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777:(c. 1945 – c. 1955) was different from other publishers – its mechanical appearance gave it a sterile aspect, and helped define the particular style of comics EC was known for. EC's letterers achieved their particular look by using a Leroy lettering set, a device popular amongst draftsmen and architects. The Leroy lettering set consisted of a stylus and a
719:
In deference to tradition, at first computer lettering was printed out and pasted onto the original artwork, but after a few years, as comics coloring also moved to desktop publishing, digital lettering files began to be used in a more effective way by combining them directly with digital art files,
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that resembles hand lettering. Computer lettering provides a lot of technical shortcuts, especially by combining the lettering work directly with digital art files, eliminating the tedious physical paste-up stage altogether. Some letterers handwrite part of the script. Hand-lettering is often used
813:
There are also still comics artists and inkers who prefer to have the lettering directly on their pages. First, it saves drawing time (not having to put art where a big caption will be); and second, comics tell a story, and a page of comics art without the lettering is only half the story.
502:. By the late 1940s, it became possible to make a living just lettering comic strips and comic books for artists, studios, and companies that did not have the time or desire to do it in-house. The career of freelance letterer was born, and by the 1950s, letterers such as
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From the 1930 through the 1990s (with a few exceptions), the letterer plied his craft on the same page drawn by the penciler. (The penciled art was then inked after the letterer has completed his work on the page.) At DC Comics during the
652:" of the 1960s, pencilers were required to "rough in balloons and sound effects" for the letterers to later go over. An accomplished letterer was able to adapt his or her style to the style of the art for that particular book.
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did the same at DC. Since then the trend has swung the other way, with most comics publishers once again using freelance letterers rather than in-house staff. Nearly all use computer and digital comic book fonts.
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By the time comic books came of age in the 1940s, the huge volume of work demanded by publishers had encouraged an assembly-line process, dividing the creative process into distinct tasks: writer,
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In the early years of the 21st
Century, the mainstream American comics companies moved almost exclusively to in-house computer lettering, effectively ending the era of the freelance letterer.
632:" as Marvel Comics' "page-one" letterer for much of the same period. Gaspar's work became so iconic that various independent comics publishers which sprang up in the 1970s and 1980s – such as
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Starting in around 1966, Ira
Schnapp's classic, art deco-inspired look was replaced by the pulsing, organic style of Gaspar Saladino, who redesigned DC's house style for the
724:
was ahead of the curve, Marvel came around a few years later, and DC held to traditional production methods the longest, but now nearly all lettering is digitally applied.
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toes a middle ground between traditional and digital lettering. In addition to his "on-the-art boards work", Workman has been electronically hand-lettering by way of a
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Computer lettering really started making an impact with the availability of the first commercial comic book font, "Whizbang" (created by Studio
Daedalus) around 1990.
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also had a "best letterer" category until the Awards' demise in 1975.) Since the creation of the Eisner and Harvey lettering awards (in 1993 and 1992, respectively),
664:, began in the 1980s, and started having a gradual impact on comics lettering soon after. One of the first users of computer-generated lettering was writer/artist
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456:: the story title lettering and other special captions and credits that usually appear on a story's first page. The letterer also writes the letters in the
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has dominated the Eisner, winning fifteen times, and has come away with the Harvey eight times. Other repeat Harvey Award winners include
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DC Comics used a stable of more than 20 letterers in the comics they published in the 1950s and 1960s (some of the letterers — like
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Interview with Gaspar
Saladino in "Silver Age Sage," The Silver Lantern: A Tribute to the Silver Age of DC Comics (May 25, 2007).
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62:
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Mark
Evanier quoted in Brian Cronin's "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" #66, Comic Book Resources (Aug. 21, 2006).
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defined the DC Comics look for nearly thirty years. Starting in 1940, he designed or refined such iconic logos as
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1332:"The Invisible Art in Plain Sight: A Look at the Art of Lettering," Comic Book Resources (June 9, 2000).
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seal, which was a fixture on comic book covers from all major companies for over forty years.)
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era. Gaspar became the cover letterer for all of DC's books throughout the 1970s, and even "
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1280:"ABCs with Orzechowski," Comicon.com: The Pulse (Dec. 30, 2003). Retrieved July 17, 2008.
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Member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text
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The evolution of desktop publishing powered by computers, especially those made by
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Ninja
Lettering – extensive website devoted to the craft of comic book lettering
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Balloon Tales – the
Comicraft studio's online guide to comic book lettering
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Most Marvel and DC books are now lettered using a graphics program such as
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all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's
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1251:"Computer lettering," Todd Klein: Lettering – Logos – Design.
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The traditional comic book letterer needs little more than a
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designed the fonts for Marvel's in-house lettering unit, and
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1124:"How it all began," Todd Klein: Lettering – Logos – Design.
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Cartoonists known for the lettering on their own comics:
1301:, Casey Burns official website. Accessed May 21, 2011.
1137:"The Big Chill," Dial B for Blog #376 (Oct. 10, 2006).
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Dial B for Blog #490 (Sept.). Accessed May 19, 2011.
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Dial B for Blog #497 (Sept.). Accessed May 19, 2011.
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Dial B for Blog #489 (Sept.). Accessed May 18, 2011.
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eliminating the physical paste-up stage altogether.
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1233:"Gaspar Saladino — A New Star on the DC Horizon,"
514:were crafting full-time careers as letterers for
1320:"Lettering part 2," POV Online (Jan. 17, 1997).
1316:"Lettering part 1," POV Online (Jan. 10, 1997)
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1148:"Letterer Index," DC Comics Artists.
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1204:"Gaspar Saladino — Atlas Shrugged!"
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1188:"Gaspar Saladino — The Natural,"
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1299:"Squa Tront and Spa Fon (2001)"
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1139:Retrieved July 21, 2008.
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1372:Visual arts occupations
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1043:Jean (Moebius) Giraud
691:Flaming Carrot Comics
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484:America's Best Comics
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319:South African comics
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454:"display lettering"
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1216:"Gaspar Saladino,"
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874:Notable letterers
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733:Ken Lopez
710:Comicraft
598:Joe Rosen
548:The Flash
516:DC Comics
508:Sam Rosen
492:penciller
442:typefaces
347:Community
277:Hong Kong
58:Education
1283:Archived
1068:Dave Sim
837:and the
825:tablet.
801:, and a
542:Superman
500:colorist
434:letterer
140:Webcomic
63:Glossary
22:Letterer
1161:B.D.S.
1099:Blambot
941:Ben Oda
714:Blambot
630:ghosted
588:Ben Oda
512:Ben Oda
473:Origins
468:History
380:Writers
180:Belgium
145:Webtoon
76:Methods
68:History
861:, and
759:vellum
640:, and
551:, and
522:, and
510:, and
498:, and
450:layout
355:Awards
284:Manhwa
272:Manhua
188:Quebec
184:France
28:Comics
823:Wacom
662:Apple
496:inker
375:Sales
267:Manga
1318:and
803:font
680:and
568:and
797:or
716:).
688:'s
1353::
1271:^
1240:^
1195:^
865:.
857:,
853:,
793:,
694:.
636:,
545:,
539:,
526:.
518:,
506:,
444:,
432:A
648:"
421:e
414:t
407:v
279:)
275:(
212:)
208:(
190:)
186:/
182:/
178:(
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