I don't know if it's because everyone is on vacation or they are killing time before SDCC or what, but there has been a spate of interesting articles about the theory and practice of comics popping up on the internet lately. Here's a sample:

Bryant Paul Johnson, the creator of Teaching Baby Paranoia, breaks comics down into their basic components (words, pictures, time) and illustrates how the pieces work together—and how they sometimes don't.

Bryan Lee O'Malley takes time out from drawing (and promoting) Scott Pilgrim to show some quick comics dos and don'ts.

Related: Filmmaker Anne Lukeman brought Wally Wood's 22 Frames That Always Work to life—literally. This reminds ComixTalk's Xaviar Xerxes of a counterpoint, 16 Panels That I Don't Think Work All That Well.

Sunday Comics Debt looks at oddball cartoon iconography and the use of dots in cartoons, especially For Better or For Worse—there's more to it than you think.

This one has been kicking around for a little while, but in case you haven't seen it, Ed Piskor discusses how time elapses in a single panel.

Finally, longtime webcomics reader Lauren Davis heads for the comics store and learns some surprising things from looking at print comics.