![]() ![]() A rule in scripting is that each panel should be one action. The other advantage the paneling in Sakai’s work has is in aiding the rhythm of the storytelling. ![]() The clear, almost contemplative layouts let a reader soak in the story and get absorbed into the world. This is a comic I could, and eventually will, give to my son. When we talk about lowering the barrier to entry for comics, this is what we mean. While some cartoonists will stuff the page, drawing the eye to and fro, trusting the letterist to guide the reader, Sakai goes a different route. ![]() Evenly distributed, thick white gutter, easy to follow. He uses the same layouts draftsmen like Jack Kirby perfected. Sakai isn’t pushing the boundaries of the medium here. Look at the paneling in Usagi Yojimbo #18. If anyone’s name can be spoken in the same breath, it is Stan Sakai. And yet? They are sophisticated works of sequential art, peak cartooning that appeals to the youngest child, as well as a grandparent sharing the joy. They star the extended family of Donald Duck. Someone mentioned to me recently that it felt like a rite of passage for any comics critic to get deep into Carl Barks or Don Rosa’s “duck comics.” These are stories for children. ![]()
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