Grade 9 Applied
Macbeth Unit

Today, the graphic novel is
the fastest growing literary
genre in North America.
A Graphic Novel is...




A narrative (story) presented
through text and pictures.
Like a literary novel, the graphic
novel may deal with a complex plot,
diverse characters and settings,
and a variety of subject matters
(themes).
Like text-only novels, graphic
novels come in various genres,
from superhero to romance,
fantasy to science fiction,
historical fiction and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
83H0nQvIbeA
Let’s watch a video to learn more
about graphic novels...
Graphic Novels are...

usually published in hardcover or as quality
paperbacks.

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typically a higher quality than comic books in
terms of the publication process.
longer than comic books, sometimes running
to hundreds of pages.
Comic Books are...

usually bound by staples.

serialized on a monthly basis (or specified time
period) with an episode of an ongoing story.

usually not of book length.
Barack and Spider-Man

As a child, Barack Obama collected
Marvel Comics.

His favourite character was SpiderMan.

Marvel Comics has decided to
provide a commemorative comic
book that has Spiderman saving
Barak Obama, and the day.
PANEL

A box that contains the pictures showing
what is happening in the story, and the
dialogue of the characters.

Panels literally frame the information in the
story.

Panels are arranged to flow in sequential order
and help the reader quickly understand the
gist of the story.

Panels are arranged from left to right and
then top to bottom.

A graphic novel page is usually made up of
multiple panels.

Panels are the paragraphs we read in regular
texts.
WORD BALLOON

The bubble-shaped spaces within a panel
that contain dialogue or a character’s
thoughts in textual format.

The balloons may be singles or multiples,
based on the length of the dialogue.

Balloons come in a number of different
shapes, each of which indicates a different
sound level or mood.
A fluffy cloud-shaped word balloon
contains the thoughts of a character.
Instead of a tail, a thought balloon
usually has bubbles leading to the
character who is thinking.
The most common
shape of the word
balloon is oval. A
balloon of this shape
contains dialogue.
CAPTION

A caption box contains the narrative that fills
in the details of the story being told.

Captions add to the speech and artwork.

They do not repeat what the artist has drawn.

Their purpose is to fill in the gaps with the
time and place of the action

Usually a caption appears in a rectangular box
at the top or bottom of a panel.
GUTTER

The space between panels on a page is called
the gutter.
PANEL BORDER

A panel border is the box that encloses the
actions of the scenes.

Panel borders are not always the same shape;
sometimes they are not used at all.
FOCUS

In depicting space or settings where the
story unfolds in a panel, artists use
methods similar to the ones used by
movie directors.

Zooming in...makes the subject bigger
and more detailed (for example: closeup of a face)

Zooming out ...drawing the picture
relatively smaller and placing it in the
background by means of a long shot.
BODY LANGUAGE
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A character’s gestures and postures become
powerful ways for communicating nonverbally
with others and for telling stories.
FACIAL EXPRESSION

A character’s facial expression often reveals
their feelings and sometimes their thoughts.
MOVEMENT

Movement is generated either while
reading the dialogue in various
types of balloons, or while following
gestures, postures, actions,
placement of various shapes, and
picture elements.
LIGHTING

Lighting creates a crucial role in creating
mood and feeling within the panels.
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For example, darkness creates a mysterious
atmosphere in a panel.
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Lighting also communicates the time of day in
which the action is taking place, for example, a
moonlit night, or a sunrise, or midday in the
desert.
SOUND
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Sound is usually established through written
words.
Do you have any
questions?
Instructions:

Each group of two will receive a
page from a graphic novel that is
missing word balloons.

Envelopes with the missing word
balloons will be provided.
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Together, you will place the
captions and speech balloons in the
panels, in an order that makes
sense.

Share your interpretations with
another group.
Calvin and Hobbes
Task:

Analyze the comic provided. You
will notice the dialogue is missing.

Look closely at the characters’ facial
expressions and body language, as
well as the setting and possible
conflict

Brainstorm a storyline that suits the
images in each panel.
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Add text in the word balloons to
make the comic complete.
Tomorrow...
 Pre-reading activity
 Read Act 1

Balloons can express thoughts,
dreams, speeches, loud voices,
whisperings, wishes, sound effects,
etc.

Each student will be provided a
handout with the same four panels
from a graphic novel.

The dialogue is already created, but
the task is to incorporate different
kinds of punctuation or different
lettering styles and balloon shapes
for effect.
Experiment with the following:
Capitalization
 Upper and lower case
 Jagged lettering
 All caps
 Emphasis on different words (e.g.,
bold, colour)
 Exclamation marks
 Dashes

YOU SHOULDN’T
HAVE EATEN THE
WHOLE TOWN!
YOU
shouldn’t have
eaten the
whole town.
But I was
hungry.
BUT I WAS
HUNGRY.
BURP.