Letterer
A letterer places the words on a comics page — dialogue, captions and sound effects — designing balloons and lettering so they read clearly and in the right order.
In depth
The letterer turns the script's words into part of the page. They choose fonts, size and place balloons and captions so they read in sequence without hiding the art, and design sound effects that fit the drawing. Lettering used to be done by hand on the original pages; today it is mostly digital, often with fonts made from a letterer's own handwriting.
Recognition
Lettering is a recognised craft with its own awards. In manga translations, letterers also decide how to handle Japanese sound effects — replacing, translating or keeping them with a small gloss.
Sound effects
Sound effects are often the letterer's most visible work: large, drawn words that sit in the art and carry its energy. In translated manga, the original Japanese sound effects are part of the drawing, so letterers either replace them with English lettering, keep them and add a small translation, or keep them untranslated. Each choice balances readability against fidelity to the original art.
Lettering and translation
In translated comics, the letterer fits the translated text into balloons drawn for another language. English often runs longer or shorter than the original, which makes fitting dialogue without crowding the art a skill of its own.
What it means today
Shouting, whispering, radio voices and alien speech are all lettering choices; they tell you how a line sounds before you read it.
