I've never met a letterer I didn't like. Sure, I've seen lettering I didn't care for, but the professionals themselves have always struck me as talented, reasonably sane craftsmen who deeply care about their work. Work that is often taken for granted in this business, as the threat of technology looms.

  The Mission
  Writing: Selling The Story
  Pencilling: The Dance
  Lettering: Balloons Are Round
  Inking: Satan
  The Priest Hate List

Good lettering strikes me as simple idea: Clean, well-formed, uniform characters comfortably spaced. The irony of organic creatures mimicking the cold precision of machines. Of course, people are not machines. The difference between a letterer and a typesetting machine is the tiniest fraction of a centimeter's difference between the "E" in the middle of the word "difference" and those at the end of it. Good lettering has something most type available to us can never have: it has personality. It has a million variables that come with being a human being rather than a machine. Good lettering should be legible, expressive, exciting, and totally invisible. Not much to ask for. Lettering complements the art. Together, they Tell The Story. They don't compete with each other. Rather, they blend to form and present a single, cohesive idea.

So, letterers are great and, unless you're just breaking in, I'm preaching to the converted. So, let's talk about my preferences.

Balloons Are Round. They are. I've never seen a birthday party balloon that wasn't round. Yes, of course, there were some misshapen ones twisted into some tortured state by a drunken uncle, but by and large, balloons are round. In comics, sometimes balloons are oval. That's okay, too. But, a round-ish oval. An oval that would be round if the writer wasn't stuffing so many words into it.

I don't like oblong balloons. You know, the kind with one or two lines in it that stretch from one end of the paper to the other. I don't like balloons that puff out here and there. I prefer balloons with a uniform shape to them, rather than the Michelin Man variety. Exceptions include the "Dagwood" style puffy balloons with Mr. Bumstead's hair sticking out of four corners to indicate telepathy, and the occasional misshapen thought balloon. By and large, though, balloons are round or oval and I'd like to keep it that way.

Balloons stick to the panel borders. If it's close enough to stick to a border, please stick it there. If you're a writer or artist placing copy, please indicate the balloons to be anchored to a panel border unless there's a specific dramatic point to be made by a floating balloon. Bursts almost always work better floating, as much of the drama is lost when you crop off part of the jagged ellipse.

Balloons have straight pointers. Please place your copy so the pointer is aiming at the head of the person talking, rather than his crotch or her foot. Place the balloon where the pointer can be ruled in. Exceptions include balloon pointers trailing off-panel; a casual zig-zag always conveys distance to me. Also, electric balloons get electric pointers which can zig wherever. Balloons from ghosts, ghoulies, zombies, etc. can break all the rules. Same with balloons from drugged, drunken, half-ko'ed folks who are just coming around.

Robot balloons are square. Well, they can be square, they don't have to be. It's just real clear to me that some mechanical device is speaking when I see a square or rectangular balloon.

Word balloons have two sentences in them. Max. Maybe three phrases. If you've got more than 35 or so words in a balloon, you should consider breaking it into two balloons. Big blobs of copy slow the reading process as the eye stops moving across the page and settles on this intimidating block. Folks, Tell The Story. Keep the eye moving by breaking your copy into smaller units and allowing the art the breathe.

Of course, all these rules are subject to the particulars of the job you're working on. If the penciller hasn't left enough room for the balloons to be round or oval, then do the best you can. If you run into a major problem, let me know and we'll take steps to solve it.

I've included my old lettering style template here.

  Inking: Satan