One of the ongoing struggles I have is whether to include sound effects or not. It’s not because of the whole “realism” argument of there not really being sound in the vacuum of space. I know that, but as a work of adventure fiction, I accept sound in space as just something to add to the fun.
My dilemma is more about how much to include in the actual artwork and lettering. This entire sequence, for example, has a lot of sound effects, but I wonder sometimes if they’re too distracting in general. I realize sound effects are an institution in comics and have been a staple from the very beginning, but I also see contemporary comics, like The Ultimates, that have riveting action sequences that don’t use any sound effects at all.
I’m still on the fence on this one…
I think it comes down to your artistic taste. Does it add to your work, or distract from it? Runners in particular is a fairly “cartoony” story. Most cartoons use sound effects, so it must seem like it is natural to use them in your own work. Then again, it can be very impressive when someone creates something powerful enough to work without words. Sergio Aragonés “louder than words” comes to mind.
Not familiar with the Sergio Aragones reference. I know he does Groo, but are you referencing a particular work of his or just that he does some strips without any dialogue at all?
Sound effects. Unless it’s a particularly blue dramatic scene in which silence would heighten the melancholy.
Well there is no sound in space but engine noises would be heard by crew members as well as the guns firing. Crew would also hear weapon impacts on their ship.
As far as the sound effects themselves, they seem a bit much for me. A few of them are fine but I would have liked to see some ship damage, debris, or even shield heat marks
“louder than words” is a six issue comic book he made in 1998(?), in which he didn’t use any words.
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I fall into the “sound effects in space are ok” category. Assuming a crewmember or some such entity can hear wepons hitting the hull (or engine noise, or gun noise, or…)
Multiple sound effects are fine, too, such as the “zak zak zak”.. multiple shots = multiple shot noises.
I DO have a (minor) issue with “SWOOP”, though…..it’s not what I would call a sound-effect in the first place, and the motion it’s intended to demonstrate is amply shown with the “jet trail” behind the ship.
Ha ha! Funny. Yeah, I’m not sure what I was thinking with the “swoop” SFX. I guess at the time, I wasn’t entirely sure the sweeping movement of the ship was evident, so I tried to reinforce the action with that dorky sound effect.