I've been scribbling a little again and thinking about how to put 'MY robot' down on paper and reading other comics and interviews of guys I like trying to familiarise myself with comics again. Even though there's no dialogue in 'My robot!' I found the above linked article by Eddie Campbell, and I agree with every word. The great thing about Eddies' theory as opposed to the usual one is that it makes sense of the layout on the left.
Generally this layout is a no no as it can be hard for the reader to see which is the 3rd panel, is it the one to the right of panel 2 or is the panel below 1 and 2? I have to say I hate this layout but have had scripts where I think it (or a variant of it) is probably the best way to go (oh, why do writers ask for a big 2nd panel? - or just ask for more info in it, which amounts to the same thing), but I've done something else simply because of the worry of confusing the reader. Following Eddies' advice the balloon placement in the diagram on the right makes the layout easier to follow (it'd probably work better if there were pictures to follow too!) I'll still avoid this layout, but the balloon placement lesson is sound I think.
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Did you know that Doldrums also means 'A region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls.' ? Is that where you were ?
No, I didn't, and I wasn't. More like doldrums as in the dingy bedroom of teenage angst.
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