Do you miss thought bubbles and narration boxes in comics?

[Mercury]

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. Honestly, I think they should bring them back for certain stories.

[LordUltimus]

Generally, but I feel they could often be misused. Remember the Bendis thought balloons in Mighty Avengers?

[Jackraow21]

I really liked them in the old Claremont and Hama Wolverine runs. They really gave you insight into Logan's character and personality, and I enjoyed that. Probably partially why he's so well fleshed out versus some other characters... that and having so many opportunities in terms of number of stories that have been told about him.

[BobbysWorld]

I definitely haven't seen thought bubbles in ages, but I'm confused what you mean by narration boxes? Because I think of narration boxes as being boxes used to show a character's internal monologue or just other context, and I don't think those ever went away. Ewing and Percy use them all the time, so do plenty of other writers. Are you talking about something else in specific when you say narration boxes?

[Mercury]

I definitely haven't seen thought bubbles in ages, but I'm confused what you mean by narration boxes? Because I think of narration boxes as being boxes used to show a character's internal monologue or just other context, and I don't think those ever went away. Ewing and Percy use them all the time, so do plenty of other writers. Are you talking about something else in specific when you say narration boxes?

I guess I don't see them as frequently as I used to; they're sporadically used. Then again, I probably don't read as many books as some of you, so perhaps I'm missing where they're being used.

Reading through Claremont's work, I'm reminded of how effective both bubbles and boxes could be. It seems like comics are being written to emulate films now.

[Subliminally]

Yes.

I mean some writers overdid it a tad, but, overall I think they put think into focus and didn't leave things an ambiguous mess that the reads had to decode.

[BobbysWorld]

I guess I don't see them as frequently as I used to; they're sporadically used. Then again, I probably don't read as many books as some of you, so perhaps I'm missing where they're being used.

Reading through Claremont's work, I'm reminded of how effective both bubbles and boxes could be. It seems like comics are being written to emulate films now.

Ah gotcha. Yeah I think its just a matter of writers' personal styles. Some writers definitely do try and emulate a more cinematic style of storytelling, but there are still writers who go the way of narration boxes and internal monologues. I think one of the interesting things about how much influence Claremont had in shaping the X-franchise for so many years is we tend to think of a lot of his stylistic ticks as being indicative of comics in general during the decades he was steering the X-books, when really it was more just....that was just his personal style of writing and most of the X-books were written by him,

Also, its interesting to note where later writers draw inspiration from and which older writers their own styles mirror.....like I said, Ewing is a writer who very much likes using narration boxes in his stuff like SWORD.....and I don't think its at all a coincidence that so many of Ewing's themes and stories also clearly draw inspiration from classic Claremont tales.

[Saturius]

Yes. Getting rid of them was a mistake. They were a great aid for characterization. Like anything in comics, they could not be utilized well sometimes, but that wasn't a reason to just dump them unceremoniously.

[Triniking1234]

Thought bubbles? Yes.
Narration boxes? No.
Editor footnotes? Hell yes.

[Rift]

Thought bubbles feel so outdated and corny now. But I feel like that's part of their charm.

[From The Shadows]

Yes, I miss thought bubbles. I miss knowing their inner feelings.

[Devaishwarya]

No. I don't miss the thought bubbles...at all. Speak it. Don't think it.
Yes. I miss the narration boxes...somewhat. Some writers/artists need to be very clear about what they're trying to say/show.

[Weather]

Narration boxes haven't gone anywhere and I like them. Characters monologuing or narrating what is happening is present in most books I read. The omnipresent narrator is less used and can sound a little dated if not properly applied. Duggan uses those in his X-men book and I think he does a nice job with it, it gives a classic and nostalgic tone to the book, which I feel is the intention.

Thought bubbles do feel dated. But I think they can be used sometimes. In comedic stories I think they can be used more easily. But most of the times they can be replaced by narration boxes in which the characters tell their feelings, like we see in Wolverine by Percy, and it looks more elegant than thought bubbles.

[Mercury]

Editor footnotes? Hell yes.

Yes!

Yes, I miss thought bubbles. I miss knowing their inner feelings.

Agreed.

No. I don't miss the thought bubbles...at all. Speak it. Don't think it.
Yes. I miss the narration boxes...somewhat. Some writers/artists need to be very clear about what they're trying to say/show.

That becomes a problem when the characters are alone unless they're supposed to break out into full blown soliloquies.

[Devaishwarya]

In today's comics...characters are very rarely alone with just their thoughts. (about the only time a thought bubble is appropriate) Just say what's important and necessary to the story at the moment.
Claremont used to obscure whole panels with either thought or word bubbles that while they gave us some insight into the character and what was happening, ended up cluttering the panel and were quite often redundant.