Conveying 3D space in 2D comic panel layouts

One aspect that makes comic books stand out as a unique medium is that they are static and 2-dimensional and yet portray depth and motion like film or animation. There are various techniques and concepts unique to the inherent panel system that have been developed since the inception of the medium. One of these concepts, which could only exist within comic books, is the illusion of depth and a 3rd dimension through panelling. Comics, by being a 2-dimensional medium, can mimic 3D in ways that 3D or non-visual media inherently can't.

The illusion of 3D is used for a variety of purposes, each with their own justification and intent for the visuals, storytelling, and artistic merit as a whole. This will be an analysis and breakdown of three different examples of this concept.

SPEED AND TIME

The Flash (2016) #1

written by Joshua Williamson, art by Carmine Di Giandomenico

Given that comics are a static medium, designing a character/series based around the the concept of moving very quickly seems an odd choice, and has led to a lot of clever techniques being used to show that speed. A panel of a comic shows a singular moment in time, with the next panel showing the next moment. This is hardly a novel concept, but it's twisted in the 2016 Flash series to demonstrate speed and time.

The top two panels of the page above show The Flash stepping forwards, out of the panel border itself, and into the foreground of the page. This shows that as he moves faster and faster he is stepping out of the timeframe the rest of the world is experiencing, and is less constrained by space and time, freed up to move quickly from point to point.

He's leaping into the foreground of the page, which also establishes that the reader is following his point of view; this subjective experience of time slowed to a stop and speeds fast enough to transcend any physical distance instantly. Within the story, this is justified by half-hearted pseudoscience, but out of it, it's expertly demonstrated through The Flash stepping out of the confines of the panels, the visual language that communicate space and time to the reader. Panels 3 and 4 show The Flash stopping, turning, and moving back into the panel, subsequently reimmersing himself with the world around him. Panel 5 shows him fully integrated, standing still as part of the ordinary world again. The Flash (2016) uses the effect of stepping out of/in front of panels and adding two layers of depth: the panel, and the characters faster than panels.

STACKED PANELS

We3 #2

written by Grant Morrison, art by Frank Quitely

We3 has a unique way of looking at panels themselves. Instead of seeing them as a window into the story, an artistic representation that doesn't really exist, they're treated as objects that can be manipulated, layered one on top of the other, or even slanted and shown from the side. The double page spread shown here is of one of the three protagonists, 2, defending themself against the military. There is the background of the page, and the eight central panels. 2 is shown leaping down from the top left, and flowing and slicing through each of the layered panels and soldiers in the panels.

The concept to this is that panels create a flow of time, read left to right. If they were instead stacked one on top of the other, that same flow would be achieved. This stack is then shown from the side, so every panel is still visible. 2 is shown moving from left to right, from the back to the front, through the panels.

This has two effects. It helps to guide the reader through this completely novel layout, making the whole thing intuitive to read, and it serves a narrative purpose too. The fluid, dynamic poses give 2 a sense of speed and proficiency not afforded to the human soldiers, and 2 being the only thing moving through panels focusses all the attention on them.

Similar to the previous example, the art does an excellent job at using static panels to convey a sense of motion. This technique in We3 doesn't distract from the reading experience thanks to 2 providing continuity from the top left corner, before the stacked panels, through to the end of the page. And by treating the panels as 3-dimensional object to be manipulated, We3 creates revolutionary and memorable action sequences like this one.

BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2

written by Grant Morrison, art by Doug Mankhe

Final Crisis was written by Grant Morrison, who also wrote We3 a few years prior. Despite being very different comics, some of the experimental 3D panelling done in We3 is also present here, although as a different specific technique and with a different purpose. At this point in the absurdly surreal and conceptual storyline, Superman's concsiousness has been sent to power and pilot a robot on a higher dimension, a different layer of reality.

There are no panels on this page that act as just a panel. The closest to that is the large central panel. It shows Superman, standing, facing forward. Every panel here acts as our window into the story, but also as a physical object. But unlike We3 where that is only clear to the reader, in Final Crisis, these panels are as real and present as anything shown within the story. The three smaller panels at the top of the central one are all present within the story. With the left and right panels, this is indicated by the slant to them, having them present as physical objects and slanting to the right rather than being shown flat, facing forwards. The middle one is indicated due to its depth, being shown obscured by Superman's head, which is physically in front of the panel. In the central panel, Superman is shown with his hand outstretched, facing directly forward, reaching through the borders of a seemingly empty panel, which acts as the border between that dimension and our own. Literally reaching through the fourth wall. The bottom panel on the page shows Superman, looking through the slanted panel into the dimension he was just in. This idea of having panels be treated as physical objects within the story, visible borders and windows between dimensions, is used to expert effect, presented clearly through the panelling and the artistic concepts inherently unique to comics.