30th Apr 2021, 6:18 PM
Thought balloons are a storytelling device that is pretty unique to comics, one that links it more to prose. It can give the reader the feeling that time is slowing down, or that the action is moving at “the speed of thought”, depending on the visuals that the thought balloons are paired with.
As far as this page of Steamroller Man is concerned, the use of thought balloons served a few purposes: it seemed a more pragmatic choice for the story, as Paige is trying to creep quietly into the factory; using thought balloons in place of narration boxes enabled me to lead the reader’s eye around the page - especially useful in panel two, positioning it above Paige’s discarded lab coat, and panel three, leading your eye to the broken window Paige is about to crawl through. Lastly, thought balloons’ newly passé status actually contributes to the retro feel I try to give the comic.
I was a bit torn about how much hand-holding to do for the reader here, because I wasn't sure how clear it was that Paige has gone off on her own, found somewhere that she could climb over the factory wall, and used her lab coat to cover the barbed wire and climb over it. I could have shown all this happening on-panel, of course, but I felt like that was just unnecessary "shoe leather". Hopefully the images convey what's transpired, but just in case they don't, I decided to really spell it out in Paige's thoughts in panel two. It's not subtle, but I think it has the feel of the writing style of '60s and '70s comics. Also, I write this comic for a general audience, and so it's important to me that even my eight-year-old niece can understand the story.
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