Continued decompression vs. a six-panel grid

[MRP]

The number of panels, size of panels, shape of panels, flow of panels, etc. up to and including the size of the gutters between (or lack of gutters in some cases) are all tools a comic creator uses to depict/control the perception of time in the story and to influence the impact of the story on the reader (read some comic theory by Eisner or McCloud to get a fuller idea of it) and should be dictated by the needs of the story being told, not an arbitrary editorial decision to make a "formula" for successful comics. If you are trying to boil it down to a formula, all you will end up with is formulaic comics. I don't want any standard like that imposed on the creators, the story itself should dictate the number of panels, size of panels, etc. Effective variation of size and number of panels controls story flow, builds tension, and combined with effective structuring of page turns can keep the story moving towards its climax, or slow it down and build anticipation for the next reveal or plot twist. You need different size and number of panels depending on whether you want a slow emotional character moment or a booming action sequence. You need a different approach with size and number of panels to depict a chase scene than to depict a heated argument between two individuals than to depict the denouement post-climax than to depict an opening sequence meant to build interest and hook the reader into the story. A noirish story has different needs than a sci-fi epic than a slice of life story that etc. in terms of panels size and number of panels on the page. It's not one-size-fits all and any attempt to make it so demonstrates a lack of understanding of comic storytelling and the effective use of panels and pages.

If you're reduced to formula to structure and tell your story, you really have nothing worthwhile to say because you don't know how to tell it effectively.

‘Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form.’
-Robert McKee

Mastering the comics form means knowing how many panels, what size panels and how to arrange panels to best tell your story, not following an arbitrary dictate pulled out of someone's ass.

-M