Speech balloon
A graphic enclosure in comics and other visual media that attributes words or thoughts to a character, often using a pointer to identify the speaker.
Comic strip: A sequence of images arranged to tell a story or convey information, often with text. Speech balloons are a defining device in this form of sequential visual storytelling.
Reading order: The sequence in which text and images are intended to be read. Balloon placement helps establish dialogue order within a panel.
Cartoon: A drawing that simplifies or exaggerates features, often for humor, commentary, or storytelling. Early speech enclosures developed within traditions of humorous and satirical drawing.
Manga: Comics produced in Japan, encompassing diverse genres, styles, and audiences. Manga uses balloon shape and placement to distinguish speech, thought, and vocal effects.
Speech act: An utterance understood as an action, such as a promise, question, or command. A balloon presents an utterance as a character’s communicative act within a scene.
Comic lettering: The design and placement of written text in comics, including dialogue, narration, and sound effects. Lettering choices affect how balloon text reads and fits within its enclosure.
Comic panel: A bounded image or scene unit in a comic that participates in a sequence. Balloon placement is interpreted within the panel that contains it.
Rodolphe Töpffer: A nineteenth-century Swiss writer and artist whose picture stories helped establish modern comics. His sequential stories helped develop visual techniques later used with dialogue balloons.
Lettering in manga: The arrangement and styling of text in manga, including dialogue and sound effects. Japanese vertical writing and translation affect how balloon space is composed.
Onomatopoeia: The formation or use of words that imitate sounds, such as “buzz” or “clang.” Comic lettering can turn vocal sounds into visible marks that share space with dialogue.