A Panel Shaped Screen is a monthly column where Giada Zavarise explores how comics and videogames inspire each other. This time, Giada compares the way comics and games visually represent conversations.
Being a comics letterer is not a real job. Or at least, that s what most people believe. After all, letterers only have to make balloons and fill them with the words written by someone else. It sounds so simple – a job a computer should be able to do automatically. I mean, they basically do already, ‘cos these days letterers don t even have to write the text by hand anymore! They only need to know how to draw circles and copy-paste words in Photoshop.
This notion is, of course, wrong. You never notice when a letterer has done a good job, because their goal is to remain unseen. They work hard so your eyes can fly effortlessly over the page, always knowing who said what and where to look next. Explore a lettering site like Blambot and shudder in fear at the number of rules needed to make a single balloon look good, from the distance between text and balloons borders to the shape of the balloons themselves. Lettering is a difficult job that mixes composition, typography and design, but we only notice it when it’s done badly. It’s truly a pity we don’t take it more seriously, because videogames would benefit from a deeper understanding of this invisible art.