Letterer
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In comic books, 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.
Famous letterers include:
- Jim Aparo
- John Costanza
- Chris Eliopolous
- Todd Klein
- Dave Lanphear
- Jim Novak
- Bill Oakley
- Ben Oda
- Tom Orzechowski
- Joe Rosen
- Gaspar Saladino
- Henry Shikuma
- Artie Simek
- Richard Starkings
Cartoonists known for the lettering on their own comics include:
Companies that provide computer lettering include: