Art by Eric Hoffman
Zip-A-Tone by Scot Robinson
Zip-A-Tone by Scot Robinson
Sound effect blurb, onomatopoeia, punch words, or whatever you want to call them - I can’t get enough of them! A comic without a ZAP! is just a little less comic, don’t you think? So, here are some examples of my own onomatopoeia, followed by a few faves by other artists.
F-ZOOOOOOOK!!
F-ZOOOOOOOK!!
BLOOM!
(I Am Become Murder)
I have to admit I was a little proud of this one. Using a pun to give the bouquet of flowers a weight similar to the “BOOM” of a shotgun. And it’s an exciting time, too, because I feel I’ve barely scratched the surface of dangerous floral sounds.
KACK!
(Spine-biting Mystery Funnies #2)
I can’t be certain if KACK has appeared before in the history of comics, but it’s one of my personal favorites and I use it often (see also: Beyond Undead). It’s jarring, abrupt, and fast, and implies a great force breaking something open. (Look, someone has to study these things.)
LOUD!
(Brainwarp Podcast Poster)
I enjoy this sort of meta take. Using the literal word of the action being committed, or a word that comments on the sound, is a lot of fun, I’ll admit. Do I rely on this a little too much for a nice laugh here and there? Absolutely.
KKRRIIICK!
(Beyond Undead)
This one probably won’t win any awards (are there awards for comic sound effects? The Soundies? The Powies?) but i like when the sound effect is integrated into the action, when it becomes the action itself. In this panel I was hoping to recreate the racket of the nails being pulled from the wood.
FANTASTIC!
(Spine-biting Mystery Funnies #2)
I believe this type of thing is traditionally used for comedic purposes only. (see also: LOUD!) What works for me is the word used adds to the emotion of the moment -- and the fact that it was a really fantastic punch!
SPLAH!
(I Am Become Murder)
To me, this just seemed to match the action perfectly. And yes, the poor devil's throat was "exploded" by a high-intensity microwave beam. It couldn’t be anything but SPLAH.
MIXED GRILL
(I Am Become Murder)
And of course any time one can utilize a combo platter of sounds it’s a guaranteed good time. With these the point is they’re just ordinary everyday noises, so I chose a bland, unexciting font to reflect that. And the character making the sounds is bland and boring, so there was no need for the words to have any personality, like wavy letters and such.
ALL-TIME FAVORITES
POW!!
(Batman)
I have no idea where or when the first POW appeared but it has to be the GOAT as far as punching sound effects go, right? With the emergence of “Pop Art” in the 1960s (Lichtenstein, Warhol, Batman) these blurbs became art themselves. Marvel letterers Art Simek and Sam Rosen are personal favorites. Their lettering just leaps off the page. (See below)
WANGO
(Don Martin)
Cartoonist Don Martin is the uncontested king of comical sound effects. There are no better. (eg, POIT, GA-SHPLUCT, BWEEP, FOINSAPP, SIZAFITZ) He’s definitely done loonier than WANGO, but he makes that comment himself on the next page of this classic Capt. Klutz story. (See below)
EXTRA WANGO
BONG!
(Batman)
Another from the influential series. During the drug-filled Sixties, I find it difficult to believe the makers weren’t aware of the double meaning. And don't get me started on Lidsville.
LEAST FAVORITE
BOK (also: POK, CHOK, etc.)
I don’t want to have anything to do with something that makes that noise. I always felt this was a sort of lazy effort and it never seemed to match anything it was ever used for. And that’s probably because it’s a waste of two normally very strong SFX letters with satisfying guttural releases: B and K. And really BOK is too close to BONK and BONK is a classic but it is seldom used by any serious superhero.
And beyond that, I have to say I’m not a fan of punching blurbs used without an exclamation mark (See image above), which is Sound Effects 101 in my book. The exclamation adds the necessary dramatic tone and urgency! (<see?) Otherwise, what are we talking about here? A superhero punch that isn’t loud? That’s impossible!
Well, it’s late, and as I see it, there’s really only one way to end this article appropriately:
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz!
Well, it’s late, and as I see it, there’s really only one way to end this article appropriately:
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz!