Todd Klein's Blog, page 160

Lettering Tips for Comics Writers

Image © Marvel.

This morning a writer I’m working with asked me if I had any tips for comics writers from a letterer’s point of view. This is something I’m rarely asked, but of course a few things did come to mind. I’m sure I could think of more, and probably will later, but this is what emerged in a half hour or so.

The big one is to write economically, and don’t describe what the art is already showing. Leave room for the art, this is not a novel.


Use of double dash (- -) and ellipsis (…): double dash (replacing an em-dash in regular type) is for an interruption of some kind, ellipsis is for a pause or unfinished sentence. Where one is at the end of a piece of dialogue that continues, it should also be at the beginning of the continuation.


Inner dialogue captions (where we used to employ thought balloons) do not need quotes. Quoted dialogue by someone off-camera does, but you only need an opening quote for multiple captions in a sequence until the final one, which gets a close quote. If such running captions are interrupted by dialogue, I close quote before that.


Spell out numbers up to twenty (thirty, forty, fifty, etc. is optional), use the actual numbers above twenty.


Symbols like % should generally be spelled out in dialogue if possible.


If you are going to emphasize words, make them Bold Italic. With emphasized words, less is more. Read dialogue out loud to find the correct emphasis points, but don’t overdo it. Some emphasis is recommended in large balloons or captions to help break up the large areas of lettering and make them easier to read.


Things to consider that will make your letterer happy: 


Don’t end a dialogue balloon with a very long word that can’t be hyphenated easily. Example: ecclesiastically.


Don’t write characters that repeat things a lot. Yes, there are people who do that, but it’s annoying. I say, it’s annoying, son, annoying, and it takes up too much space. This goes double for stuttering!


If you can, I recommend following in the footsteps of Alan Moore by doing thumbnail layouts with lettering placements of your comics pages yourself. You don’t have to be a great artist to do this, and it will help you understand visual storytelling and balloon placement. Of course, your artist and letterer may have other ideas, but it will give you a better concept of what works and what doesn’t. Remember that lettering is read left to right, then down and left to right again, generally, within a panel, across a row of panels, and over an entire page. Lettering should form a natural flow for the eye across the page. See my website article on balloon placement.

Finally, try to avoid calling for special lettering styles unless they are really needed to understand the story or express a unique characteristic of your cast. In some cases your letterer may decide to volunteer some special styles, but this is an area that is often overdone, and when it is it can make storytelling less clear and reading more difficult. (Yes, yes, I know, SANDMAN, but the exception proves the rule!)

And Then I Read: NEW GODS SPECIAL #1

Image © DC Entertainment.

As part of their tribute to Jack Kirby’s 100th birth anniversary, DC is putting out new books featuring his Fourth World characters. This one features Orion versus Kalibak in the main story, with supporting roles for Lightray and the Bug, Forager (also in a new series) written and pencilled by Shane Davis, inks by Michelle Delecki.. The backup is a story of young Orion and Seagrin (Kirby’s Aquaman, sort of) written and drawn by Walt Simonson, and eight pages of Kirby New Gods reprints.

Davis’s main story reads like something Kirby might have written, except that it’s a retread of things he did write in the original NEW GODS series for the most part. Entertaining enough, but it misses the most essential Kirby element: breaking new ground. The art has many Kirby touches, and several visual homages like the sound effect KIIIRRRBBRACK! The figure work is more along the lines of Jim Lee and other Image Comics artists, though.

Simonson’s backup story is more original and fun, as Walter doesn’t fail to add touches of humor to balance the action and fighting, and the art, while referencing Kirby, is Simonson’s own style, itself full of energy and grace. John Workman’s lettering is part of the Simonson look, and equally fine.

The Kirby material is fairly obscure: two pinups and two very short stories featuring the New God Lonar. Even so, the unique style and energy of Kirby tends to show up much of what came before (even with Vince Colletta inking).

Not a bad package, but with more appeal to nostalgic fans of the original material than new readers, I’d say.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: HAL JORDAN & THE GL CORPS #15

Image © DC Entertainment.

As the Quest for Hope storyline continues, Green and Yellow Lanterns are being paired and sent out by Stewart and Soranik (head of the Greens and Yellows respectively) to track down and either recruit or imprison the remaining rogue Yellow Lanterns. This creates some friction, but not as much as the fact that the three other Earth-born lanterns: Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner, have snuck off on their own missions. Hal and Kyle are trying to find and perhaps rescue Saint Walker, the embodiment of Hope, or the Blue Lanterns. Guy is after a particularly dangerous Yellow.

This all reads well, and the character stories are as interesting as the fights. Writer Robert Venditti seems to be having fun with the DC mythos, and I love the inclusion of the old Julie Schwartz-era minor character Space Cabby. The art by Ethan Van Sciver is impressive, and this book is fun from one end to the other.

Recommended.

Pulled From My Files #65: CRIMEBUSTER LOGO

In 1994 I was asked by John Clark at Gladstone Comics to design a new logo for the 1940s crime fighter Crimebuster. Apparently they were planning on either a new series of stories or reprints, I don’t recall which. These are the first two marker sketches I submitted, after getting direction that they wanted something classic and using block letters, I think. Version 1 uses a lot of space, so I didn’t expect they would want it, but I enjoyed drawing it.

Versions 3 and 4 were more versions based on story logos I found for the character’s appearances in BOY COMICS. Version 4 gives it a more modern rough edge and exclamation point to add interest.

They liked version 4 best, but wanted to see it without the rough edge, and with the exclamation point separate so they could use it with or without. This was the final sketch that was okayed to do the final version, with a few notes from me on minor revisions.

Here’s the final logo, traced over the previous sketch on Denril plastic vellum. I made the front outlines a little bolder like version 4, but without the rough edge, and made minor adjustments here and there.

As far as I know, this was never used on a printed comic. I don’t know why the project was cancelled.

More of these when I have time.

 

Rereading: THE TWELVE AND THE GENII by Pauline Clarke

This excellent book had different titles in the UK (left) and the US (right). By either title it’s a gem.

Max and his family have moved to a new home, but an old house in rural northern England not far from Leeds. Max discovers a hidden treasure in the attic, a set of twelve wooden soldiers, clearly very old, worn, and much loved. To his great surprise, as he plays with them, they begin to come to life. Each has a name, rank, history and distinct personality, and they treat him as a sort of god, or genii, as they call him. Max learns they once belonged to four other genii, he guesses children like him, who created elaborate stories and adventures for them. Somehow that creative energy brought the wooden soldiers to life.

Max’s sister Jane discovers the secret by spying, but soon joins in the game. Max’s older brother Philip is more interested in the possible value of the toys, especially when he hears that a wealthy American is offering a large reward for any set of similar toy soldiers found in the area. The American is looking for the soldiers once owned by the Brontë family in nearby Haworth. The four Brontë children; Branwell, Charlotte, Emily and Ann, wrote extensive stories about “The Young Men,” as they called them, a prelude to the literary fame and careers of the three Brontë sisters. Philip, Max’s older brother writes to the American to say they have such a set of soldiers, and Max is furious when he finds out. He explains the danger to the Twelves, and they decide on their own they must make a dangerous journey to their old home, the Haworth parsonage, now the Brontë Museum, where they will be cherished and protected from being taken overseas.

Not even Max is witness to their escape from the attic and the beginning of their journey, but he and Jane soon figure out what is happening, and help the soldiers along when they can. Still, the Twelves must face many perils in the oversized human world, from automobiles that want to squash them to people who have heard of the reward and want to capture them and collect it themselves.

This is a great story full of imagination and literary relevance. When I read it in my own childhood, it led me to fine books like Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” and Emily’s “Wuthering Heights,” as well as biographies of the talented but tragedy-prone family. It won Britain’s Carnegie Medal in 1963. I recommend it highly.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERNS 16

Image © DC Comics.

One thing I enjoy in comics I read is balance. A balance of serious and humorous, plot and character moments, action and ideas. Gaining balance is difficult, and not often achieved, but writer Sam Humphries gets it right in this one for me.

Simon and Jessica, Earth’s newest GLs are on assignment with Batman in Gotham City for this storyline, to combat a new threat. Ordinary people are becoming obsessed with the idea of killing Batman. Simon Baz thinks The Scarecrow is a likely culprit, but Batman thinks it’s Yellow Lanterns. Guess which of them is right? As Jessica Cruz puts it, “He’s the detective.”

The interactions between these three characters as well as Batman supporting cast members Commissioner Gordon and Alfred, is handled brilliantly. I loved the insights, the humor, and even the clever plot moving the story forward. This is great comics. The art by Neil Edwards, Lay Leisten and Keith Champagne is excellent, too, as is the color by Blond and the lettering by Travis Lanham. Well done, all. Looking forward to more.

Recommended.

Pulled From My Files #64: THE DRIFTER Logo

Sometimes the freelance life brings job prospects that seem promising but don’t go anywhere. Such was the case with this logo assignment from Dana Marchand some time in the early 1990s. I no longer remember exactly what it was for. A comic? A video game? Mr. Marchand contacted me several times with offers like this, but I no longer remember what company or companies he was with. He was a good talker, and convinced me to do logo designs for him several times, but ultimately did not ever accept any, ask for final renderings, or pay for them, though he might have paid me a small kill fee. I think the last time I heard from him, he was working on a Stan Lee-related project and wanted some logos for that. I turned him down, and haven’t heard from him since.

The sketches I have for “The Drifter,” not to be confused with the current Ivan Brandon Image title DRIFTER, are all over the place, suggesting Mr. Marchand did not know what he wanted, and was merely on a fishing expedition. This is something I try to avoid, but as I said, he was a good talker.

I did eight sketches for him on two sheets of typing paper using markers over pencils. On these, THE was left out. Personally I like #7 the best. I have no idea if this project ever came out. If so, I didn’t see it. I’m guessing it didn’t, or the current Image title might have run into rights problems with the name, but that’s just a guess.

More like this when I have time.

The Danny Crespi Files Part 13

This and all images © Marvel.

Continuing my ongoing series about the cover lettering of Danny Crespi at Marvel Comics, mostly from 1974-1979. Photocopies of saved cover lettering from Danny’s files were compiled into a collection by letterer and friend Phil Felix during the 1980s when he worked with Danny on staff at Marvel, and Phil sent me copies. This time I’ll look at pages 49 (above) through 52. Several of these are by Gaspar Saladino: “Brain Parasites,” “Raid on Samisdat’s Island” and “150th Anniversary Issue.” Possibly also “Danger Room Operational.” The rest are by Danny Crespi. Sources follow.

“Man-Ogre” from KULL THE DESTROYER #14, June 1974.

“Sandman” from NOVA #14, Oct. 1977. The dot texture in Sandman is a cool idea, but it makes the name hard to read, especially when colored this way. I would have held those dots in a light brown.

“Nebulon” from THE DEFENDERS #34, April 1976. This one, on the other hand, really pops in red and yellow, which also matches the logo.

“Danger Room Operational” from UNCANNY X-MEN 122, June 1979. I strongly suspect Gaspar Saladino lettered this cover, though it could have been Jim Novak. Tle letters are too tall for Crespi.

“Special double-sized 150th” from IRON MAN #150, Sept. 1981. This one is definitely by Gaspar Saladino I think.

“To The Death” from TARZAN #23, April 1979. Note the two lines have been spread apart, as there’s lots of room.

“Brain Parasites” from FANTASTIC FOUR #227, Feb. 1981. This one has the flair and creativity that says Gaspar Saladino to me, and would be very late for Crespi.

“Kingpin Must Die” from DAREDEVIL #170, May 1981. I wasn’t sure about who did this at first, but Nel Yomtov says it’s by Danny Crespi, and the more I look at it, the more I agree. Interesting to see how much of DIE! can be covered without making it hard to read.

“Raid on Samisdat’s Island” from MASTER OF KUNG FU #95, Dec. 1980. Again, the styles of this one indicate Saladino to me.

Page 50. These are all by Danny Crespi except possibly “Doc Ock.” Sources below.

“Menace” from IRON MAN #109, April 1978. The texture in MENACE works well here.

“Demons on the Moon” from SHOGUN WARRIORS #13, Feb. 1980. Note that the original lettering seems to have been done by outlining and filling around the letters in black. Possibly it’s a reversed photostat, hard to tell. That makes it easy to see how it will print, if so.

“Doc Ock” from CAPTAIN AMERICA #259, July 1981. This would be late for Crespi, and the letter shapes and burst don’t look like his work to me. I don’t know who did do it, though.

“Guardians Last Stand” from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #12, Aug. 1977.

Page 51. All by Danny Crespi except probably “Living Demons.”  Sources below, except for “Black Panther,” which I can’t find.

“Molten Man” from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #173, Oct. 1977. The texture in the letters and the drips under it are kind of overkill, but it reads fine.

“Call her Hecate” from MS. MARVEL #12, Dec. 1977.

“A Grave Honeymoon” from VAULT OF EVIL #16, Dec. 1974. The placement of the blurb over the open grave is unfortunate, but that’s not Crespi’s fault.

“Peril of the Apes” from IRON MAN #82, Jan. 1976. Dark green is not a color I would use to fill open letters, but it does still read okay here thanks to Danny’s heavy outlines.

“Isle of the Living Demons” from GODZILLA #5, Dec. 1977. This blurb is not typical of Danny’s work. Nel Yomtov suggests it might be by Jim Novak. I would have removed the outer box, I don’t think it’s needed.

Page 52. I think the top one is lettered by Jim Novak, the rest are by Danny Crespi. Sources below.

“Nomad” from CAPTAIN AMERICA #261, Sept. 1981. This is much like the work of Gaspar Saladino, but I think it’s by Jim Novak, whose work is very similar. The balloon shape decides it for me. I would not have used such a dark fill color in the tagline.

“Starjammers” from X-MEN #107, Oct. 1977. Red and yellow almost always work, and here match the logo as well.

“The Dead Don’t Sleep” from UNCANNY TALES #11, Aug. 1975. While I don’t like the green color, this is handsome lettering.

“Unliving” from AVENGERS #131, Jan. 1975.

More when I have time to research it, previous posts in this series can be found on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

And Then I Read: THE SHADOW #63

For a number of years, Anthony Tollin’s Sanctum Books has been putting vintage Shadow pulp stories and related material back into print, and Tony was kind enough to give me this one a few years ago. I’ve just read it.

Many of the Shadow stories were written by Walter B. Gibson, but prolific as he was, he couldn’t do them all. The first of these, “The Wasp Returns” is written by Gibson, the second, “The Devil’s Paymaster” is written by Theodore Tinsley, who also worked on a similar pulp, “The Spider.” I found the Tinsley story, first in the issue, to be the more interesting of the two, as it takes The Shadow to some unusual places and activities, including underwater. Both stories are heavily plot driven, and each plot is quite complicated, with lots of twists and turns, unusual inventions or death devices, many characters whose allegiance is not always clear, or is subject to change, and lots of suspense, danger and thrills. In both these stories, one gets a fuller picture of the man whose major role is that of The Shadow, but who has other lives and roles as well.

The Wasp, the adversary in his story, is an attempt to give The Shadow a worthy adversary who is just as clever and strange in his own way. It didn’t always work for me, The Wasp seems almost too strange to believe in at times, but his plans are quite clever. Some of The Shadow’s many helpers and agents appear, but none gets a lot of story time, most of the focus is on the villainous gangs and bosses and The Shadow himself. There are the obligatory elements such as a visit to The Shadow’s hidden Sanctum, his ability to appear and disappear mysteriously, his chilling laugh, and his blazing guns, all drawn from the original radio show.

Also here is a script from one of those shows with a plot involving comic strips. With a foreword by Michael Uslan and additional material by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin, this is a nice package for pulp fans, and a worthy series.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH #18

Image © DC Entertainment.

I’m falling behind on this and other DC titles, and it feels like I haven’t visited Barry Allen’s world in a while. Here a new storyline begins that focuses on Kid Flash’s real father, the Reverse-Flash. Wally wants to see him, but he’s been moved to Belle Reve prison in Louisiana, secretly the home of Suicide Squad. When Barry and Wally try to find him there, they run into unexpected trouble. Perhaps Digger Harkness, the former Captain Boomerang, can provide some answers when they track him down.

Nothing wrong with this story, but there have been so many versions of the Flash cast and family over the last few years that I’m never quite sure who they are now. Thankfully, writer Joshua Williamson is filling me in as we go along, but it all kind of feels like an Elseworlds story, and made more confusing for me by having watched some of the TV series, which is all different again, and has itself switched things up constantly. Still, willing to see where this goes, but I kind of long for the days when a title’s cast stayed consistent for many years.

Mildly recommended.