Dialogue Mistakes in Comics: Conversations That Kill Your Story
Fix common dialogue errors in comics and manga. Avoid stilted conversations, exposition dumps, and speech bubble problems that hurt your story.
Dialogue in comics carries enormous weight. With limited space and visual competition, every word must earn its place. Bad dialogue undermines great art. These common mistakes are fixable once you recognize them.
Unnatural Speech Patterns
On-the-Nose Dialogue
The mistake: Characters stating exactly what they feel or mean with no subtext. “I’m angry at you because you betrayed me and now I feel hurt.”
Why it happens: Wanting clarity. Not trusting readers to infer meaning. Writing directly from character emotion.
The fix:
- People rarely state their emotions directly
- Show emotion through action and art, imply through words
- What characters don’t say often matters more
- Let readers connect dots between dialogue and visuals
Instead of: “I’m scared about the battle tomorrow.” Try: “Did you sharpen your sword?” (while staring at the horizon)
Identical Voices
The mistake: Every character sounds the same—same vocabulary, same sentence structure, same rhythms. Dialogue is interchangeable between characters.
Why it happens: Writing in your own voice. Not developing distinct character voices. Rushing dialogue.
The fix:
- Give characters verbal tics or catchphrases
- Vary sentence length by character
- Consider education, background, personality
- Read dialogue aloud in different voices
- If you can’t tell who’s speaking without names, revise
Period-Inappropriate Language
The mistake: Medieval fantasy characters using modern slang. Historical settings with contemporary speech patterns. Aliens talking like teenagers.
Why it happens: Writing what comes naturally. Not researching speech patterns. Prioritizing accessibility over authenticity.
The fix:
- Research how people spoke in your setting’s era/culture
- Avoid modern idioms in historical settings
- Create consistent rules for fantasy/alien speech
- Some modernization helps readability, but maintain consistency
Overly Formal Speech
The mistake: Characters speaking in complete, grammatically perfect sentences at all times. No contractions, interruptions, or fragments.
Why it happens: Writing how we think we should speak. Academic writing habits bleeding in.
The fix:
- People speak in fragments
- Use contractions heavily
- Include interruptions and overlapping speech
- Characters should trail off, restart, and stumble
Exposition Problems
Characters Explaining Known Information
The mistake: “As you know, Bob, our father died ten years ago and left us this castle.” Characters telling each other things they both already know.
Why it happens: Needing to inform readers. Not finding natural ways to convey information.
The fix:
- If both characters know it, neither would say it
- Use new characters who genuinely need explanation
- Show through flashback or visual exposition
- Let readers discover information organically
Lecture Dialogue
The mistake: Characters delivering paragraphs of explanation while others stand and listen. Monologues disguised as conversation.
Why it happens: Efficient information delivery. Complex world-building to convey.
The fix:
- Break lectures with reactions and questions
- Spread information across multiple scenes
- Show rather than explain when possible
- If someone must explain, make it dramatically interesting
Explaining the Obvious
The mistake: Dialogue that describes what the art already shows. “Look, a dragon!” while a dragon fills the panel.
Why it happens: Reinforcing visuals. Not trusting the art.
The fix:
- If the art shows it, you don’t need to say it
- Dialogue should add information art can’t convey
- Reactions work better than descriptions
- “We’re doomed” beats “There’s a giant dragon”
Conversation Structure Errors
No Purpose for Scene
The mistake: Conversations that exist without advancing plot, revealing character, or building world. Characters talking just to fill panels.
Why it happens: Establishing “normal” life. World-building enthusiasm. Padding content.
The fix:
- Every conversation should accomplish something
- Cut scenes that can’t justify their existence
- If a scene just shows characters chatting, cut it or add purpose
- Even casual banter can develop character if intentional
Conversations That Go Nowhere
The mistake: Dialogue scenes that end where they started. No new information, no changed relationships, no decisions made.
Why it happens: Realistic slice-of-life imitation. Not thinking about scene function.
The fix:
- Conversations should change something
- Characters should leave knowing, feeling, or planning differently
- Even small shifts justify scene existence
- If nothing changes, cut or rewrite
Missing Conflict
The mistake: Conversations where everyone agrees. No tension, no disagreement, no obstacles to communication.
Why it happens: Nice characters agreeing is comfortable to write. Avoiding conflict.
The fix:
- Interesting dialogue involves some friction
- Characters can want different things
- Misunderstandings create tension
- Even allies have disagreements
Speech Bubble Mistakes
Too Much Text Per Bubble
The mistake: Bubbles crammed with paragraphs. Walls of text that overwhelm the art and exhaust readers.
Why it happens: Trying to convey complex information. Not editing for comics.
The fix:
- One thought per bubble
- Maximum 2-3 sentences typically
- If you need more, use multiple bubbles
- Long speeches should be broken up
Wrong Bubble Style
The mistake: Using standard bubbles for yelling, thought bubbles for speech, or ignoring that different contexts need different bubbles.
Why it happens: Defaulting to one style. Not thinking about bubble as tool.
The fix:
- Jagged bubbles for yelling
- Cloud bubbles for thoughts
- Whisper bubbles for quiet speech
- Match bubble style to delivery
Unclear Speaker Attribution
The mistake: Bubbles placed so readers can’t tell who’s speaking, or tails pointing ambiguously between characters.
Why it happens: Not planning dialogue placement during layout. Adding dialogue after art.
The fix:
- Plan bubble placement during layout
- Tails must clearly point to speakers
- Reading order must match speaking order
- Rearrange characters if necessary for clarity
Inconsistent Bubble Placement
The mistake: Speech bubbles randomly placed throughout panels with no logic, forcing readers to hunt for reading order.
Why it happens: Adding bubbles to “fit” rather than planning. Not understanding reading flow.
The fix:
- Top-to-bottom reading order
- Left-to-right (or right-to-left for manga) within same level
- First speaker’s bubble should be highest
- Consistent logic helps readers flow naturally
Tone and Style Errors
Inconsistent Tone
The mistake: Dialogue veering between comedic and serious without intention, or characters switching registers randomly.
Why it happens: Multiple writing sessions with different moods. Not defining tonal rules.
The fix:
- Establish your story’s tonal range
- Characters should have consistent registers
- Tone shifts should be intentional beats
- Read through for tonal consistency
Trying Too Hard to Be Clever
The mistake: Every line a quip. Every character spouting witticisms. Dialogue that prioritizes cleverness over authenticity.
Why it happens: Influence from media known for clever dialogue. Wanting quotable lines.
The fix:
- Wit works best when selective
- Most lines should be functional
- Clever dialogue loses impact when constant
- Characters need normal exchanges too
Outdated or Cringy Slang
The mistake: Using slang that dates poorly, cultural references that won’t age well, or trying to sound “young” unconvincingly.
Why it happens: Chasing trends. Writing outside your experience. Not testing with target audience.
The fix:
- Slang dates your work
- Use sparingly if at all
- Timeless phrasing ages better
- Have target demographic readers review dialogue
Character-Specific Problems
Characters Speaking Out of Character
The mistake: Wise mentor suddenly using crude language. Shy character giving confident speeches. Personality disappearing for plot convenience.
Why it happens: Prioritizing information delivery over character consistency. Not maintaining character notes.
The fix:
- Keep character voice notes
- Read dialogue asking “Would THIS character say this?”
- Find character-appropriate ways to convey necessary information
- Consistency matters more than convenience
Villain Monologuing
The mistake: Antagonists explaining their plans in detail to protagonists, breaking the “show don’t tell” rule dramatically.
Why it happens: Efficient exposition. Villain archetype expectations. Easy dramatic moments.
The fix:
- Villains have no reason to explain
- Reveal plans through action
- If villain must speak, make it character-driven
- Gloating can work, detailed explanation rarely does
Perfect Memory in Dialogue
The mistake: Characters recalling exact conversations, dates, and details with unrealistic precision when it serves the plot.
Why it happens: Convenient information delivery. Not thinking about realism.
The fix:
- People paraphrase, misremember, and approximate
- Perfect recall should be a character trait if used
- Summarize rather than quote exactly
- Memory imperfection can add drama
Revision Strategies
The Cover Test
Cover character names and read dialogue:
- Can you tell who’s speaking?
- If not, voices aren’t distinct enough
- Revise until characters are identifiable
The Read-Aloud Test
Read all dialogue aloud:
- Does it sound natural when spoken?
- Do you stumble on phrasing?
- Would anyone actually say this?
- Revise what sounds wrong
The Necessity Test
For every line, ask:
- Does this advance plot?
- Does this reveal character?
- Does this build world?
- If none, cut it
Creating with Multic
Good dialogue becomes even more important in collaborative comics where multiple writers might contribute. Multic’s collaborative workflow helps teams maintain consistent character voices across scenes, with shared style guides and real-time feedback ensuring dialogue quality.
Remember: in comics, art and dialogue work together. Neither should carry the entire load, and both should enhance the other. When dialogue is right, readers hear voices in their heads without noticing they’re reading.
Related: Dialogue Writing for Comics and Exposition Dump Mistakes