Composition
A comic strip requires the reader's eye to be directed around a panel and the word balloons in proper order. This jumping from panel to panel can create some unique compositional challenges. If you're not carefully composing each panel — as well as composing the entire strip as a unit — you may find that word balloons are read out of order and illustrations fail to live up to their maximum potential. As always, a short time spent planning in the thumbnail-sketching phase will translate to better comic strips with more communicative power.
Directing Dialogue
Consider a comic strip in which two characters are speaking. It's wise to put the first speaker on the left. That way, the dialogue can be read naturally. If the exchange continues in that order (left speaker speaking first), or if some of the panels feature a solitary word balloon, your composition should carry the strip comfortably to its conclusion.
If both characters speak in the next panel and the right-hand character begins this time, you have to consider your strategy carefully. One way to handle this is to extend the word balloon of the first speaker all the way across the top of the panel, with the second balloon below. Placing the word balloon this way ensures the reader will read it first. Another approach might be to combine the dialogue from the second panel into the first panel so the second panel starts with the left-hand character's dialogue once more.
Don't swing the viewpoint around 180degrees. For example, imagine two characters standing on a compass — one is on North, the other on South. The viewer sees the action from the East. Switching the viewpoint to the West causes a jarring shift of perception. Shift the viewpoint 90 degrees or less at a time.
Characters Repeated in a Panel
Don't think of each panel as a separate illustration. A panel is simply a convenient way to indicate the passage of time or a change in scene. Given the flexibility of accepted cartoon symbolism and the vast expanse of your imagination, there are some truly inspired ways to compose a comic strip that introduce drama and intrigue into a story.
First of all, realize that one character can appear several times in the same panel. This is especially effective in showing someone speaking as she rapidly walks across a room. Your readers will be savvy enough to realize that your character hasn't been suddenly cloned (unless cloning is a regular part of your plot).
The strip on top is poorly composed, so you end up reading word balloons in the wrong order.
The strip on the bottom uses two strategies to solve the composition problems. The first strategy consists of editing dialogue so the speaker on the left speaks before the speaker on the right. When the right-hand speaker begins the dialogue, the word balloon goes all the way across the top of the panel, making it the obvious first stop for the reader's eye.
Bridging the Gutter
A character can also appear in two panels at once. By bridging the gutter, a character can interact with the panels on either side of him. This works wonderfully when combined with a double take. Since the panels are read as different moments in time, it's an excellent way to show someone talking about another character — just as that character walks into the room.
Straddling the gutter enables the character to interact with the panels on either side.
Even though a character may not bridge the gutter between two panels, she can still break her panel to influence an adjacent panel. Sometimes the break is obvious, like when an outstretched arm reaches into the next panel. In other cases, the break is less dramatic, with perhaps a small portion of the body overlapping the panel border, gently leading the reader's eye to an entry point in the next panel.
In the Background
The backgrounds you draw in each panel can repeat the same image, resulting in a repetitive rhythm that can be useful in setting up a punch line. However, the backgrounds can also work together to form a cohesive framework for the comic strip as a unit.
The background can unify the panels, resulting in attractive composition.
Remember, even though panels are separated with gutters, the reader's eye will unify shapes that line up in adjacent panels. You can use this fact to help draw the reader's eye along your illustration. It's also a good way to unify some panels and isolate others in the same comic strip.
