Comic Book Gutter Definition

Scott mccloud defines the gutter in comics as the space between panels an interstitial space where meaning is made by connecting the contents of one panel to the next.

Comic book gutter definition. At its simplest form the gutter is a blank space that separates two panels. Aka borderless panels panels where one or more or even all of the sides of the comic panel are open to show dramatic effect. Reader moves from one panel to the next and comes to a conclusion about whats happening. Not that i m saying one is better than the other obviously though some gutters offer less interpretation than others.

Comics designed by traci gardner. Gutter the space between the panels. In the comic world this space is known as the gutter. Emanata this term refers to the teardrops sweat drops question marks or motion lines that artists draw besides characters faces to portray emotion.

Readers tend to fill in the blanks and imagine what happens between panels a process known as closure. This is an obvious observation that has not so obvious implications. In between the panels human imagination takes two unconnected images and mentally constructs transforms them into a single idea turns them into a continuous reality. Gutter this refers to the space between panels.

The invisible messenger if one were to look at a comic they would see empty space between the panels that contain the illustrations and dialogue of the text. The gutter is the space between two panels within a comic strip or comic book. In the limbo of the gutter human imagination takes two separate images and transforms them into a single idea. The space between the panels of the comic shaded red in this example.

As comic book scholar scott mccloud explains the gutter is used to take two separate images and transform them into a single idea mccloud 1993 p.