I prefer a balance as the text and the pictures are supposed to work together as a team. However, sometimes the art isn’t always good and in that case I would prefer more text.
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Some stories seem best suited to a visual narrative, while others to lengthier dialogue/text.
So true, @CynicalPink! There are many cases where the text is limited to showcase a character’s personality or allow the visuals to speak for themselves. This is true in the Deathstroke Rebirth series. Slade Wilson, much like Bruce Wayne, is a man of few words. When he does speak, it’s often deadpan or direct. I made an instant connection to that because I could “read between the lines” (the images) to determine what he might be trying to convey.
Here is the first meeting of Deathstroke and another character basically does his introduction for him. He doesn’t even utter a word!
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I grew up reading Gardner Fox, John Broome, Edmond Hamilton, Otto Binder, Leo Dorfman, and then Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Cary Bates, Jim Shooter and Doug Moench to name a few, so I have always liked a healthy serving of words and pictures on my comic book pages. Hey, I am all for the return of captions and thought balloons. It is after all a comic “book” and therefore creators should not eschew the written word.
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@KeyFamily Perfect example of a panel where more dialogue would actually be a disservice to the story/character.
As for symbolism and little extras, one of my favorites is The Killing Joke, but you’ve made me look all the more forward to Ego and TLH (I’m making a slow crawl to more modern comics, but I’m still a good decade and a half behind). I’ve wanted to start a thread on TKJ art for a while. Maybe something to do during my upcoming days off. 
Thanks for this discussion, btw! Loving this conversation.
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That’s a shame, @TurokSonOfStone1950. Do you like the “Panel Mode” on DCU? Sometimes I use that feature and read on my tv. It helps with small print and any confusion between panels (although I’ve also seen it add to the confusion too).
What’s your favorite comic series?
This page is appealing with all of the bright colors but everything is competing for the reader’s attention. It looks more like a mock-up for a comic book rather than a published piece.
Thanks for this discussion, btw! Loving this conversation.
Thank you so much! I am so happy to see all of the thoughtful replies! I’m genuinely interested and it’s been a lot of fun doing research when an author/book is mentioned that I don’t know or I have an example that I’d like to discuss.
I got Batman: Ego (hardback) for my birthday this year and it is a cherished part of my small collection. I’ve really enjoyed revisiting that book. It has amazing art and I recall audibly gasping at some of the stories because they were so unexpected and clever. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on that and TLH.
You should definitely start a thread about The Killing Joke! I own that one in hardback as well and would love to revisit for another chat! Great idea (and example)!
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I cant read the Comics in the Library., no matter what option.
It is much easier to Zoom on Comixology.
Currentlty Like
Justice League Dark 2018
Justice League Odyssey issue 6 on
Shazam 2018
Hawkman 2018
Jimmy Olson
Lois Lane
Doomsday Clock
Freedom Fighters
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What an excellent collection of writers to grow up with, @baseballmaniac01.45870! I personally hadn’t read any of these so it was fun to look them up and learn more. So true that there are a LOT of words on the page! It reminds me of radio programs where they describe everything in great detail. I feel like I need my Decoder Ring handy! 
Here are two pages from authors mentioned, Gardner Fox & John Broome
I’m not able to name many of the writers whose comics I read now. It could be because I don’t seek them out using that information or it could be a change in the medium. Much more content is being published now so there’s never a shortage of stories to read. Do you find that to be true or do you still know who you’re reading?
Also, I fully agree with what you said about the written word.
It is after all a comic “book” and therefore creators should not eschew the written word.
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It depends on the story and character/location. Too many words and the book can become dull. Too many pictures and there’s no story. That said some of my favorite books have nothing but words (most actually) and are plenty interesting and some of my favorite comics had no words or few. It depended on the story and I should probably also add the artist and writer. A book of Jim Lee or Alex Ross with no words? Sign me up. A book of Geoff Johns and Timothy Zahn with no pictures. Yes please.
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Silver age Action Comics had a good balance.
As a general rule the writing is paramount for me. The art is there to enhance the writing.
Michael Bay style comics with big fighty splash pages that would be all but incomprehensible without the art generally feels like a wasted issue in my book.
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@KeyFamily. Yes, I do know who I am reading today. Oh, and by the way, there was a time when you didn’t know who the writer was. DC was not in the habit of listing creator credits until the mid-sixties for the most part. Often you had to peruse the letter pages to garner the names of the writers and artists. And most of the time that information was supplied by sharped-eyed readers of the day. Artists were easier to discern than writers, but still, it was a fun exercise trying to peg a particular writer of an issue. John Broome was the easiest because his plots (Flash in particular) were so outlandish or his seamless character moments (usually employed in Green Lantern) marked his style as unmistakable. Gardner Fox and Edmond Hamilton liberally sprinkled their plots with pseudo science. Leo Dorfman wrote more “character driven” stories, and Jim Shooter leaned heavy on the action. But for shear beautiful prose no one spoke to the heart of the action and the character like the great Len Wein. I know it’s referred to as the Silver Age, but when it comes to the written word these master story-tellers were writing in a “golden age”.
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It depends on the story and character/location. Too many words and the book can become dull. Too many pictures and there’s no story.
I agree, @TheBatgirlofNML! The writer and artist should strike a good balance to find the “sweet spot” for their work. I recently watched a clip of Jim Lee drawing The Dark Knight (thank you @dogwelder9 for the video recommendations) where he mentioned how invaluable it is as an artist to find a perfect writing partner component. That is so true and you can just feel when the formula is off.
A book of Jim Lee or Alex Ross with no words? Sign me up. A book of Geoff Johns and Timothy Zahn with no pictures. Yes please.
This part cracked me up!
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The art is there to enhance the writing.
I completely agree, @Pow-Pow! There is no saving a bad story, no matter how good the art. It’s surprising how often it seems the opposite, considering that the writing comes first in the process!
Michael Bay style comics with big fighty splash pages that would be all but incomprehensible without the art generally feels like a wasted issue in my book.
Excellent quote!
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HUGE Jim Aparo fan!
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Oh, and by the way, there was a time when you didn’t know who the writer was. DC was not in the habit of listing creator credits until the mid-sixties for the most part. Often you had to peruse the letter pages to garner the names of the writers and artists. And most of the time that information was supplied by sharped-eyed readers of the day. Artists were easier to discern than writers, but still, it was a fun exercise trying to peg a particular writer of an issue. John Broome was the easiest because his plots (Flash in particular) were so outlandish or his seamless character moments (usually employed in Green Lantern) marked his style as unmistakable. Gardner Fox and Edmond Hamilton liberally sprinkled their plots with pseudo science. Leo Dorfman wrote more “character driven” stories, and Jim Shooter leaned heavy on the action.
Wow! So cool, @baseballmaniac01.45870! I love that! It speaks volumes about the comic fans during that time as well. Such amazing facts. Thank you for taking the time to detail this for me! I’ve been digging more into the history of comics and these anecdotes are a wonderful bonus to my research.
I’m also a gamer and it reminds me of when you had to work with friends (or the Nintendo Magazine) to beat the more challenging puzzles. It was a fun scavenger hunt and so gratifying once you had figured out the solution.
I know it’s referred to as the Silver Age, but when it comes to the written word these master story-tellers were writing in a “golden age”.
Beautifully written! Anyone who has spent time with the writing from that era seems to feel that way too. It was a special moment for comics and the people who loved them. 
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That’s quite the reading list, @TurokSonOfStone1950! We have the first Shazam 2018 book but haven’t started reading yet because it seemed to replay the events in the movie, which we also own.
What do you think of the layout and writing style of those 2018 books?
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Like all other mediums it is not easy to compare one era to another.
I love 50’s horror movies. I have friend 14 years younger than me and he cannot watch them…”they’re in Black and white dammit.”
I completely understand. My preferences have a wide span. I just know what I like when I read/see it. There’s nothing wrong with B&W! 
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I can get the gist of the stories by looking at them with our comic reader.
Doomsday clock because it emulates Watchmen which has a constant grid is the easiest for me to look at at the art and read the text of each individual panel in.Portrait view
The greater the swich I have to do from Portrait to Landscape view the more frustrating it is for me. To have to go to Zoom.is more daunting. I would have to look.at each title to see the varirety of portrait landscape full page or double page occurs in.them which probay varies from issue to issue.
Until you brought this topic up I thought each panel was that way because of the story. Now I am not sure of that at all.
Mainly I care about how the writer shapes the story. Is it clrar?.With the two current Batman titles half the time it might be a hallucination. A lot of times it is hard to get tbrough the complexity of Morrison. Or the bad plotting of Bendis. One issue he had five different groups or Individuals just happening to be in a small area within the vast universe
The villian
Zod from the Phantom Zone
some Hawkman world people
Jorel and Superboy
And Superman
Next come the characters. Are they acting like themselves?. Again with Bendis Lois goes off with 10 year old Jon with a known crazy person Jor ell.and then leaves Jon with the pycho for some reason.and then does not go back to her husband for some time
WHY because Bendis is not interested in the grrat stories about the kent family that Tomasi.wrote. And he has to age Jon.so he can join.the Legion of Superheroes which is no longer required because of the final issue of Doomsfay Clock.which he certainly knew about.
Art is only.a negative to me. I.like the clean style of John Byrne, George Perez, Wally Wood, Joe Staton and Jim Aparo. Bizarre Art like that on.Martian Manhuntet is very offputting
Comixology show me the whole page first so I have some idea how each page looks visually
You mentionef wanting to know more about the history.of comics.
I suggest you spend an hour and a half watching
Secret Origin The History of DC Comics
In.an hour and a half the Golden Silver and Bronze Ages are covered up to the British writers Moore Morrison.and Gaiman.
Over in Essential Reading at the bottom right of Community when first entered
I did two topics for DC Univetse
if you want to learn significant events in super hero genre history
if you want to learn how Superman Batman.and Wonder Woman were created
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I’m a really big fan of the nine-panel grid format, like what you would see in Watchmen, as well as any derivatives of that sort of layout. I think it allows for a healthy balance between art and text.
That said, if I had to pick, I’d go with more text, less art than less text, more art. Take The Dark Knight Returns for example. I’m not a huge fan of Miller’s art, but I’m willing to put up with it because the pages are loaded with text. On top of that, I feel like if the art overpowers the text in a comic, I end up just sitting there admiring the artwork and I forget whatever it was that I just read 
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