Todd Lyles ([info]toddlyles) wrote,
@ 2006-12-17 14:06:00
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Current mood: curious
Current music:Half Step, DJ Food

To the comic readers out there...
Thought balloons? Yes or no?

Why?


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[info]roguebitch
2006-12-17 09:02 pm UTC (link)

I'm sort of a fan of the train-of-thought section at the bottom of the page, separated by a bar, and using quotation marks. It's less distracting that way -- I can look at the art and also read that thoughts of the character in succession.

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[info]toddlyles
2006-12-19 03:22 am UTC (link)
That tends to be more of a one panel comic, though, doesn't it?

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[info]roguebitch
2006-12-20 08:52 pm UTC (link)

You know, I'm not really sure. I guess I could go through all my graphic novels to see if it's been used in them, but I just don't have that kind of time. All I know is what I like. ;->

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[info]videosmith
2006-12-17 11:02 pm UTC (link)
my immediate response was hell yes, then i bothered to read the title of your post and was like oh, he means in comic books not just like attached to your head with a string... god i'm a wack job sometimes.

so in comic books, i'd say no if there is another way to tell me what the character is thinking it was be great to do it without cluttering up the panels with extra balloons.

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[info]roguebitch
2006-12-17 11:27 pm UTC (link)
my immediate response was hell yes, then i bothered to read the title of your post and was like oh, he means in comic books not just like attached to your head with a string... god i'm a wack job sometimes.


Oh hell no. I don't think my having thought balloons following me around would be good for me either socially or career-wise.

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[info]toddlyles
2006-12-19 03:23 am UTC (link)
Ditto!

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[info]toddlyles
2006-12-19 03:23 am UTC (link)
That does tend to be the vogue in comics at the moment...show don't tell.

But sometimes showing can be boring if it takes a zillion panels...

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[info]arymetore
2006-12-18 04:34 pm UTC (link)
For the most part yes. As long as they aren't too wordy and there are more than one character in the scene cause then the word ballons help define who said what. Something I have seen used to good effect was word ballons that have a colored edge and each color corresponds to a specific character so it is easier to tell (especially if the character is "off-stage"). If there is a single character in the scene, then bottom of the cell train of thought might work better. Cause it is understood he is the one doing the talking... unless he is receiving telepathic messages or someone is "voicing over" for him.

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[info]toddlyles
2006-12-19 03:24 am UTC (link)
Indeed

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[info]vaklam
2006-12-18 08:44 pm UTC (link)
Always yes. Especially if it involves an ongoing story with multiple panels per page.

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[info]toddlyles
2006-12-19 03:26 am UTC (link)
Always? Do you feel it saves time (keeps the story moving) or is it easier to hold the reader's attention?

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[info]vaklam
2006-12-19 10:50 pm UTC (link)
Both. As long as you aren't writing Kevin-Smith dialogue the balloons won't take up too much space. Also, it's easier to tell who's talking or thinking.

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