I really loved the discussion of the “gutter” in Understanding Comics. I’ve read a lot of comics since I was a kid and I think one of the most powerful tools is the use of the “gutter”. I’m reminded of the story building conversation we had earlier in the semester, where we talked about how if you just say or show the most important things, the reader will imagine the rest. I think stories that make you think and invite you to fill in the gaps are the most fun! I also think the different sizes of comic strips to emphasize importance is an interesting feature that stories that are just text don’t have. When I read manga, and a whole two-page spread is used for one moment, I know it’s a big deal. Similarly, with “Great Rock n Roll” pauses, the final slides showed only graphs, as opposed to the plethora of competing text on previous slides. I think that choice created a lot of weight to those final slides. I think I would like to play around with those ideas in my visual narrative assignment.