The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering - Paperback

by Nate Piekos (Author), Tom Orzechowski (Foreword by), Nate Piekos (Artist)

The perfect how-to guide for novices and pros alike, The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering is an essential reference for learning the tips and tricks of the comic book lettering trade, all told by one of the industry's leading experts.

Comic book lettering is an art. Well-crafted comic book lettering is the visual soundtrack that guides a reader's eye along the page with emotive dialogue, intuitively placed balloons, and dynamic sound effects . . . but these elements are just the beginning for the professional letterer.

In this book, you'll also learn the graphic design skills involved in crafting memorable logos, the unique grammatical traditions of mainstream comics, the process of creating your own professional lettering templates, tips on establishing a career in comics . . . and much more.

With expertise honed while working for virtually every major comic book publisher in the industry, Blambot's award-winning letterer and typographer, Nate Piekos, shares twenty years of knowledge behind one of the most indispensable disciplines in the comic book industry.

Author Biography

Nate Piekos graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in graphic design from Rhode Island College in 1998. His font and logo designs can be seen worldwide, and he's the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Rhode Island College Alumni Honor Roll Award for Success in the Field of Design.

In 2021, Nate authored The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering; the most comprehensive book ever written on the subject of lettering. In 2023, he was also nominated for the Eisner Award for Lettering, the comics industry's highest honor. Nate continues to work on some of the most high-profile projects for virtually every major publisher in the comic book industry, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and Boom! Studios.

Outside the studio, Nate cooks, is a guitarist, plays RPGs, and loves a good horror novel. He's married to his college sweetheart, and together they live in the backwoods of Rhode Island with their faithful companion, Ace the Wonder Cat.

Thomas Paul Orzechowski is an American comic book letterer, primarily known for his work on Uncanny X-Men. Over the course of Orzechowski's career, he has lettered something on the order of 6,000 pages of long-time X-Men writer Chris Claremont's scripts.