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Identical Panel Gag

 Identical Panel Gag
type
FeatureClass
 Identical Panel Gag
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag
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IdenticalPanelGag
 Identical Panel Gag
comment
In a comic, one way to produce a humorous suspense or simply signal that something doesn't exactly go as expected in a conversation, is to show several copies of the same panel successively.
The dialogue may go on and external details may change, but the characters, or at least one of them, will not move an inch. Their position and expression will be a literal copy and paste.
This conveys a feeling of stoic disbelief, utter cluelessness or mere indifference from one or more of them, from which Hilarity Ensues. The conversation where this happens usually doesn't go anywhere.
In comic strips, the Identical Panel Gag will either precede the punchline or be the punchline itself. In some cases, the entire strip can even be made like this.
A variant can be to draw identical panels not successively but separated by different panels, by pages, or even by volumes for a Brick Joke effect. Another variant is to repeat the construction of a page or panel (such as the placement or expressions of characters) to exactly miror a previous one.
Beat Panels can resort to it. Some Cut and Paste Comics rely entirely on this, although it can be out of laziness or to save time. This trope is for when the repetition is used deliberately for comic effect.
 Identical Panel Gag
fetched
2023-09-27T06:15:32Z
 Identical Panel Gag
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2023-09-27T06:15:32Z
 Identical Panel Gag
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 Identical Panel Gag
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 Identical Panel Gag
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Madam & Eve (Comic Strip)
 Identical Panel Gag
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DBTropes
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1beda93b
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1beda93b
comment
One series of panels in Sluggy Freelance shows someone demonstrating what it would be like to get stuck in timeless space. It's a few dozen frames of the character not moving. One in the middle shows him looking at the camera.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1beda93b
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 Sluggy Freelance (Webcomic)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_1beda93b
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1cc09117
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1cc09117
comment
Bleach:
Used when Ichigo wants to transform into a Shinigami to go and save Rukia... before realizing he has no way to do so (Rukia has the transforming glove and the Soul Candy is inside Kon).
Also invoked during Hiyori's introduction to Orihime and Sado, where she smacks Shinji each time he interrupts her. Identical panels are used to highlight Shinji's worsening condition as well as Chad and Orihime's reaction.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_1cc09117
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1.0
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Identical Panel Gag / int_1cc09117
 Identical Panel Gag / int_217caad
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_217caad
comment
A bittersweet version in Leif & Thorn, with a view of Leif's hospital room. The repeated scene doubles as a Silent Scenery Panel.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_217caad
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1.0
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 Leif & Thorn (Webcomic)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_217caad
 Identical Panel Gag / int_2f9517bf
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_2f9517bf
comment
Done in D.Gray-Man during the brief flashback with Mana. A dialogue between a clown-hating Bratty Half-Pint and a clown who doesn't exactly have all his head can lead to this.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_2f9517bf
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1.0
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 D.Gray-Man (Manga)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_2f9517bf
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_3095b3a0
comment
Cyanide and Happiness does this in nearly every single comic.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_3095b3a0
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 Cyanide and Happiness (Webcomic)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_3095b3a0
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_33529ef3
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In Code:Breaker, Kanda suggests feeding a puppy with onions. And sake.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_33529ef3
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1.0
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 Code:Breaker (Manga)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_33529ef3
 Identical Panel Gag / int_42f6df1
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_42f6df1
comment
One page of Hero Squared is a nine-panel grid of Milo in the exact same pose.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_42f6df1
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1.0
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 Hero Squared (Comic Book)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_42f6df1
 Identical Panel Gag / int_4a3c63ed
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_4a3c63ed
comment
Yumi's Cells: A common occurrence with the Cells, whose identical shapes make it easy to swap them out for each other. Thus multiple Cells can face the same situation in quick succession. One example is of Rational Cell tossing Emotional Cell into a freezing lake to wake her up, only for her to return the favor.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_4a3c63ed
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1.0
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 Yumi's Cells (Webcomic)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_4a3c63ed
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_5755b96a
comment
The Order of the Stick. The separated-by-a-few-pages variant:
When the Azurite fleet is fighting against sea trolls, after defeating them once, Hinjo and Elan unwittingly dump them overboard, unaware that scrags regenerate when in contact with water. The panel where the trolls board again and attack anew is identical to the one of the first assault two pages earlier.
During a battle against frost giants, Haley gets slammed against the floor with a greataxe wielded by a giant cleric. Next page, she gets slammed again, and beyond a minor detail (the giant now having Mind-Control Eyes), the panels are identical.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_5755b96a
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Identical Panel Gag / int_5755b96a
 Identical Panel Gag / int_5cc61e92
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_5cc61e92
comment
Eiji Masuda, author of My Monster Secret, is a master of this. He will often use the "mirror pages" variant to accentuate the absurdity of the situations or the way they end up the same way multiple times despite the characters' efforts. The most extreme example comes with Chapters 80 and 81: Both feature a Love Confession, but while Ch.80's is serious and a Wham Episode, Ch.81's is entirely comedic since the pervvy member of Those Three Guys is confessing his feelings...to another guy, who's been pretending to be a girl because the other guy has been plying him with gifts and free food. The disconnect is greatly enhanced by using the exact same layout in the two chapters, only replacing the characters involved.
The series also flips the serious/comedy axis to show development. Chapter 10 has main characters Asahi and Youko going to an amusement park together, but it's mostly Played for Laughs (Youko was trying to set Asahi up with someone else, but she never showed so they just hang out together as friends). In Chapter 69 they return to the park, except this time it's obviously a date despite the fact that neither of them can admit their feelings, especially since Youko is trying to follow in the footsteps of her parents' high school romance by re-creating one of their dates, and it ends with her kissing Asahi as they leave the Ferris wheel since that was where her parents shared their first kiss. The first pages of the two chapters are an almost exact copy-paste, text and all (Art Evolution notwithstanding).
 Identical Panel Gag / int_5cc61e92
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Identical Panel Gag / int_5cc61e92
 Identical Panel Gag / int_69daf29
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_69daf29
comment
Played with in Grrl Power. The series of Flashback panels where Sydney gives Joel various silly made-up explanations for the presence of the poster tube on her back are happening on different days, which is expressed by the both of them wearing different clothes, but their poses and Sydney's movement are strictly identical every time.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_69daf29
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Identical Panel Gag / int_69daf29
 Identical Panel Gag / int_6ff7d11f
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_6ff7d11f
comment
Fillbert: The same panel is used twice in a comic where Fillbert watches Vivi do schoolwork.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_6ff7d11f
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1.0
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Identical Panel Gag / int_6ff7d11f
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_a49a890c
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Twice in Preacher: the first with Herr Starr pondering his new cranial scar◊, the second exploring the many possibilities to hide it◊.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_a49a890c
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Identical Panel Gag / int_a49a890c
 Identical Panel Gag / int_a98099b9
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_a98099b9
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This happens inadvertently in Garfield Minus Garfield strips since Garfield is removed from the panels. Granted, when this happens normally, it's a conscious decision to reuse valuable panel space.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_a98099b9
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Identical Panel Gag / int_a98099b9
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ab3076a5
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The VG Cats love to do this. This notably happens just before Aeris's Atomic F-Bomb.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ab3076a5
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_afdde82a
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I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level: It happens as Flatorte's clothes and underwear gets taken by boars and dropped into the river in the manga adaptation.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_afdde82a
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 I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
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Identical Panel Gag / int_afdde82a
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_bd310eaa
comment
El Goonish Shive:
Done here as an April Fools joke.
Also done here by Elliot after having a somewhat disturbing epiphany. Lampshaded in The Rant:
Done here with six consecutive Beat Panels.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_bd310eaa
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Identical Panel Gag / int_bd310eaa
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_c511c682
comment
Asterix: In Asterix and the Great Divide, a panel at the beginning shows children picking up apples from a branch of a tree going above the ditch separating the village in two halves, with a grumpy old man yelling at them. The panel is reused at the end, near-identical save for the ditch now filled with water.
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Identical Panel Gag / int_c511c682
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ca590d4a
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Mélusine: One page in book 5 shows Mélusine preparing a philter of forgetfulness, which accidentally boils and sprays vapor in the room. The first and last panels are absolutely identical, with Mélusine pondering, "What was I doing, again?"
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ca590d4a
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Identical Panel Gag / int_ca590d4a
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ce50887e
comment
In the later chapters of Dragon Ball, Trunks and Goten repeatedly attempt fusion with varying results. The reaction panels are the exact same to the point that Kuririn calls Akira Toriyama himself out on it. For his part, Toriyama appears as his Author Avatar to tell the comic's publisher he doesn't need to pay for the repeated pages.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_ce50887e
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Identical Panel Gag / int_ce50887e
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_d07c8d30
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Lore Olympus: When Zeus learns that Hades is harboring a fugitive Persephone, he holds a video conference with all the Olympians. At first, the other Olympians’ chat windows look exactly the same with every reaction shot during Zeus’ speech, implying they’re not taking the matter as seriously as he is.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_d07c8d30
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Identical Panel Gag / int_d07c8d30
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_e05a2543
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The first pages of the two fights between Aoki and Papaya in Hajime no Ippo both have a rigorously identical panel layout and an identical pose for Aoki. So are the pages where Aoki takes the "Coconut Punch". The two fights are dozens of chapters apart.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_e05a2543
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1.0
 Identical Panel Gag / int_e05a2543
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 Hajime no Ippo (Manga)
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Identical Panel Gag / int_e05a2543
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Identical Panel Gag
 Identical Panel Gag / int_f197ea60
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Every installment of Dinosaur Comics consists of the same six panels, with different dialogue and captions.
 Identical Panel Gag / int_f197ea60
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Identical Panel Gag / int_f197ea60

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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Comedy Tropes
 Identical Panel Gag
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Comic Book Tropes
 Identical Panel Gag
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This Index Is Copypasted
 Identical Panel Gag
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Webcomic Tropes
 Hero Squared (Comic Book) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Invincible (Comic Book) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Mega Man (Archie Comics) (Comic Book) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Mélusine (Comic Book) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Preacher (Comic Book) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Madam & Eve (Comic Strip) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Dr. STONE (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Hajime no Ippo (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 K-On! (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Kagurabachi (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 My Monster Secret (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Oddman 11 (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Osomatsu-kun (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Seitokai Yakuindomo (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Servamp (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Higurashi: When They Cry (Visual Novel) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Yumi's Cells (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Ape, Not Monkey (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Cawwwwmic (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
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Identical Panel Gag
 Dioses y Otras Tonterías (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Grrl Power (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 ISO (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Leftover Soup (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Lore Olympus (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Medic Pics (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Nerf NOW!! (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 qxlkbh (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Softies (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 VG Cats (Webcomic) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag
 Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai (Manga) / int_c72876b9
type
Identical Panel Gag