Maps of Self

Anitra Appa:Elizabeth Beier:Sam Friedman:Catherine Graham:Holly Graham:Grace Hong:Laura Javier:Sylva Johnson:Noah MacMillan:Leah Nixon:
Zoe Scharf:Natalie Sklobovskaya:Nicole Warren:Julia Yao:

Personal Cartography

A lot of these from BibliOdyssey.

Visual Metaphor!

The work of Christoph Niemann. Especially this.

Guy Billout.

Christian Northeast.

Comic Template

The grid can be downloaded here.

One Page Comic

Gasoline Alley by Frank KingKrazy Kat by George HerrimanThe Smythes by Rea IrvinPolly and Her Pals by Cliff SterretBuck Rogers by Dick CalkinsLittle Nemo by Winsor McKayGoogle those for more info. For more from the Golden Age of Newspaper strips, find THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDE TO NEWSPAPER COMICS, Bill Blackbeard, editor. Here are some newer strips designed to take advantage of the one-page format:
Mr. Wonderful by Dan ClowesBuilding Stories by Chris WareBoys by Ron Rege

Figure Stories

You are telling a simple story visually, using at least 2 human figures. You are the screenwriter, casting agent, director, costume and make-up person, prop wrangler, lighting tech, cinematographer and editor all at once. Even "key grip" and "best boy" if you want to be. Here are some good examples of nicely staged intimate pictorial scenes:

The Betrothal of Arnolfini by Jan van Eyck (1434)
The Fall of Man by Titian (1570)
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemesia Genteleschi (1620)
The modern master of this sorta thing, Norman Rockwell:

Film still from Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder. More good film noir stuff here.
Stylish illustrations by Tomer Hanuka:

Quiet, smart scenes set up and delivered by Adrian Tomine: