Letterer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In comics, the letterer is the person who draws the letters in the word balloons, draws in sound effects and usually designs a book's logo. This may seem like an easy job, but the right use of fonts, letter size, and layout of the words inside the balloon all contribute to the impact of the text. A good letterer is a good calligrapher, and a great letterer has as much to do with the quality of the comic as the penciler, inker, writer, or colorist.
While many comics are still hand lettered, most mainstream American comics are lettered using a graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator and a font that usually resembles lettering done by hand. Many cartoonists who formerly lettered by hand now use a computer font made to match their handwriting.
Both the Eisner Awards and the Harvey Awards have a "best letterer" category.
Leading letterers in the comics industry include:
- Jim Aparo
- John Costanza
- Ellie de Ville
- Chris Eliopoulos
- Tom Frame
- Jared K. Fletcher
- Todd Klein
- Dave Lanphear
- Jack Morelli
- Jim Novak
- Bill Oakley
- Ben Oda
- Tom Orzechowski
- Annie Parkhouse
- Bill Pearson
- Joe Rosen
- Sam Rosen
- Gaspar Saladino
- Henry Shikuma
- Artie Simek
- Richard Starkings
- John Workman
- Jim Wroten
- Margaret Wroten
- Bill Yoshida
Cartoonists known for the lettering on their own comics include:
Companies that provide computer lettering include:
