This short animated cartoon by Dan Meth really cracks me up:

Link.

I love talk balloons — speechballoons, speech balloons, thought bubbles, verbal blurbals, call them what you will — they have fascinated me since childhood.

This article by Andy Konkykru explores the evolution of the form –

I’m using the word speechballoon as the general, inclusive term. (The gothic form of speechballoons are speechbands, flags, scrolls or sheets of paper, the modern form of speechballoons are balloons, but also little rectangles, often rounded at the edges, or simply little blocks of text above the heads of the speaker etc, etc).

…. It should be noted that the simplified speechballoon was not new, it had been used sporadically for centuries … but only now did rounded balloons become the standard.

[Image: Conversion of Paul, detail from missal page, 1240 AD]

[Andy Konkykru: Link]

Via Boing Boing.

Wikipedia asserts:

Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used in comic books, strips, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing the speech or thoughts of a given character in the comic. There is often a formal distinction between the balloon that indicates thoughts and the one that indicates words spoken aloud: the bubble that conveys subjective thoughts is often referred to as a thought balloon.

…. One of the earliest antecedents to the modern speech bubble were the “speech scrolls”, wispy lines that connected first person speech to the mouths of the speakers in Late Classic era (600-900 CE) Mayan art.

In Western graphic art, labels that reveal what a pictured figure is speaking have appeared since at least the 13th century. More recognizably modern “speech balloons” begin appearing in 17th century printed broadsides. With the development of the comics industry in the 20th century, the appearance of speech balloons has become increasingly standardized, though the formal conventions that have evolved in different cultures (USA as opposed to Japan, for example), can be quite distinct.

[Wikipedia: Link]

Early Mesoamerican Writing
Royal glyph seal resembles speech balloon:

Scientists have uncovered evidence of what is believed to be the earliest form of writing ever found in the New World. The discovery was based on glyphs carved on a cylindrical seal used to make imprints and on greenstone plaque fragments found near La Venta in Tabasco, Mexico, in the Gulf Coast region. The writings were produced by the Olmecs, a pre-Mayan civilization, and are estimated to date from 650 B.C.

…. Excavations led by Mary E.D. Pohl of Florida State University, resulting in the discovery of the Olmec writings were conducted at San Andrés, near La Venta in 1997 and 1998. Her team included colleagues Kevin O. Pope of Geo Eco Arc Research, Christopher von Nagy of Tulane University and four students, three American and one Dutch. Pohl’s team worked for several years beyond the initial excavations to analyze, refine and confirm the estimated date of the Olmec writings.

…. “The connection between writing, the calendar and kingship within the Olmecs is indicated in these communications, dating to 650 B.C., which makes sense, since the Olmecs were the first known peoples in Mesoamerica to have a state-level political structure, and writing is a way to communicate power and influence,” Pohl said.

Pohl’s group found one of the indicators of this political system as they excavated through a rare sampling of Olmec refuse debris that included human and animal bone, as well as objects such as food-serving vessels, hollow figurines and the cylinder seal and greenstone plaque fragments containing the evidence of Olmec writings.

One of these writings contained the glyphic element determined to be close to early Mayan counterparts representing the day sign “ajaw,” or “king.” The scientists interpreted part of the glyphic inscription to contain the word “3 Ajaw,” the name of a day on the 260-day calendar, which could also represent the personal name of a king. Whether or not the interpretation is entirely accurate, Pohl said that the evidence suggests association between writing and “rulership.” The cylinder seal, for example, was probably used to imprint clothing with the King 3 Ajaw symbol.

[National Science Foundation: Link]

• Nature.com: Oldest American writing found in dump - December 2002
• Mesoweb: Evidence for Olmec Writing? - April 2005
• Florida State University: Dig Uncovers Oldest Writing in New World -
• Mary Deland Pohl, Ph.D: Bio - Florida State University

Stained Glass Speech Balloon of the Gods

Found in mid-2006 during an archaeological web surfing expedition, this extraordinary artifact dates to the late twentieth century –

Detail from Speech Balloon by Judy Schaechter

Stained glass

28″ x 24″

1999

Link to full image.

Big Bang as Speech Balloon: if the universe is expanding like a balloon, and if string theory is true … does string connect the balloon of Creation to the mouth of God? “In the beginning was the Word,” etc.

Speech balloons in literature: speech balloons are so associated with comic effect that a written description of a speech balloon can evoke humor –

Attorney Alejandro starts frisking himself. A picture of a fresh pack of Marlboros appears over his head in a little thought-balloon.

[Neal Stephenson: Cryptonomicon]

You know what I think would be funny? A personal holographic projector with programmable thought balloons. Generate customized thought balloon messages — over yourself, over friends, over dogs and cats, over cars — endless possibilities for fun and amusement!

Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work!!

“or some interesting ways to get some variety into those boring panels where some dumb writer has a bunch of lame characters sitting around and talking for page after page!”

Once shrouded in secrecy, Wally Wood would selectively give assistants and those close to him three 8×10 photocopies of comic panels that bore the absolute essence of drawing comic book panels. 22 images in total, they held the secret to a comic book illustrator’s success, and those who learned from them benefited from the master’s wisdom.

[Link]

Via Boing Boing.

Today’s Mood Panel:

Reflection

Appallingly funny short animated film — a loving tribute, but mainly a brutal satire in the Peckinpah vein — not for young children or the faint of heart –

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown

Via Boing Boing:

Adam sez, “Thought you might like to know that the “Ultra-violent Charlie Brown student film” … was made by Jim Reardon, a Simpsons director who’s currently working on a Pixar project. Another Simpsons director, Rich Moore (who was also a supervising director of Futurama), is mentioned in the credits as one of the voices for Charlie Brown.”

[Boing Boing: Link]

See also Charlie Brown.