Thinking Outside of the Box: Theorizing the Frameless Panel

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Frameless panels are a significant, but vastly undertheorized, phenomenon in comics. Using examples from Jules Feiffer’s work in The Village Voice as the basis for discussion, this essay argues that the omission of distinct boundaries around an image does more than merely impact the aesthetic appearance of sequential art; such omissions also impact its spatial, semiotic, and narratological operations. The lack of borders changes the way that readers view, engage with, and interpret the material. Frameless comics alter many of the most essential and seemingly immutable components of sequential art, from the sense of closure and the construction of the grid to the pace of reading and the location—as well as function—of the gutter. Ultimately, this format invites us to reconsider long-standing assumptions about the centrality of panel frames to comics. Not only are boundaries between panels not essential to sequential art, but—as the work of Jules Feiffer demonstrates—their omission can be an asset rather than a shortcoming.