character's spoken dialogue, with a tail pointing to the speaker. The speech balloon has been comics' primary dialogue convention since the late 19th century. Variations include thought balloons (cloud-shaped, containing inner monologue) and caption boxes for narration.
T
Tankobon
Japanese · Noun
The collected volume edition of a manga series, gathering chapters originally published in weekly or monthly anthology magazines into a standalone paperback book. The tankobon format — typically 200 pages, pocket-sized — is how most manga readers experience long-running series.
W
Webtoon
Noun · Digital
A digital comics format originating in South Korea, designed for infinite vertical scrolling on smartphones. Unlike traditional comics with fixed rectangular panels, webtoons use a single-column format with panels revealed as the reader scrolls down. The format has fundamentally changed pacing, composition, and reader expectation for digital comics globally.
Z
Zine
Noun · Informal
Self-published small-circulation works, typically photocopied and distributed by hand or mail order. Comics zines — their tradition running from underground comix through the photocopier era to digital self-publishing — represent the perpetual counterculture alternative to mainstream distribution. The minicomics movement pioneered by Matt Feazell kept small-press comics alive through the 1980s.
4C
Four-Colour Process
Noun · Printing
The CMYK printing process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) that defined comics' visual palette for most of the 20th century. Limited to a palette of 64 colours on cheap newsprint, four-colour printing gave Golden and Silver Age comics their characteristic visual quality. Digital printing and high-quality paper stock have since dramatically expanded the colour possibilities.