Tell me about the Tales from the Crypt comic's lettering
December 29, 2017 9:20 AM Subscribe
How the lettering of the old Tales from the Crypt comic was made?
I love that look and I would like to find a way to reproduce it or approximate it. How did they do that lettering?
It's obv not a computer font -- but is there a computer font that's is similar, including the imperfections?
Probably there's a way I can replicate that by making my own font. I've made fonts from my handwriting before in those cheap and easy services. I just want the handmade mechanical feel of that lettering, and I suppose I could just copy and paste the letters individually but for the sake of "authenticity" I'd rather write the letters just as they did.
More examples: 1, 2, 3.
I love that look and I would like to find a way to reproduce it or approximate it. How did they do that lettering?
It's obv not a computer font -- but is there a computer font that's is similar, including the imperfections?
Probably there's a way I can replicate that by making my own font. I've made fonts from my handwriting before in those cheap and easy services. I just want the handmade mechanical feel of that lettering, and I suppose I could just copy and paste the letters individually but for the sake of "authenticity" I'd rather write the letters just as they did.
More examples: 1, 2, 3.
Great question! It's funny that according to brentajones' link Feldstein would have preferred hand-lettering in hindsight; to me the Leroy lettering is a crucial component of what makes those comics so compelling.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:42 AM on December 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by aspersioncast at 9:42 AM on December 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yep, that's a Leroy! Legendary letterer Todd Klein talks about EC's history with the Leroy in this blog post, and Ben Towle goes into the nuts and bolts here.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:01 AM on December 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:01 AM on December 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I bought an unused Leroy lettering set much like this one on eBay some years ago at a university rummage/surplus sale but the few different sizes of the lettering was much larger than the Leroy shown in brentajones's link. Beautifully manufactured thing. I eventually gave it away.
posted by bz at 1:30 PM on December 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bz at 1:30 PM on December 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Casey Burns released a free font (set) based on the E.C. comics lettering.
posted by AndNeverWell at 7:34 PM on December 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by AndNeverWell at 7:34 PM on December 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brentajones at 9:29 AM on December 29, 2017 [10 favorites]