Versatility of the Comic Strip: Part 2 - Brevity

Because of the medium’s brevity, image-based storytelling, and its traditionally non-explicit content, the newspaper comic strip appeals greatly to children, but it is not, by any means, strictly children’s media.

Brevity

The standard Monday thru Saturday layout is three or four panels but can range from one to five or more.

Peanuts by Charles Schultz

Sunday Strips tend to be longer because newspapers give more space to comics on Sundays. These strips traditionally contain multiple layers of panels and often include a title panel.

Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker

While most comics are multi-panel, it is not uncommon to see normally multi-panel strips using a single panel format on occasion.

Hagar the Horrible by Chris Browne

Some strips are single panel only; these are the comics that take the square-shaped spaces in the newspapers, such as Bill Keane's Family Circus.

Ranging from single panel cartoons to half-page Sunday Paper comics, the short form nature of the comic strip holds a child’s attention more easily than a novel, short story, or even picture book may be able to.