KRuNK This!

Pretty Vacant: Final Repose Part I Page 13 Panel 3

Protect your ears, ‘cause this post will get loud!

I have harped to death comparing comic book lettering with playing bass in a cool rock band: it sucks! However, every now and then a bone gets tossed their way. Some days when you can hear an awesome bass line on television or the (gasp!) radio, you might see in a comic book the one cool thing a letterer is able to do: the sound effect.

Yes, sound effects in a comic doesn’t mean that you actually hear noise, but (besides the quick nod to Scott McCloud and Rene Magritte) they’re fun! Fun to read, and fun to draw.

Lettered sound effects heighten the action (cool Jack Kirby Captain America)…

drama (my own Pretty Vacant)…



even comedy (intentional or not)…

… and unlike regular text, cannot be altered. Sound effects are part of the final look of a comic book and like lettering, becomes an underappreciated art form. Looking at the top panel in this post, I deliberately shortened the “u” in KRuNK to give the impression that Gigi’s kick to the Amps’ head is going into an imaginary wall!

There’s a movement among certain comic book creators and editors to do any with sound effects, but thankfully it’s still by choice and not decree. They argue that no sound effects make comics more realistic and less campy. Yet even the most acclaimed graphic novel to date, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, had a hero who wore his underwear outside of his tights. Isn’t that just a bit silly? And for what it’s worth, Dark Knight utilized sound effects!

I’m not suggesting using sound effects all the time, but maybe present and future comic creators could ask themselves if implied silence is the best option when designing pages. Because even silly love songs can reach number one on the charts. Some even have rockin' bass lines!

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Journey's End For Galaxy

Beckham to Keane to Donovan. Goal! Championship…



Yes, Los Angeles does have a championship team this year!

It is only fitting that the Los Angeles Galaxy’s three designated players would combine for the only goal of the 2011 MLS Cup, enabling the Galaxy to defeat the Houston Dynamo this past week 1-0.

The three questions asked in this blog at the beginning of the year (Is Donovan still likeable? Does Beckham still have it? Can the team improve?) can now all be answered with an emphatic YES! World class midfielders Landon Donovan and David Beckham had career years, and the team improved dramatically when Irish international Robbie Keane joined the team in August.

Coach Bruce Arena employed a counter-attacking style with the Galaxy. With the league’s best defense (defenders Omar Gonzalez and Todd Dunivant joined Becks and Dono in the MLS Best XI list) containing the opposing team and controlling the ball, Beckham could utilize his patented set piece and passing abilities to place the ball anywhere on the pitch, giving his teammates a chance to score. At first only Donovan could score with any regularity, but with Keane’s arrival the opposing defense was stretched even further, allowing other Galaxy players to score as well.

And at the end of Beckham’s historic five-year contract, one can see the positive changes for the Galaxy and Major League Soccer. MLS matches are shown world-wide, league attendance is up 7% and the Galaxy have just completed a $55 million television deal.

If Beckham doesn’t re-sign with the Galaxy, the team is still in a good position to move forward without him. He has earned the right to play or retire wherever and whenever he chooses. However, he has stated he does enjoy living in the laid back SoCal area, and that’s a good enough reason to stay. After all, I moved back here too!