Word walls. let's talk about dialoge

[brunoharm3]

I am writing a complex story in a very small format. I'm stubbornly holding on to the sunday paper style three panel strip. I'm hoping it's part of my comic's charm. But it's a tight space, and a lot has to happen to keep the story moving. So I guess I'm wondering if there's any guidelines as to how much writing is ok in a comic. when is it too much to read?
(and if you want an example of what I mean , I'd love the feedback)

[UltHamBro]

For instance, I think panel 2 of chapter 5 would look better with two word baloons, you could summarise panel 1 of chapter 6 a bit (I think it'd be better if the dialogue were in two panels instead of one, but I understand that you want to stick to the 3 panel format), and chapter 7 just seems to contain too much text.

That said, I think that you should try to tell the different situations in two episodes: six panels instead of three (for example, extend chapter 7 so it happens in chapters 7 and 8). It's not that much text, to be fair, but I think that it sometimes looks a bit too crowded.

[winglesscomic]

I get wary when text bubbles look too crowded so I prefer breaking them up to give the illusion that there isn't that much text to read. I think that's the approach your comic could use, because there's nothing worse than seeing WORDS WORDS WORDS.

Like UltHamBro said it really isn't that much text but on the page you linked, I would break up the bubbles in that second panel like this.
"I was actually on a missing persons case. A young woman."
"Her credit card was used at this bar. I was on my way there when the shooting started."

That sort of thing makes it flow better instead of having to read one large text bubble, which can look pretty daunting.

[UzukiCheverie]

(for some reason this didn't post? lol)

Short answer: Let your art do the talking. While you can't explain an entire story with art, you should start training yourself to briefly include information in a way that people don't feel overwhelmed, but can still get the gist if not the full impact of the story in a clear and concise way.

Long answer: To be honest, newspaper sunday strip style comics were meant for just that - sunday comics. They never really contained story, and went through the same process of setting up a joke - Set up, Build up/Establishing, Punchline.

If you're really attached to doing the newspaper style comic, then I suggest maybe doing them like Bill Watterson did for Calvin and Hobbes whenever he did his full-color Calvin and Hobbes strips; it would at least give you more room to work with.

Other than all that advice above, unfortunately to say, three strip comics weren't built to hold deep stories. You COULD draw them with stories (Watterson did with several strips of course), but you'd have to keep the content light and understandable/relatable right from the get-go. Forcing a complex/deep story with limited panels/room for art is like trying to smush two magnets of the same charge together - it just doesn't work, and you might end up doing more damage to your comic than good (have i used the magnet analogy already? I feel like I've used it already somewhere else lol)

[brunoharm3]

I think Dick Tracy might disagree. Prince Valiant, Rex Morgan. There are definitely stories in three panel comics, but it is problematic. I agree with most of what I've heard so far. I might even break out of the format one day, but part of the reason I keep it like this is due to time constraints. I have a job and a family. I guess I was looking for some old "rules of thumb" to try to help lay things out. It's a real contest between setting up a joke, and moving the story

[Zannen00]

@winglesscomic may i know the Name of that manga?

newspaper sunday strip style comics were meant for just that - sunday comics. They never really contained story

I remember reading Dick Tracy on the paper (And not understand what the heck happen cause i missed a few paper)
And Marvel comics (Spiderman,Batman.) so it's possible?

[Zannen00]

Oh dang,NINJA'D!!

Was about to post mine

[UzukiCheverie]

I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it can be tricky, especially if you're new to the style/medium.

And I'm well aware there are story comics that have been done in three panel style, but from what I understand, the three panel style was originally used and made for punchlines and jokes. That doesn't mean you can't do stories, it's just it can be tricky and you have to set it up just right.

[facemeltingsolos]

Have you thought about slowing down your storytelling? It doesn't work in novel format because you want to propel a reader, but in this Sunday comics type it may help deflate some of those balloons.

Another thing to try is taking your shears and cruelly chopping off any dialogue that isn't completely vital. Let's take that first balloon in the comic you linked: "It wasn't just the weed. All the stuff from the shootout was missing. Shells, jewelry, photos, clothing, you name it."

Would it be possible to keep the same impact if it was something like: "Not just the weed. Everything was gone. Shells, jewelry, photos, you name it."

You might be able to chop it more, but I'm sure you get the idea. It's tough chopping dialogue, especially if you're a student to the way people actually talk. Problem is, dialogue can't be real speech without being mostly mundane ("Um, uh, so like, uh, the weather is pretty like, uh, nice right now, right?"). Start off with adverbs, adjectives and other emphasizing words. That "actually" in the second panel is taking up a lot of space and not giving much back.

I like that punchline, though. And is she freaking spitting in his beer? XD

[eagle1]

Hey dude! As a loyal reader of your strip for the last three months, let me chime in here.
You do a good job of working in a gag into most of your strips, and tell a story. I would suggest taking a look at the way Doonesbury works in gags and story, but for the most part (and the writing gods are going to strike me down for this) you might want to think about decompressing your story a bit to allow more dialog without violating your 3 panel strip format.

Eagle
(And keep doing the strip!)

[abbastudios]

The industry standard is between 20 and 25 words per balloon.

[brunoharm3]

YES! I am so glad that you caught the spitting in the beer thing!! it's a little too subtle, some people thought it was a straw.a lot of people missed it all together.

[brunoharm3]

ok, that's good to know!

[winglesscomic]

that's golgo 13, it's not filled with actually walls of text, that page is just an exception

as long as your word bubbles dont' look like this I think we can relax

tl;dr: "I want to have your babies"

[facemeltingsolos]

Good lord, why? It's Burning My eyes!

[Zannen00]

That....that looks like a page from a light novel!
Lol she's having her future plan out already!

AND GOLGO 13 IS A MANGA BEFORE?!

[ashriott]

Gotta hand it to the guy there who's listening to all that patiently like it's no big deal.

[brunoharm3]

if the guy had one tiny bubble with 2 words, it would be a good joke even if you couldn't read it.

[Jrej]

I guess the trick to dialogue in comics is to distill it as much as possible, and to choose words wisely.
I wanted to use the word "Misunderstanding" at some point... But it was simply too long!
I had to change to something else in the end!

I also skipped lots of conversation that didn't bring anything to the story.
I just gotta keep it moving...

[AnnaLandin]

I don't personally have to deal with this problem very often (good job me, having one main character who doesn't like talking, and one that simply doesn't speak!), but my rule of thumb is to decide what I want to say, and then say it in as few words as possible.

Of course, this all depends on the character - if it's a verbose, talky character, they're going to use more words - but it's a good guideline to keep in mind. Strip sentences down to as few words as you can; instead of saying "I went down to the store", say "I went to the store", etc, etc.

Less is more, when it comes to comics-dialogue.