Thought Balloons.
monkey010101
Posts: 77
Is it just me or have thought balloons stopped being used in comics? I can't remember when I last saw one. Have they fallen out of favour or is there some other reason for them not being used? (I'm waiting for everyone to produce hundreds of examples now to prove me wrong!)
Comments
Sort of.
They're actually still there, just disguised.
Now they're color-coded boxes.
Frankly, I disagree. Comics are a completely different medium (from either the movies or real life...) and, as such, the thought balloons are a convenient vehicle for conveying what the characters are really thinking or feeling, or for getting out some exposition that might be difficult to work into the story otherwise.
Here’s where I make the destinction between the thought balloon and the caption box: The caption box is narration. It’s what the character is willing to tell the audience. The thought balloon is what the character is actually thinking, uncensored. There are interesting storytelling possibilities in using a mix of both to give a deeper insight into a character.
The core of the comics industry for 75+ years have been grounded in things that have no basis in reality.
I guess it all depends on whether they suit the story thats being told.
Continued stories that don't have a recap. Not everybody follows a story arc from the first chapter; some of us aren't even following that title to begin with, and jump in when they see an interesting cover, or are told by someone that they should be checking this book out. Some books, mostly a lot of Marvels, do insert a recap on their title page, but I've seen quite a few others that assume that you've been there all along and don't offer so much as a footnote.
Which brings me to...
Lack of footnotes. Come on, editors! Does it hurt to do a little research when an event within a chapter refers to some incident from years ago? Or to clue the reader into what books should be read within a certain order? That's what footnotes are for!!
Stories that have no title. I'm a traditionalist. I like my stories to have titles. It bugs me to refer a friend to a story and not be able to give him a title. Titles give a story identity.
Titles and credits on the last page. What's the point of that!? Are you afraid of giving something away!? It's not all as classy as you think it is.
What time is the early bird?
:hoists trousers:
Me? I know they are a tool in the toolbox, and they will eventually come back...however, as I am putting together scripts for my webcomic's return, I am finding I like writing without them. They seem too much like the over-exposition of comics in the 70's...kind of like when an artist would draw a rainy street scene and the writer felt he had to say it was raining in both a caption and a thought balloon...
It's an old law of writing: Show, don't tell. Don't have the character think "I am so depressed", SHOW what that character would do when they are depressed. Do they mope around int he rain? Do they frantically try to call friends? Do they busy themselves with empty action? Build character by showing what they do.
They have 52 stories each month, in their perfect world a person would be reading 52 comics every month. 11 or more of those 52 have something to do with Batman. Why wouldn't you let people know what happened at the begging of each new book? I'm usually 4 pages in on Batgirl every month before I remember what the main story is about.
And yes I agree, the credits in the back or on page 12 or whatever they do is annoying too. First page so I know who inked it please
And don't get me started on generic covers. What happened to dialogue and thought balloons there?
One of the masters of the technique.
Well, sure... if you write them that way.