Timewaster's Guide Archive
Departments => Books => Topic started by: EUOL on April 16, 2004, 05:26:56 PM
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Why is it, in comic books (and sometimes in webcomics) that the authors decided to bold virtually every other word in their dialogue? This has always been one of the things that has always kept me from reading comic books. The dialogue doesn't feel natural to me, because people just don't put stresses in their speech that often.
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naturally you expect me to be one of the people posting an answer to this question.
I too, think it's over used.
However, to a certain extent it does help you explain how to read it. For those of us used to prose narrative, we put our own emphasis into the speaking. With comics, they put bolds in to help us see what words are key in the way the character is saying it. it helps to not think of them as stressed as people (at least me, and apparently you as well) tend to think a bold word is used. Often I think the letterist tends to bold words stressed in concept, not actually speach.
The above, naturally mitigates to a certain exten the over-use of bold, but imo, does not make up for ALL of it. It's still over-used typically.
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I've seen a lot of comic scripts (plain old text documents before they're turned into comics) and the bolded words are all in there as well, usually capitalized, and they're all over the place and very hard to read. I think they do it too much, but I've also noticed that the more I read the more I don't notice it.
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Remember, comics are melodrama. Melodrama commands the use of bold emphasis and overblown dialogue. It's just part of the genre.
"Great SCOTT! Captain Nazi, you diabolical FIEND! How DARE you threaten a busload of NUNS with your (GASP), Penguins of DOOM!"
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OF DOOM!