Exaggeration is the most time-honored technique for dynamism in comic book art, coming straight from classic comic strips that predate comic books by a few decades. Cartoonists such as E.C. Segar, creator of Popeye, would elongate limbs far beyond their natural length to underscore the power of a punch. Even the most understated cartoonists will draw eyes open extra wide to indicate surprise. Jack Kirby, the celebrated superhero artist who created the Hulk and the Fantastic Four, often drew fists at double their natural size in fight scenes.
Comic book artists study dynamic composition from other art forms such as painting and film for ideas. According to "The Steranko History of Comics," the first generation of comic-book artists viewed the classic 1941 Orson Welles movie Citizen Kane repeatedly to study its dramatic compositions. Welles' juxtapositions of characters and lighting effects were copied into many comic book drawings. Another favorite dynamic-composition trick is to use circular shapes to draw the eye to a particular location in the drawing, or to create a depth of field in the drawing.
Comic book artist use heavy areas of black ink in comic book panels to create a dynamic depth of field in their drawings, sometimes called spotting blacks. Black areas tend to recede to the background of the drawing, creating the illusion that objects in front of the black ink area move forward towards the reader. Superhero artist Jack Kirby was a master of the use of black to add dramatic tension to his drawings. Will Eisner, creator of "The Spirit," used spotting blacks to add a more atmospheric, film-noir feeling to his comic-book art.
Full-page and double-page spreads are used in comic book art to start a story with a dramatic punch, or to underline a dynamic moment in the narrative. Jack Kirby used this device extensively when he launched his influential "Fourth World" set of comic books series for DC Comics in the early 1970s. The titles included "New Gods," "The Forever People" and "Mister Miracle." Many of the stories in these titles began with a dynamic spread on pages two and three of the book. This was watershed work in the history of comic books and marked a high point in Kirby's stellar career.
Dynamic comic book art straddles the border between realism and abstraction, and nowhere is this more obvious than with the use of force and action lines. As a character runs, or as a vehicle drives fast, the artist often draws bold lines behind the figure to indicate traveling speed. This visual convention is pure abstraction, something not seen in reality, but those steeped in the language of comics know that those lines indicate speed and power.