Page Flow in Andromeda
This page struck me as I was reading Volume One of Rye Mitsuke’s and Keiko Takemiya’s Andromeda Stories (Vertical):
The layout of the page and composition of the panels directly lead the eye around the page. The first panel (this is unflipped manga so read right to left) uses multiples of the same character to move not only into the distance but down the panel and right over to the feet in panel two. The strong vertical of panel two leads us up to panel three where the downward motion of the character and the “V” shape of the tree take us to the top of the sound effect that crosses over into panel four. Again the character and the sound effects move through the panel diagonally down to the right half of panel five (the first long horizontal one), where the flying ship is found. The sound effect continues down to the next panel, reinforced by the repetition of the flying ship (smaller, farther away) where it hovers above the first block of text. We read the text and hit the character’s face, heavily shadowed and leading into the second block of text. Panel seven has the character moving out from the shadow of panel six across the page. The speedlines sweep up to the top of panel eight and then, along with the character, down and off to the next page.
The whole page is a wonderful movement filled composition, dynamic and well-structued.