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On Panel Density: Comic Book Class Is Back in Session

This week’s comic breakdown by Hass Otsmane-Elhaou talks about cramming panels onto a page.
A series of panels from Hawkeye #2, by Matt Fraction and David Aja. Reformatting and dialogue removal by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Screencap via 

Gather round, students, your comic professor Hass Otsmane-Elhaou is back with another fantastic video essay on the creation and composition of comics. This week’s Strip Panel Naked zeroes in on a single page from the second issue of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s All-New Hawkeye. Otsmane-Elhaou decided to narrow the focus of this video to one page because although “it looks like a really simple page on the surface, it's a great example of that invisible magic that comics have. It's all lurking right below the surface.” The video focuses on panel density, or the abundance of panels of a comic page, and Otsmane-Elhaou digs in and dissects how creators can use it effectively.

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A focus on the hero’s face and expression in Hawkeye #2, by Matt Fraction and David Aja. Reformatting by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Screencap via 

Otsmane-Elhaou cautions that adding too many panels can slow down the reading pace of a page, but when done right it’s a perfect way to add more action. “The really interesting thing is how you use those panels,” Otsmane-Elhaou explains. “Even a standard nine-panel grid can be exceptionally clever. It's not just about amount of panels, or lack of panels; it's about why.”

As for Hawkeye #2, the page in question features one character trying to convince another character to do something, and in the construction of panels alone (even with the dialogue removed) readers can see the result of that conversation. The video breaks down the plotting and visual layout of the page, analyzing why it works so well. “[Hawkeye artist] Aja is a brilliant example in an easily accessible comic from one of the big publishers, but he opens the door for additional analysis.” Check out this week’s Strip Panel Naked below:

Catch up with past episodes on the Strip Panel Naked YouTube page.

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