What is Proofreading in Comics?

Part V in the Intro to Developmental Comic Editors Series

Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash

In comics, Proofreading is also known lettering development. It is one of the very last steps in the editing process. By now, the art should be finalized and the lettering process should begin. Before lettering begins, it is important to set expectations about the approach and storytelling. This includes fonts and caption style choices. After the lettering occurs, some real editing can begin.

It’s time to review for spelling and grammar! This should be easy if the script was fixed and in its final form when sent to the letterer. There shouldn’t be many errors, if any at this point. It is imperative to also look at how the art is interplaying with the fonts and balloons. There’s a lot involved in making a pass at everything in this stage.

Creating a style sheet can help an editor keep everything straight. A style sheet details which grammatical guide is being used (for example the Chicago Manual of Style) and any other rules that apply to the work. Maybe something is supposed to capitalized that isn’t normally capitalized in English, so it’s important to note details like that.

This year, I had the pleasure of proofreading for writer/artist Tim Seeley. I used Adobe Acrobat for comments and feedback. It was such a fun process. In this case, lettering was already done, but it matched the tone and vibe of the story. I was the person to take one last pass at it.

Proofreading may seem simple, but there’s a lot to consider at this stage. An editor must be eagle-eyed and account for as many elements as possible. The last step in editing is an important one and the last chance to change anything before a piece goes to press.