Editing Comics (section)

==Terminology==

{{Main|Glossary of comics terminology}}

The term ''comics'' refers to the comics medium when used as an [[uncountable noun]] and thus takes the singular: "comics ''is'' a medium" rather than "comics ''are'' a medium". When ''comic'' appears as a countable noun it refers to instances of the medium, such as individual comic strips or comic books: "Tom's comics ''are'' in the basement."{{sfnm|1a1=Chapman|1y=2012|1p=8|2a1=Chute|2a2=DeKoven|2y=2012|2p=175|3a1=Fingeroth|3y=2008|3p=4}}

Panels are individual images containing a segment of action,{{sfn|Lee|1978|p=15}} often surrounded by a border.{{sfn|Eisner|1985|pp=28, 45}} Prime moments in a narrative are broken down into panels via a process called encapsulation.{{sfn|Duncan|Smith|2009|p=10}} The reader puts the pieces together via the process of closure by using background knowledge and an understanding of panel relations to combine panels mentally into events.{{sfn|Duncan|Smith|2009|p=316}} The size, shape, and arrangement of panels each affect the timing and pacing of the narrative.{{sfn|Eisner|1985|p=30}} The contents of a panel may be asynchronous, with events depicted in the same image not necessarily occurring at the same time.{{sfnm|1a1=Duncan|1a2=Smith|1y=2009|1p=315|2a1=Karp|2a2=Kress|2y=2011|2p=12–13}}

[[File:PunchandJudyComicsV01-0145-panel3.jpg|thumb|alt=A comics panel.  In the top left, a caption with a yellow background reads, "Suddenly the street is filled with angry people!"  In the main panel, anthropomorphic characters crowd a sidewalk.  A monkey, standing to the left on the road beside the curb, says, "Gosh!  Where'd all these people come from?"  An overweight male on the sidewalk in the middle facing right says to a police officer, "Hey!  My watch disappeared from my parlor!"  A female near the bottom right, says to a male in the bottom right corner, "My necklace!  It's gone from the table!!"|A caption (the yellow box) gives the narrator a voice. The characters' dialogue appears in [[speech balloon]]s. The tail of the balloon indicates the speaker.]]

Text is frequently incorporated into comics via [[speech balloon]]s, captions, and sound effects. Speech balloons indicate dialogue (or thought, in the case of [[thought balloon]]s), with tails pointing at their respective speakers.{{sfnm|1a1=Lee|1y=1978|1p=15|2a1=Markstein|2y=2010|3a1=Eisner|3y=1985|3p=157|4a1=Dawson|4y=2010|4p=112|5a1=Saraceni|5y=2003|5p=9}} Captions can give voice to a narrator, convey characters' dialogue or thoughts,{{sfnm|1a1=Lee|1y=1978|1p=15|2a1=Lyga|2a2=Lyga|2y=2004|p=161}} or indicate place or time.{{sfnm|1a1=Saraceni|1y=2003|1p=9|2a1=Karp|2a2=Kress|2y=2011|2p=18}} Speech balloons themselves are strongly associated with comics, such that the addition of one to an image is sufficient to turn the image into comics.{{sfn|Forceville|Veale|Feyaerts|2010|p=56}} Sound effects mimic non-vocal sounds textually using [[onomatopoeia]] sound-words.{{sfn|Duncan|Smith|2009|pp=156, 318}}

[[Cartooning]] is most frequently used in making comics, traditionally using ink (especially [[India ink]]) with [[dip pen]]s or ink brushes;{{sfnm|1a1=Markstein|1y=2010|2a1=Lyga|2a2=Lyga|2y=2004|2p=161|3a1=Lee|3y=1978|3p=145|4a1=Rhoades|4y=2008|4p=139}} mixed media and digital technology have become common. Cartooning techniques such as [[motion lines]]{{sfnm|1a1=Bramlett|1y=2012|1p=25|2a1=Guigar|2y=2010|2p=126|3a1=Cates|3y=2010|3p=98}} and abstract symbols are often employed.{{sfnm|1a1=Goldsmith|1y=2005|1p=21|2a1=Karp|2a2=Kress|2y=2011|2p=13–14}}

While comics are often the work of a single creator, the labour of making them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be separate [[Comics writer|writers]] and [[Comics artist|artists]], and artists may specialize in parts of the artwork such as characters or backgrounds, as is common in Japan.{{sfn|O'Nale|2010|p=384}} Particularly in American superhero comic books,{{sfn|Tondro|2011|p=51}} the art may be divided between a [[penciller]], who lays out the artwork in pencil;{{sfn|Lyga|Lyga|2004|p=161}} an [[inker]], who finishes the artwork in ink;{{sfnm|1a1=Markstein|1y=2010|2a1=Lyga|2a2=Lyga|2y=2004|2p=161|3a1=Lee|3y=1978|3p=145}} a [[Colorist|colourist]];{{sfn|Duncan|Smith|2009|p=315}} and a [[letterer]], who adds the captions and speech balloons.{{sfn|Lyga|Lyga|2004|p=163}}

===Etymology===

The English-language term ''comics'' derives from the humorous (or "[[wikt:comic|comic]]") work which predominated in early American newspaper comic strips, but usage of the term has become standard for non-humorous works as well. The alternate spelling ''comix'' – coined by the [[underground comix]] movement – is sometimes used to address such ambiguities.{{sfn|Gomez Romero|Dahlman|2012}} The term "comic book" has a similarly confusing history since they are most often not humorous and are periodicals, not regular books.{{sfn|Groensteen|2012|loc=p. 131 (translator's note)}} It is common in English to refer to the comics of different cultures by the terms used in their languages, such as ''{{Transliteration|ja|[[manga]]}}'' for Japanese comics, or {{lang|fr|bandes dessinées}} for French-language [[Franco-Belgian comics]].{{sfn|McKinney|2011|p=xiii}}

Many cultures have taken their word for comics from English, including Russian ({{lang|ru|комикс}}, ''{{Transliteration|ru|[[Russian comics|komiks]]}}''){{sfn|Alaniz|2010|p=7}} and German ({{lang|de|[[German comics|Comic]]}}).{{sfn|Frahm|2003}} Similarly, the Chinese term ''{{Transliteration|zh|[[manhua]]}}''{{sfnm|1a1=Wong|1y=2002|1p=11|2a1=Cooper-Chen|2y=2010|2p=177}} and the Korean ''{{Transliteration|ko|[[manhwa]]}}''{{sfn|Johnson-Woods|2010|p=301}} derive from the [[Chinese character]]s with which the Japanese term ''{{Transliteration|ja|manga}}'' is written.{{sfnm|1a1=Cooper-Chen|1y=2010|1p=177|2a1=Thompson|2y=2007|2p=xiii}}