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The Language of Comics
Comics have a grammar that readers absorb without ever being taught it. These questions make it explicit.
About this topic
A comics page works by leaving things out. Two panels show a fist drawn back and then a man on the floor; the punch happens in the white strip between them, in the reader's head. Scott McCloud called that step closure, and it is doing more of the storytelling than any single drawing on the page. The rest of the grammar is equally conventional and equally invisible once learned. A jagged balloon means a shout or a radio, a cloud means a thought, a tail points at whoever is speaking. Sound is spelled out in lettering sized to its volume, and swearing gets its own set of symbols. This quiz covers those conventions, the division of labour that produces a monthly title, and the code that governed what American comics were allowed to show for half a century.
Questions & answers
The Language of Comics: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1In a comic, what is the gutter?
- A The margin at the outer edge of the page
- B The strip of printing marks at the fold
- C The blank final panel of a strip
- D The space between two panels Correct
Answer: D. The space between two panels
Why: The reader supplies whatever happened in it, joining one panel to the next. Scott McCloud named that mental step closure in his 1993 book on the form.
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2A jagged, spiky speech balloon conventionally indicates what?
- A A character thinking rather than speaking
- B A narrator addressing the reader
- C A shout, or a voice carried electronically Correct
- D A whisper
Answer: C. A shout, or a voice carried electronically
Why: A cloud-shaped balloon with small bubbles shows thought instead, and a broken outline shows a whisper. The tail always points back at whoever is producing the sound.
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3What is a splash page?
- A The page of readers' letters
- B A single large panel filling a whole page Correct
- C The page listing the creators and credits
- D A page printed on heavier paper
Answer: B. A single large panel filling a whole page
Why: It is often the opening page, used to establish a scene or land a shock. A version running across two facing pages is called a spread.
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4Manga pages are conventionally read in which direction?
- A Right to left Correct
- B Left to right
- C In single columns from the bottom up
- D Diagonally from the top right corner
Answer: A. Right to left
Why: Panels and balloons are ordered to match the direction of Japanese text. Early English editions flipped the artwork to suit Western readers, but most publishers now keep the original layout.
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5The Comics Code Authority, set up in 1954, did what?
- A Awarded annual prizes for comic art
- B Registered copyright in comic characters
- C Fixed the cover price of comics
- D Set content rules that American publishers applied to themselves Correct
Answer: D. Set content rules that American publishers applied to themselves
Why: It followed a public campaign against crime and horror titles, including a Senate hearing. Publishers dropped it gradually and the last of them abandoned it in 2011.
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6Which term describes a book-length comic published as a single volume?
- A A one-shot
- B An annual
- C A graphic novel Correct
- D A digest
Answer: C. A graphic novel
Why: Will Eisner's A Contract with God helped popularise the label in 1978. A great many books sold under it are in fact collections of serial issues bound together.
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7In American comics, what does an inker do?
- A Oversees the printing of the finished pages
- B Goes over the penciller's drawing in ink to finish the line work Correct
- C Chooses the colours for each page
- D Letters the dialogue and captions
Answer: B. Goes over the penciller's drawing in ink to finish the line work
Why: Splitting the drawing in two is what lets a monthly title stay on schedule. A heavy or a fine inking style can change the mood of identical pencils completely.
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8Which comic strip, begun in 1950, followed a boy and his beagle?
- A Peanuts Correct
- B Calvin and Hobbes
- C Garfield
- D Dennis the Menace
Answer: A. Peanuts
Why: Charles Schulz drew every one of the strips himself until he stopped in 2000. At its height it ran in more than two thousand newspapers.
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9Which award, named after a comics creator, is the best-known prize in American comics?
- A The Kane Medal
- B The Ditko Prize
- C The Raymond Award
- D The Eisner Award Correct
Answer: D. The Eisner Award
Why: Will Eisner created The Spirit and later wrote seriously about comics as a form. The awards are presented each year at the San Diego convention.
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10What is an onomatopoeia, such as the "thwip" or "krakoom" drawn across a panel?
- A A panel drawn from a character's viewpoint
- B A symbol used in place of swearing
- C A word that imitates the sound it stands for Correct
- D A caption naming the location of a scene
Answer: C. A word that imitates the sound it stands for
Why: Comics draw them at scale so that the lettering itself conveys volume. The strings of symbols standing in for swearing have a separate name, grawlixes.
Frequently asked questions about The Language of Comics
How many questions are in The Language of Comics?
The Language of Comics has 10 questions and takes about 6 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our Comics & Animation category.
How is The Language of Comics scored?
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Are the answers to The Language of Comics explained?
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Can I replay The Language of Comics?
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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