CBML
author: John A. Walsh

Comic Book Markup Language (CBML) Additional elements for encoding comic books, comics, graphic novels, and other documents that share formal and structural features with comics.

<panel>
Contains a single comic book panel.

@characters
Pointers to characters appearing in the panel.

[The fifth panel of page 6, from Captain America #193 (January 1976), edited, written, and drawn by Jack Kirby.]

<panel n="5" characters="#cap #anon_man" ana="#action-to-action" xml:id="eg_000">
    <caption> Cap acts quickly to tranquilize the gun-happy
        pedestrian... </caption>
    <balloon xml:id="eg_007" type="speech" who="#cap"> A little
            <emph rendition="#b">sleep</emph> will do wonders for you! </balloon>
    <sound>SPLAT!</sound>
    <balloon type="speech" who="#anon_man"> Ugh! </balloon>
</panel>

<balloon>
A single speech, thought, or other type of balloon, commonly found in comics, comic books, and graphic novels.
@type
Describes the type of balloon.
"speech"
speech balloon.
"thought"
thought balloon.
"audio"
a balloon emanating from an audio device, e.g., television or radio speaker, telephone, walkie-talkie, etc.
"telepathy"
a telepathic balloon, i.e., a balloon representing language that telepathically transmitted from speaker to listener.

[A panel from a Stardust story, by Fletcher Hanks, from Fantastic Comics #15 (February 1941).]

<panel characters="#stardust">
    <caption> The next instant, Stardust swoops out of the
        heavens........ </caption>
    <balloon type="speech" who="#stardust"> We must take no more
        risk! </balloon>
</panel>

[An panel from The Amazing Spider-Man #5 (October 1963) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.]

<panel characters="#spidey #jjj" n="3" xml:id="eg_ae1">
    <balloon xml:id="eg_006" who="#jjj" type="audio" subtype="telecast" rendition="#uc"> My name is J. Jonah Jameson,
        publisher of <title rendition="#b">Now</title> magazine and the
            <title rendition="#b">Daily Bugle</title><emph rendition="#b">!</emph> I am sponsoring this program in the
        public interest, to expose <emph rendition="#b">Spider-Man</emph> to the pubic as the menace he is!
    </balloon>
</panel>

<caption>
A narrative caption from a comic book panel.

[A panel from a Dr. Strange story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko from126 Strange Tales #126 (November 1964).]

<panel>
    <caption rendition="#uc">
        <hi rendition="#b">S</hi>lowly the mists begin to clear, as a
        strange, startling world takes form! A world in which the
        impossible is believable, and the incredible is commonplace--the
        world of the dark domain--the world of the dread <emph rendition="#b">Dormammu!</emph>
    </caption>
    <balloon type="speech" who="#drstrange"> The journey is over!
        But, judging by the unspeakable menace I see before me, the
            <emph rendition="#b">battle</emph> is just begun!
    </balloon>
</panel>

<div>

[The title page from a Samson story in Fantastic Comics #15 (February 1941). In the example below, after the title panel, a TEI <div> element is used to indicate a panel group (@type ="panelGrp").]

<panel type="title">
    <head>Samson and David</head>
    <caption rendition="#uc"> Out of the mists of history comes the
        mighty Samson-- like his famous ancestor, Samson pits his
        temendous strength against the forces of evil and injustice--Mu…
        high priest of evil, plots against civilization… </caption>
    <bibl> By— <author>Alex Boon</author>
    </bibl>
</panel>
<div type="panelGrp" xml:id="eg_002">
    <panel n="1" characters="#david #samson">
        <balloon who="#david" type="speech"> What a funny looking
            truck outside here… Never saw one like it before! </balloon>
        <balloon who="#samson" type="speech"> That’s strange!
            What’s it look like? </balloon>
    </panel>
    <panel n="2" characters="#samson #david">
        <balloon type="speech" who="#samson"> You’re right--I never
            saw one like this before! </balloon>
        <balloon type="speech" who="#david"> Wonder what it’s doing
            here? </balloon>
    </panel>
    <panel n="3" characters="#samson #david">
        <balloon type="speech" who="#samson"> What the--! </balloon>
        <balloon type="speech" who="#david"> Gas---Help!
        </balloon>
    </panel>
    <panel n="4" characters="#samson #david">
        <balloon type="speech" who="#samson"> No time to look for
            doors now! </balloon>
        <sound>Crash!</sound>
        <fw type="pageNum" place="lower-left">1</fw>
    </panel>
</div>

[A small advertisement in Fantastic Four #65 (August 1967).]

<div type="advert" xml:id="eg_003">
    <head rend="background-color:black; color:white;" rendition="#x-large #center #uc"> Poems Wanted </head>
    <ab type="floatingHead" rendition="#center #uc">To Be Set to
        Music</ab>
    <p> Send one or more of your best poems today for <emph rendition="#uc">free examination</emph>. Any subject.
        Immediate Consideration. </p>
    <ab type="floatingHead" rendition="#center #uc">Phonograph Records
        Made</ab>
    <ab>
        <address>
            <addrLine rendition="#uc #large #center">
                <orgName>Crown Music Co</orgName>
            </addrLine>
            <addrLine rendition="#center"> 49 W. 32 St., Studio 11, New
                York 1 </addrLine>
        </address>
    </ab>
</div>

<sound>

[A panel from Captain America #193 (January 1976) by Jack Kirby.]

<panel n="2" characters="#cap #anon_man">
    <balloon who="#cap" type="thought" rendition="#uc"> That man
        firing the pistol--I'll have to <emph rendition="#b">stop</emph>
        him before someone stops a <emph rendition="#b">bullet!</emph>
    </balloon>
    <sound> POW! </sound>
</panel>

<indicia>
Contains the small print bibliographic and legal information, traditionally found at the bottom of the first recto after the cover of a comic book, more recently some of the major comic book publishers have moved this information to the bottom of the final verso before the back cover.

<div1>

<div2>

<div3>

<div4>

<div5>

<div6>

<div7>

<caption>