Panel by Panel: 'Succubus' and the Panel Breakout

Hello and welcome to Panel by Panel, an analysis of panels from comics right here on The Duck and exploring what they do, how they work, and what we can learn from them.

This week's panel comes from the webcomic Succubus by Coydog. This specific panel this week is actually an entire page! This comes from page 5 of chapter 2 of the webcomic. Also, this comic is probably not safe for work, so save the reading for when you get back home.



There is a lot I could talk about regarding the page in general, but let's focus specifically on the idea of a breakout panel. A panel breakout is when an object or character breaks the boundaries of the panel on a page to add visual emphasis on an action or a presence.

In this case, we have a couple of elements breaking out of the assumed boundary of the full-page panel. Though the page lacks a drawn panel outline, it is not hard to see where the panel actually is on the page thanks to the margin.

As for the elements breaking out, we have the car, some flashing lights, and the sound effect. The breakout on the car is particularly excellent as it really reflects the sense of speed. By exploding out of the confines of the panel we get a greater sense of motion. The flashing lights, which are represented by speed lines that have broken beyond the assumed panel border help to build on this motion. Naturally, the sound effect breaking the assumed boundary implies an otherworldly element as sound is something we do not immediately recognize as a component of comics. It occupies a strange space and the fact it cannot be constrained by the panel really sells that.

I think this is an excellent panel that takes advantage of panel breakouts. Though there is a lack of a line that defines the boundary, the boundary should be pretty obvious.

But here is a question for you: Do you feel like this panel conveys motion well? Why? What does the panel do to indicate that? Would the effect have been the same if the panel was actually presented with a lined border?

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