Comics and Critical Thinking Ontario Teacher’s Federation It’s About Time – Critical Thinking and Technology Ministry of Education – Teacher Learning and Leadership Program Sally B. MacDonald Teacher-Librarian Sunnybrae Public School

Visual Components of a Comic Lettering

Lettering The lettering plays a very important role in comics. Bold lettering – emphasizes words Large letters in dialogue – shouting Small letters in dialogue – whispering Dialogue and caption lettering is usually all in upper case. Display lettering – sound effects; store signage, license plates, computer screen, (Anina Bennett)

Shouting and Whispering Bold lettering – emphasizes words Large letters in dialogue – shouting Small letters in dialogue – whispering In this case the word balloon also plays an important role in depicting the voice. Snider, Jesse Blaze Waid, Mark, and Landry Walker

Caption Lettering and Display Lettering Dialogue and caption lettering is usually all in upper case. Display lettering – sound effects; store signage, license plates, computer screen, Snider, Jesse Blaze Ferrari, Alessandro

Captions A caption is used to denote narration, a transitional text, or dialogue that is happening off panel. Captions are either encompassed in rectangular borders or are borderless. Borderless lettering is referred to as “floating lettering”. (Anina Bennett)

Captions It is interesting that the cartoonist has chosen to only use selective colour in these panels. What purpose does this serve? Waid, Mark, and Landry Walker

Sound Effects (SFX) Sound effects are represented by floating letters. The lettering is usually stylized. This is another aspect of comics that can be easily overused. (Anina Bennett)

SFX Fisch, ShollySnider, Jesse Blaze Tobin, Paul

Works Cited Barbera, Hanna, and Ivan Velez. "Chills and Spills! Scooby-Doo!" Comic Strip. Ed. Harvey Richards. Vol. #152. New York: DC Comics, Print. Bennett, Anina. "Visual Language: Writing for Comics." Bigredhair. Web. 14 Dec Bledsoe, Glen. Comic Life. Computer Software. Comiclife.com. Web. 11 Jan Ferrari, Alessandro. "Walt Disney Comics." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. Vol. #702. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, Print.

Works Cited Continued Fisch, Sholly. "Batman The Brave and The Bold." Comic Strip. Ed. Michael Siglan. Mixed Signals. Vol. 13. New York: DC Comics, Print. McCloud, Scott. "Cartoon." World Book Student. World Book Inc. Web. 11 Jan McCloud, Scott. "Comics." World Book Student. World Book Online. Web. 11 Jan Norton, B. (2003). The Motivating Power of Comic Books: Insight from Archie Comic Readers. The Reading Teacher, 57, 140–147.

Works Cited Continued Snider, Jesse Blaze. "Toy Story: The Return of Buzz Lightyear Part 2." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Disney Pixar. Vol. 1. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, Print. Tobin, Paul. "Marvel Adventures The Avengers." Comic Strip. Ed. Nathan Cosby. Vol. 36. New York: Marvel Inc, Print. Waid, Mark, and Landry Walker. "The Incredibles." Comic Strip. Ed. Aaron Sparrow. Disney Pixar. Vol. 4. Los Angeles: Boom Kids, Print. Danuta Woloszynowicz- “Comic Life- A Tool to Motivate Struggling Readers and Writers”. SMCDSB Curriculum/Technology Consultant 2009