This Comic Masterclass Takes on the Art of Character Introduction

This week’s webisode of Strip Panel Naked—a mini masterclass in the art and theory of comic books by Hass Otsmane-Elhaou—deals with introducing and establishing characters. “We're looking at how you can balance moving your story forward, while establishing characters and the world really quickly,” explains Otsmane-Elhaou. “Plutona was a great example, because it opens with four pages of really quick, really simple, but really effective character exposition, while still pushing forward with a lot of story. It kind of gets the characters out of the way, gives them a base to build on, and then gets you into the thick of it.”

Plutona tells the story of a group of kids who stumble upon the dead body of a superhero, and the creators aren’t afraid to be blunt about their character introductions. “It's made pretty obvious when you turn the page in that first issue and see the first two character pages side by side. In terms of the structural approach, it's clear that writer Jeff Lemire is laying the pages out like this on purpose to establish those characters as soon as you get into the book. Along with illustrator and co-writer Emi Lenox drawing those large face panels along the top, you've also got colorist Jordie Bellaire's really bold use of colour throughout the pages. They really stood out to me, and I think to anyone who reads the book should notice them immediately.”

This characterization is so fast and succinct that, according to Otsmane-Elhaou, it feels reminiscent of an old comic. “If you go back and look at some of the classic superhero introductions, like, say Spider-Man's, you get a similar thing happening. There, you had a premium with space in terms of story, as you're working towards whole stories in single issues. So they had to condense a lot of characterisation into a minimum amount of space. "Amazing Fantasy #15 [Spider-Man’s first appearance]" opens with a large splash page that perfectly encompasses so much you need to know about Peter Parker in one page. So if you want to see more, those classic comics are a good place to start.”

Watch the Strip Panel Naked breakdown on perfect character establishment below:

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