Thread starter Leonaru Start date Feb 27, Tags comics. Leonaru Taxidermic Owlbear Validated User. As seen here:. My understanding is that the most important words would be bolded and thus guaranteed to be readable even if the printing quality was off, which was a greater concern back in the Golden and Silver Ages, and that writers used to doing so continued long past the time that was a necessity.
Matchstick Registered User Validated User. Leonaru said:. Stryke Bang and a Boom Validated User. I have no idea what you are talking about. Stephen Lea Sheppard Be seeing you Staff member.
RPGnet Member. Validated User. Consider the difference in meaning between the question "Is that our tank? It looks sort of weird at first, but eventually you read enough to start taking it as it's intended, and it becomes a useful way for the writer to distinguish characters' voices. Some writers overuse it, though. Like all things with lettering, if you notice it, the letterer has failed his duty to his ninja clan and should feel dishonored.
In many cases these are italicized and can be lowercase as well as having drop caps or outlines. Internal Monologue captions, largely replacing thought balloons , are the inner voice of a character. These are typically italicized. Spoken Captions are the vocalized speech of a character that is off camera.
These are not italicized but make special use of quotation marks. Finally, Editorial captions feature the voice of the writer or editor and are also italicized. This is probably the biggest mistake seen among amateur letterers. An "I" with the crossbars on top and bottom is virtually only used for the personal pronoun, "I.
Any other instance of the letter should just be the vertical stroke version. Although I would debate it, you occasionally see the "crossbar I" used as the first letter of someone's name. There is no Em or En dash in American comics. It's a double dash and it's only used when a character's speech is interrupted, or in place of a semi-colon; which is not used in comics.
Em or En dashes are occaisionally seen in UK comics lettering. The double dash and the ellipsis are not interchangeable, even though many writers use them interchangeably. For the record, there are only TWO dashes in a double dash. It sounds like common sense, but you'd be surprised. Double outline balloons serve the same purpose as a burst balloon ; to add emphasis to dialogue.
The tail of a double outline balloon can connect to either the inner or outer balloon and the background balloon usually sports a color fill or a heavier stroke. Variations are numerous and up to the letterer.
Drop caps or decorative caps, are an enlarged or embelished first letter in a caption. They come in a wide variety of styles and sizes, and are most often a stylistic choice by the letterer. The ellipsis is used when a character's speech trails off.
If a character is speaking, trails off, and then resumes in another balloon, you should always end the first dialogue with an ellipsis and then begin the second dialogue with an ellipsis. Another allowable use is when a character's speech trails in and out, or they pause due to physical distress. Injured characters or those soon-to-be unconscious often make good use of this in wavy balloons. Again, you'd be surprised how often you see four or more.
When a character speaks in a foreign language, each block of dialogue is begun with a "less than" symbol and ended with a "greater than" symbol. Often, the first appearance of the language will also end with an asterisk to denote an Editorial Caption that explains the language from which it is being translated.
A relatively recent trend in sound effects; hollow sound effects have an outline, but the center is see-through, so that focal art can still be viewed. This is most often reserved for instances when space constraints, or need for impact demand it. I've never been a fan, and almost always try to find an alternative solution. There's no set rule on hyphenating a long word to make it fit a balloon, but it's generally accepted that you should avoid it if at all possible, and even then, only if it's a compound word that breaks well.
Occasionally, you'll see italics used for non-verbal words like "Uh," or "Huh", or in conjunction with someone who is whispering.
Italics are also used for non-English words and the titles of movies, books, etc. Balloons directly joined together are generally of the same thought process. Two or more expressions that are of the same topic should be executed this way. This rule is most often broken when space constraints don't permit it and you have to use a connector. There are two instances where this is used. The first is when a character says two separate ideas expressed one after the other. The second instance is when two characters are speaking in a panel and the conversation goes back and forth between them.
Their balloons will be staggered and joined with connectors. This rule is most often broken when space constraints don't permit it and you have to join the balloons directly. A lone music note generally denotes whistling. Start with whichever panel is on top, then read the panel just under it. Read manga Japanese comics from right to left. Japanese books are read in reverse order from American books. They are still read top to bottom, but progress from the right to the left and from back to front.
Read both the panels and the dialogue from right to left, and the entire book from the back to the front. Pay attention to dialogue bubble shapes. Differently shaped dialogue bubbles indicate different forms of dialogue. This means a character is talking aloud. This means the character is thinking to themselves. Method 2. Figure out what kinds of stories interest you.
There are all kinds of comic stories besides the usual superhero narrative, so you can approach picking out a comic like you would any other book. If you like romantic stories, there are comics under that genre. If action is more your thing, there are tons of comics that fulfill that want. Pick a genre and start exploring what comics fit the bill. Pick the work of a specific writer. There are just as many comic book writers out there as there are comic book stories.
Select a story that features a character you like. Marvel, come from comic books. Start with the comics that inspired your favorite movies. Many popular comics have been converted into popular movies, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. Checking out these comics first can be a good launching point into getting into other comics. Several authors have written about the histories of comic publishers, series, and characters. Check out different reading lists. Learn the terminology for comics. There are many different terms for the way comics are printed.
They separate the storyline into larger chunks for you to read all at once. These are great finds, but are generally much more expensive. Save this kind of purchase for stories you really like! They are usually released once every month. This is the most common way comics are published.
Method 3. Browse comic shops regularly to buy physical comic books. Comic shops are constantly adding new books to their inventory, and will have plenty of books to peruse while you decide what to read. Physical comics have the advantage of always being readable, even when your Internet is down. They also make it easier to display and show off your collection as it grows.
Purchase digital comics for a convenient way to store your collection. Digital comics are easier to store, since they can all be found in one place. Plenty of comic fans have both digital and print copies of their favorite comics.
Several printed comics also give digital copies of the same issues to buyers at no extra charge. Comics are collectible items. While you buy them to read them, you want to preserve them so you can keep reading them years down the road.
Keep them on shelves like you would normal books, but tuck them into special sleeves to keep them from yellowing. They will be made from plastic, and can be opened and closed with tape. Obtain a few comic books for free.
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