Since the beginnings of comicsthought bubbles have played a vital role in communicating characters’ thoughts and dialogue.
However, the trajectory of this narrative form has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis, shaping itself over time and responding to the narrative and aesthetic needs of the industry.
Brief history of thoughts
Origin of thought bubbles in comics – Image: Marvel Comics/Reproduction
The real revolution occurred in the 1930s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of the iconic Super manintroduced what we now recognize as speech bubbles into the pages of their adventures.
This innovation provided readers with a new way to connect with the characters, allowing a deeper immersion into the narrative.
Before this, comic strips often relied exclusively on text written beneath or alongside images to convey dialogue and thoughts.
Speech bubbles, as they became more popular, began to take on different shapes and sizes, adapting to the artistic styles and specific needs of each story.
Artists experimented with fonts, colors, and contours, looking for ways to make the visual experience more dynamic and engaging.
This period of experimentation resulted in a rich variety of speech bubble styles that characterized comic books of the time.
One of the most striking developments occurred when thought bubbles were introduced.
Unlike traditional speech bubbles, which represented audible dialogue between charactersthought bubbles became a tool to reveal the protagonists’ inner thoughts.
This innovation allowed us to explore the psychological depth of characters in a more intimate way, giving readers exclusive access to thoughts not expressed verbally.
This subtle change, starting in the 1930s, marked a new era in visual communication in comic books.
Artists began exploring the possibility of using thought bubbles not just as a window into characters’ minds, but as a means of sharing information directly with the reader.
This expression resource created a more direct connection between the story’s narrator and the audience, expanding the reader’s immersion and participation in the plot.
Discontinuation of thought bubbles
Spider-Man constantly used thought bubbles – Image: Marvel Comics/Reproduction
However, in recent decades, we have seen a significant shift in graphic storytelling techniques, and thought bubbles have gradually lost their prevalence. Several reasons contributed to this transition.
One of the main reasons was the search for a more dynamic and cinematic.
The introduction of more complex visual narratives, with innovative layouts and intensive use of frames and framing, has become a priority.
Visual elements, such as facial expressions and body postures, began to be used with more emphasis to convey the characters’ emotions and thoughts, eliminating the explicit need for thought bubbles.
Additionally, the paradigm shift in the way comic books are consumed has also played a role.
With the rise of the internet and digital platformswhere stories are often read on smaller screens, visual clarity and narrative efficiency have become even more crucial.
The simplification of the design, often without the prominent presence of thought bubbles, meets this demand for a more fluid and accessible reading experience.
Although thought bubbles were essential to the development of comic books, the evolution of the medium and the search for visual narratives and efficient led to a decline in their use.
However, his pioneering contributions to the language of comics remain undeniable, leaving a legacy in the way we understand and appreciate this fascinating artistic medium.
