Order of the speech bubbles

[Thorsby]

The order of the speech bubbles in OOTS is often confusing. Like in panels 2 and 3 of comic 552. I realize that in OOTS when one character has two speech bubbles connected by a line, one is supposed to switch to the other character’s speech bubble after speech bubble 1, even if speech bubble 2 is higher up/more to the left than the other characters speech bubble. (Horrible sentence, but if you look at the comic you’ll hopefully see what I mean.) But this is not a convention I have seen in any other comic, and out of habit I tend to read the bubbles wrong.

I figure out that I have read them wrong, after I have read them, but it really ruins the flow of the conversation, and sometimes the jokes.

The problem can be fixed by moving some of the speech bubbles to the bottom of the panel. (Though then a characters speech bubbles cannot so easily be connected by a line. But I don’t think you need that line. Just have separate lines from the bubbles to the character.) In panel 2 the last speech bubble, or the two last speech bubbles could be moved to the bottom of the panel. (If the picture has more space on the bottom.)

[NerfTW]

Meh. It's an issue every comic, even professional ones, have at times. Sometimes it looks obvious to one person, but not to another.

Best to just ignore it when it happens, unless it happens constantly, like one strip I can't seem to remember that was intent on putting the balloons in the wierdest order imaginable.

[Mauve Shirt]

Left to right, not highest to lowest.

[Morgan Wick]

My problem is not with panels 2 and 3, but 1 and 2:

: Aye, but dinnae worry. If'n ye hold steady fer a mite, tha lightnin' o' Thor'll clear a path through 'em, fast as ... well, fast as lightnin', I guess.
: Although I didn't mind it so much in strip #1...
: No! Durkon, don't! They have our hostages back at their orc village!

That's what it looks like with the way the balloons are arranged in panel 1.

I hope the OP didn't read Durkon's line in panel 3 as occuring in between Daigo's two sub-bubbles. In context, it's clearly a response to Daigo's suggestion he wear chain mail, not the other way around. I've started to become convinced Rich is more than a little Chaotic.

Part of the problem is that the characters are arguably running in the wrong direction. In both panels 1 and 3, Daigo speaks before Durkon; Elan speaks before Daigo in panel 2; and Elan's line probably works best as the first line read in panel 1. If the three characters were running in the same order but in the other direction there would be no need for so much contortion, because the characters would generally speak left to right. That idea breaks down starting on the second row, though.

[Darakonis]

There have been a couple pages where I, too, have been confused with the order of speech bubbles.

It seems customary in western comics in general to place the bubbles much the same way we read regular text: left to right, followed by top to bottom. So you start at the topmost bubble, then follow along to the right, and then drop down to the second "line" of bubbles, and continue left to right.

Rich seems to simply follow a left to right convention.

[lord of kobolds]

it's usually fairly easy to figure out if you look at it, based on what characters say.

[Arkenputtyknife]

it's usually fairly easy to figure out if you look at it, based on what characters say.

Uh… yes… but the idea is to be able to figure out in what order to read them before you actually read them.

[dish]

It can get a bit confusing, I do agree. But, well it adds a nice level of intellectual puzzle to the reading experience.

[Paragon Badger]

It can get a bit confusing, I do agree. But, well it adds a nice level of intellectual puzzle to the reading experience.

...Really?

But... As said before, it's a flaw inherent with the medium, especcially in particularly verbose comics.

[SPoD]

I've never even noticed it. You just read all of the speech balloons left to right: find the spot where each balloon begins, and read the leftmost sentence first, then the next leftmost, then the next, until you get to the right panel border. Usually, this gives you a zig-zag up-down-up-down pattern across the panel, left to right.

Given that Rich has used the same pattern for 550+ strips, I don't think it's that hard to figure out. Switching to having balloons on the bottom would both block the art and confuse all the people who aren't confused now.

[Prowl]

...Really?

But... As said before, it's a flaw inherent with the medium, especcially in particularly verbose comics.

ARRGH!

Every time someone posts a link to that damn TV Tropes website I lose three hours of my life clicking through it!

[Zorn]

ARRGH!

Every time someone posts a link to that damn TV Tropes website I lose three hours of my life clicking through it!

So very true...

As for the original poster, the order of word bubbles is a common problem in any comic. Your best bet is to read left to right, then top to bottom. If the the rightmost and uppermost bubble is much farther from a bubble to the right than one below, the one below is probably the one to read first. None of this is foolproof of course, so I would recommend that you stop reading the bubble altogether if it doesn't seem to reply to the previous one.

Moving the bubbles around means either:

a) covering up potentially important details while opening up useless space
b) asking the Giant to change his drawing style by working around the bubbles

If you ask me, I really don't think it would be worth the effort. A misread panel here or there doesn't merit putting extra pressure on the Giant, nor does it keep you from simply rereading said panel.