Graphic novel conventions

The speech balloon says 'I'm fine' while the thought bubble reveals panic and a wish to escape.

These two messages directly oppose each other rather than repeating or adding to one another.

A relationship where text and image (or two text elements) say opposite things is defined as parallel/contradictory.

The contrast between spoken calm and inner panic is exactly this contradictory relationship, producing dramatic irony.

Duo-specific requires reinforcement of the same meaning, but the speech and thought directly conflict.

Additive would mean the thought simply supplies missing details, not an opposing emotional state.

Interdependent applies when neither part makes sense alone, but here both the speech and thought are independently clear.

Parallel/contradictory is the only relationship that captures two conflicting messages appearing at once.

A rectangular box not attached to any character, giving a time jump, is a caption box.

Captions provide narration from outside the immediate scene, often supplying time, place, or commentary.

'Three years later' is exactly this kind of narratorial time marker, not a character's private thought.

This matches the definition of a caption box stepping outside the story world.

That description belongs to thought bubbles, not caption boxes, since captions are not tied to one mind.

Attachment to a mouth describes speech balloons, which show aloud dialogue, not narration.

Captions do not always contradict the image; here the caption simply narrates elapsed time.

Only the option describing external narration correctly explains this caption's role.