As I’ve said elsewhere, describe two things at once to someone and they will have less focus on each thing, then if you had only described one thing to them.
This is fundamental to the concept of Master Theme in writing, but applies to pretty much anything.
Comics are a synergy between visual art and written word.
Personally, I feel robbed when I read a comic that goes silent for too long.
Again, this is a personal take, but I like to get mentally engaged. Nobody goes through life, especially the more intense parts of life, with nothing on their mind. I desire to hear the narrative of characters as they face the pressure cooker. After all, writing 101, that’s how you really get to know characters.
Silent panels, are of course, panels that don’t have any dialogue bubbles or narrative captions to them.
They come into play in two main considerations.
1. Pacing
Sometimes the flow of the read just needs a break.
Don’t feel obligated to stuff words in every panel, just so people have something to read. Even folks who like the narrative engagement, like me, appreciate an actual rhythm… with pauses and breaks.
PLUS, some panels just don’t need a read.
Every panel on a comic page should be important. Critical even. But that doesn’t mean every one needs some sort of explanation or opening to drop additional narrative.
This is especially relevant in ACTION PANELS, or CONTINUITY PANELS.
In Constantine’s first appearance in Swamp Thing, we’ve got a silent action panel lighting his cigarette. While there’s nothing wrong with overlaying dialogue on a cigarette light, as a stand alone action, it doesn’t require anything.
The action itself, speaks louder than words.
(no where have you heard that before 😉
- Drawing a gun,
- pouring a cup of coffee,
- jumping off a balcony,
- starting a car ignition,
are all examples of an action that doesn’t require any kind of explanation.
In the above Swamp Thing example, there’s another silent panel. A close up of Constantine… we’ll get to that in a second.
Continuity panels are really a more specific kind of action panel. They come up a lot in comics, so they are worth mentioning here.
Basically, a continuity panel is when an action get decompressed… or drawn out over two or more panels.
I’ll come back with a visual example, as soon as I find one, but the first one that comes to mind, is the old, superhero punch, that sends the opponent flying backward through a few panels and usually through, a few obstacles.
Often, these continuity panels may get a sound effect or two, but rarely require them. And certainly, again, don’t need further narrative explanation.
OK, I grabbed one of my Black Science trades and found this example of a silent continuity panel, where the group is teleporting from one location to another.
Ironically, there was another sequence of silent continuity panels in this same book; it was the main character lighting up a cigarette and consisted of 3 or 4 silent panels. I didn’t snatch a picture of it, but thought it was funny and worth mentioning here.
2. Focus
As I mentioned in the opening of this article, good narrative is all about conveying information, or in other words, deliberate focus.
By eliminating any dialogue in a panel we force the reader’s attention on the visual alone.
We FOCUS them onto whatever it is we’re showing them.
9 times outta 10, this is gonna land on an emotional high point. In fact, CHARACTER REACTION shots are key to good comic writing and quite frankly, something a lot of newer comic writers don’t take advantage of.
There is REAL narrative power in pausing to show emotional character reactions.
Of course, focusing the reader onto something can land on other narrative elements and mechanics, like PLOT for example.
In this example from my own book, The Man Who Died Twice, I used two silent panels to focus the reader on an important clue to the murder mystery. As it turns out, this important “plot centric point” also arrives as an action moment, as the shovel handle Wiggins tries to pull himself up on, snaps in half…
and push it home, if you’re paying attention, this example ALSO illustrates a continuity panel, as the action spreads out across two panels. The shovel breaks, sending Wiggins backward into the grave pit.
Secret Power of Silent Panels
Focusing the reader through the use of a silent panel is a powerful tool. Especially in the context of a dialogue/narration heavy book. The more dialogue/narration, the greater the emphasis of a panel missing those elements.
And here’s where the secret FOCUS power comes in.
Silent powers are great moments to misdirect readers onto narrative critical redherrings.
The reality is, when you as the writer, don’t put it in black and white, the reader has to make an interpretation. Fertile ground for the writer to visually imply the “wrong thing,” to the reader.
When the panel is silent, subtext screams.
It can scream truth, foreshadowing or revealing. OR, scream in lies, misdirecting and tricking.
Obviously, in a mystery, crime, or suspense book, this secret power comes into play often… but even in any genre, at the right moment, a silent panel subtextually punching to the gut, can be the perfect catalyst for a big turn or reveal. Just remember to change it up as you go along, if the readers catch on, if they recognize a pattern, the secret power isn’t so secret anymore. ▪
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Nick Macari is a full-time freelance story consultant, developmental editor and writer, working primarily in the independent gaming and comic markets. His first published comic appeared on shelves via Diamond in the late 90’s. Today you can find his comic work on comixology, Amazon, and in select stores around the U.S.