Hi there kind readers. Let me start today’s post out with a few questions. What do you expect to find on TV? Television programs! And commercials, of course. Good. Good. Now, what do you expect to find on the radio? OK, this one is tougher. I will accept either songs (music) or talk shows. And, of course, commercials. Now here is the tricky question. What do you expect to see when you open a comic book? And the answer is…images, drawings, superheroes, action, dialogue, etc. etc.
Unfortunately, however, I find myself more and more bombarded with ultra-dense dialogue balloons stuffed with words, and more words! Listen, I have an English degree. I read all the time, and I have no fear or dislike of words, but I do not buy comics to read tons of words. Most of the books I have been getting lately resemble illustrated stories more than they resemble comics. And this isn’t just me going off on a rant! Just like in books, good stories SHOW without having to TELL everything. Plus, these diatribes usually occur (we are to believe) in the time it takes to swing a hammer, or to punch a villain. Having so much text shoved into these shrinking comic books is just a sign of lazy storytelling.
I am very close to discontinuing every title I have that uses ultra dense text bubbles, and keeping only the titles that actually have an effective balance of text and sequential art. OK, here’s your last question for the night. What do you expect to see when you open up…a book? That’s right. Words. And I think I am going to go read one of those now. Thanks for listening. Peace.
M
Show don’t tell, that’s the rule of thumb in fiction. While laziness can certainly be a factor, I tend to think that fear is the real culprit here. The writer is afraid that the reader will not understand what is happening unless it is explained to death. On the other hand, some of the biggest writers in the world do it. Alan Moore, for example, is extremely wordy.
Did you read the silent issue of G.I. Joe way back in the eighties?