Besides, it doesn’t matter what the reader wants or what others think the lettering should be like.

As long as the client is happy with the final product the work is a success.

One of the most surprising things about manga is that, even now, most mangaka still use a manual cut-and-paste method for lettering. They have a printer specially for making the text, which they cut and taped or rubber-glued onto the art board, which would then be scanned or photocopied to create the final manuscript for the publisher. Seems like a pointless amount of extra work to me, but they have their reasons…

The white space… that was in reference to space between the balloon edge and the text block, the margins, so to speak. If kerned professionally, text blocks are harmonious and not full of empty space.

I understand that, for more adult-oriented books, putting the thoughts in boxes is seen as “cooler” than projecting them onto a puffy cloud. Makes sense. But certainly for younger audiences, there’s no finer way to get inside the character’s head, and there are few comic elements more distinctive than the shapes of those balloons.

I hope they are teaching them better in school now.

>Does manga use mechanical fonts, or “hand lettered” fonts?

In professionally released manga, yes, there is almost always only one universally used mechanical font (outside of sound effects, of course). That’s due to the use of kanji. It’s time-consuming to write by hand.

>Were manga lettering conventions used correctly in this book?

I’m not suggesting that the lettering was done correctly or incorrectly according to manga conventions, nor would I impose those conventions on it. Just that, as someone used to reading manga, it doesn’t look like it’s wasting too much space.

However, the Times New Roman font itself looks weak and insubstantial as a dialogue font. It lacks body, and doesn’t “fill in” well. That may further add to your impression that there is a lot of white space.

Mr. Martin–>

>The balloon should be treated as a compositional element.

That’s one of the first things I observed about Twilight since the first preview images came out… it didn’t look like consideration was given to the text until after the artwork was completed. The professional artists on this board are infinitely more qualified than I to give you an answer, but in all the instances where I’ve been privileged to witness work in progress, be it manga or comics, the balloons are an integral part of the process, included even at the thumbnailing stage.

Does the Twilight manga include production design notes? Most publishers are adept at using various typefaces for text, and I am a bit surprised at Hachette’s choice. It’s not as bad as the small-press, laser-printed, print-on-demand, vanity press paperbacks set in MS Word Times Roman. As comics… yeah, it takes you out of the story, and that is a sin worthy of Torquemada. I doubt there are many prima donnas in the Hachette design staff, and I’m certain they are skilled professionals who’s greatest success is doing a job which almost no one will notice. However… did no one think to read Todd Klein’s DC guide, or Comicraft’s compact guide to comicbook lettering? Or at least consult with the Yen staff or Chip Kidd or any of the Eisner nominees?

Word balloons are tricky… they must be read as text, but at a larger size. They generally act like headlines, thus requiring title faces, but must be reduced in size to achieve visual harmony with the artwork and the story. Also, the text size must be larger for legibility, but not so large that it implies energy or emotion.

Does manga use mechanical fonts, or “hand lettered” fonts? Do the readers notice or care? Is it a concious decision by the studio or publisher? Do certain genres or audiences demand certain typefaces?

Mr. Jones, thank you for the explanation. Were manga lettering conventions used correctly in this book? (I guess we should wait for the Japanese edition to compare.)

If Hachette owns the European rights, I suspect the word balloon placement will stay. I also suspect that the larger balloons are a result of the “Finnish surplus”, which requires more space than other languages. (Defined by Don Rosa.) Even then, lettering can be manipulated to minimize that extra space. (I bet you never noticed it in a Rosa duck story, have you?)

My 13-year-old daughter devoured it in one breathless sitting. No mention of lettering.