Robin Jones is a professional letterer and writer. He can be found at Rob Jones Lettering on Facebook and his twitter account is @RobJonesWrites. He’s on Instagram too if you really want to stalk him…Hulksmash06051985
Q. Robin good to meet you. Before we get into it can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! Well, I’m a UK based writer and letterer of comics and I am ¼ of the British Comic Production House, Madius Comics along with Nick Gonzo, Mike Sambrook and Brad Holman. I’ve been in the great game of comics for about 3 ½ years now, previously Inused to write a column about being a late 20something attempted to traverse comics. I’m a self taught letterer who has worked on a whole host of small press and publisher books.
Q. You don’t hear of many people today getting into lettering rather writing or drawing are considered the more attractive areas of the industry. So why lettering? Was that you saw a niche or was it something else?
Well, the niche of lettering doesn’t have too many niches to try and conquer as there is such a huge plethora of talent out there lettering as it is! I got into lettering purely for selfish purposes. When I began to develop my own books with artists, I realised very early on that I would have no budget for lettering. So. I cracked on with looking out for guides on line, stumbled on Jim Campbell’s lettering guide, for a copy of lettering the ComiCraft way and consulted Blambot’s website…then I’ve learnt a few of my own tricks with the help of Madius design guru Brad.
Knowing how to letter makes life easier when writing too. You know page limitations, border limitations, how dialogue will sit in a balloon and it also allows you to have a final editing pass on things too. So learning the craft has been beneficial for a lot of reasons. I’m also absolutely dreadful at flatting and colouring comics too…
Q. Your work on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Grave was excellent. Can you tell us a little of the process you went through lettering the comic?
Well, you guys had some nice, strong ideas and visuals in mind before we even started which really helps in selecting the right fonts, creating and crafting the correct looking balloons and boxes. So that vision was helpful in getting a template setup to utilise for the pages.
For any project I undertake, I set up and create a base template which has a wide selection of balloon tales, specifically selected balloons in their distinct sizes and shapes and then the chosen fonts for dialogue, captions and then my favourite SFX fonts which I’ll tailor to a project too. So, for the Grave, I liked the use of spooky looking fonts for any SFX. Similarly, we went through a few different font choices for the handwritten diary. This was to ensure we had a ledigble, stylistically correct font which enhanced the way the story is read.
Plus, it’s easy to really get into a project when you enjoy the way it ebbs and flows. I had no problem with this with The Grave, as the story is great.
Q. What do you think are the differences between lettering a horror comic as opposed to lettering say a superhero comic?
Again, it comes down to style and substance matter. Horror needs to evoke thrills, chills and spooks. You need to ensure that the style and design elements you being accentuate that. Superhero stuff is bombastic; although that’s not to say that they cannot be nuanced and evocative too, but generally you expect a lot of action and over the top antics in a superhero comic, so the lettering will need to reflect that. Horror often requires a more deft touch, a more subtle approach.
Q. So what are you working on now? Have you got anything new coming out soon?
I’m working on a few new things. I’ve lettered some pitch packages which I’m waiting to hear back on, I’ve done a couple of projects for Diamond Steel Comics (who have released the amazing Saltire comics) and there’s a project just been announced called Mean City for them. Plus I’ve just done the Gaelic version of the Saltire Invasion storyline which was a challenge! I’ve got more Brethren Born coming with Jon Laight plus a project called Away for Markosia. I’m lettering several other projects this year, some pretty long form as well which is always great. This is all intertwined with continuing the Madius projects I co-write with Mike Sambrook, and we have a fair few projects coming this year but we’re keeping them close to our chest for the moment. Plus, hopefully, some more work with yourselves!
You can catch me at Oldham Comic Con, Glasgow Comic Con, Thought Bubble Festival and a few other cons throughout the year as well!
