Speech Balloon
A speech balloon is the shape containing a character's dialogue in a comic, with a tail pointing to the speaker; its outline can show whispering, shouting or thought.
In depth
Speech balloons place dialogue inside the picture. A tail points to the speaker; a jagged outline signals shouting or a voice from a machine; a dashed line, a whisper; a cloud-like balloon with bubbles, a thought. Caption boxes carry narration rather than speech.
Placement
Balloons are placed so that they are read in the right order — left to right and top to bottom in Western comics, right to left in manga — which is part of the letterer's craft. Sound effects are lettered separately, often drawn into the art.
Reading order inside the panel
Balloons are read in a set order: in Western comics from top left to bottom right, in manga from top right to bottom left. Letterers stack and connect balloons so that a conversation reads correctly even when two characters speak in one panel; a thin connector between two balloons means the same speaker continues.
Special balloons
Many comics invent balloon styles for particular voices: icy outlines for a cold character, a different typeface for a robot or a god, small type for muttering. Once you notice them, they work like stage directions for the reader's inner ear.
What it means today
In translated manga, sound effects are sometimes left in Japanese with a small translation beside them, so the original art is preserved.
