Two Questions by Lynda Barry. Page 252 -253 from the graphic novel The Best American Comics by Harvey Pekar and Anne Elizabeth Moore

In Graphic Design, framing is described as a way to form the viewers understanding of an image or object. Most comics utilize borders to separate each panel or frame from each other.

In the comic Two Questions by Lynda Barry, she frames the panels in a doodle, cramped sketchy kind of style. Like the example on page 123 in Graphic Design, Barry meshes together image and text in a way that both are of equal importance in framing each other. Each panel is also framed in a way that is reminiscent of a decorative painting or photo frame. It works well with the story in that it’s like an illustrated journal or a kind of internal monologue.

The framing is art in itself. It works as a way to both separate text and images as well as being integrated into the comic. While each panel is distinguishable from the next, it isn’t always done in a clean and precise way that many other comics are done. As you read, it’s not always clear which block of text should be read next but it can give insight to the tone of the story. The intense condensation of content illustrates the character’s (Lynda’s) thoughtful and conflicted mind.

While the comic itself is extremely busy and almost chaotic, the wide margins provide some relief and emphasize the great detail that went into the design, organization, and framing of each panel. In a way, the large margins of the page are used to unconsciously frame this comic.  If the margins were much narrower, this already active comic would feel overwhelming to look at.