F
10

The comic shop owner in Portland told me I was reading graphic novels wrong

I walked into this small shop on Hawthorne last month looking for a new series. The owner saw me flip through a book and stop at the action scenes. He asked if I ever read the dialogue first before looking at the art. I told him no, I just scan the pictures. He said I was missing half the story because the words and images work together in ways you don't see at first. He pulled out a copy of Maus and made me read a page slowly, looking at the panels in order. I had always treated comics like movies in my head, just fast and visual. Now I spend about 10 minutes on a single page and catch things I never noticed before. Has anyone else had a shop owner change how they read comics?
3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
3 Comments
kai839
kai8396d ago
That "words and images work together" thing is so true. A guy at my local shop showed me how to read Watchmen panels in order and it blew my mind.
2
kevin_williams
Sounds like you got sold the basic idea of comics. Wait until you find out that pictures in books also show the story.
2
patricia_hill60
Honestly my nephew tried to get me into graphic novels last year. Tbh I just ended up staring at the art for way too long and missing the plot. Ngl maybe I need that guy from the shop to show me how it works.
1