Time in comics

Time in comics is a very difficult and complex concept because it ultimately involves representing time through spatial concepts. Representing time in comics requires convincing the reader, primarily through closure, that a certain amount of time passes in a panel or between panels. For example, text in comics represents sound, which by nature happens over time. As the reader reads the text in a panel, his or her previous experience with words directs him or her to read the text as if it were being spoken out loud, over time (this is a perfect example of closure). Temporal aspects of a narrative can also be established by visual elements of comics, such as size or length of panels or iconic figures (a clock, for example). Time in comics, which is a fundamental part of the graphic novel experience, comes entirely from the reader's interaction and engagement with the medium, which is why comics are considered to be a cool medium.