Comic Code: Monospaced interpretation of the most over-hated typeface | Hacker News Reader

Comic Code: Monospaced interpretation of the most over-hated typeface

tosche.net

125 pointsorphea58 comments

I've been using Comic Mono as my primary font for about two years now. I use it for nearly everything; it's my terminal font, and since I spend a large percentage of my time in terminal I see it all the time. It's funny how many strange looks I share my screen with people, but I find it an exceedingly pleasant font to use. I'm even using w3m to view HN, so I'm looking at Comic Mono right now.

I checked out the limited free version of Comic Code and it didn't seem like it was any better than Comic Mono, and $100 for it seemed pretty steep for the pack, particularly since I'm not a huge fan of ligatures.

The readability is much better compared to other fonts, apparently it's also great for people with dyslexia. Personally I'm happy to trade readability for density with Iosevka

I use it to and yeah, I find the readability really good. It's not something I notice consciously, but my theory is the little imperfections in the loops and such make the text easier to scan. The loop in say an 'o' has a slightly different shape than the loop in a 'p'.

Sure, but how does Comic Code compare to the free Comic Mono? Comic Mono is pretty readable.

They are close but when I look at them side by side I give the edge to Comic Code. With Comic Mono I think the lines are a little too thick. Other things I notice, : is too small and <> are too big. YMMV of course

Also, while the complete set of Comic Code is $100, there's a "coding essentials" pack for $30

I've been using Codelia by the same designer for a bit over a year, also for nearly everything.

https://tosche.net/fonts/codelia

I absolutely love it – it was indeed a tough sell paying for a font, but it makes me happy.

I was tempted to get Comic Code, but I wanted to add a few characters (for Agda/Lean stuff), and I think the license precludes that. So I'm currently using Comic Mono / Comic Shanns with some tweaks.

The cost is $30 for the "Coding Essentials" collection, which is more than sufficient for everyday needs. (You're missing out on stuff like Thin and Ultra Light.)

Same here. I can’t explain why, but it feels like a more relaxed font and I really like it.

I’ve been aware of Comic Mono [0] for a bit, and it’s weird how it grew on me.

At first, repulsion at the idea. Then, “hmm, this is actually pretty nice”. Now, it’s my primary font for writing. It’s oddly…nice…and just friendly to look at.

I personally prefer Comic Mono, though.

- [0] https://dtinth.github.io/comic-mono-font/

Same. My only dislike is that the +, -, “ and some other symbols are a bit too thin/small. Comic code seems better in that regard but also weirder in other parts so not sure ill buy it.

I also prefer Comic Mono.

Comic Mono is great! I personally like Fantasque Sans just a little bit more though

[0] https://github.com/belluzj/fantasque-sans

Thank you for this. Fantasque-sans with the non-loopy k is wonderful!

It's not so much the most hated font, as the most abused font. Once we finally collectively acknowledge this, it can start healing.

Agreed, the most hated font is easily Papyrus. Looking at you, Avatar.

That's literally what it was commissioned for, so... yes, obviously we're looking at Avatar? Yet again, an abused font that should be taken away from every mom with a facebook group and given a safe place to be itself.

What do you mean that's what it was commissioned for? Papyrus long predates Avatar.

Agreed, Papyrus was invented in 1982[1], and not at all related to Avatar. Avatar just happened to use it.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_(typeface)

IYMI: SNL had a pretty good skit about those two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

(Wait till the tag at the end, too.)

One of my all-time favorite SNL sketches.

Bingo.

Comic Sans has its time and place. A note on your soda machine that you're out of CO2 is not the place. A professional e-mail isn't it, either.

The only place Comic Sans belongs is in material aimed at or about children. It's fine for an invite to a child's birthday party. It's fine for the cover of a children's book.

Or, you know, comics (paper or web, same difference) or comic panels/illustrations.

Most comics don't actually use Comic Sans.

I prefer Fantasque Sans Mono (https://github.com/belluzj/fantasque-sans) myself, mostly due to its loop-less style variant, but any code that resembles an OpenBSD slide set looks instantly good to me...

Fantasque too and I add another reason: Comic Mono lacks proper support for Spanish.

Fantasque is my favorite font, but it lacks more weights :(

There's an alternative for Comic Sans called Comic Neue and if I'm not mistaken there's also a monospaced version of it as well.

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Comic+Neue

This is my most favorite font to date. I've tried lots of others, but I've enjoyed this one the most. 100% worth the purchase.

I recently made the jump to Comic Code from having used Fantasque Sans Mono for a few years and I’m quite pleased. My eyesight is pretty poor and my eyes get tired by the end of the day but my terminal remains pretty readable. I do miss the looped ‘k’s from Fantasque Sans Mono though I must admit.

I wish we had a monospaced version of Comic Neue[0], which is a really nice font!

[0]: https://comicneue.com/

Right now my linux desktop uses comic Neue as system font along with comic code as monospace font. It's beautiful.

Their 'a' is quite different from the one in Comic Sans, unlike Comic Mono which is more faithful. I would say that Comic Sans generally looks closer to Comic Sans than Comic Code. Now, is it better, that's a different question.

Comic Mono lacks accented letters, but I guess I could cope with the occasional ugly replacement. I'll try it for a while in the text editor.

I find it quite nice that the Comic Code's author mentions Comic Mono.

I think it's funny everyone is ignoring the monospaced font the page is in. It appears to be called Dossier and I like it better than Courier New at least.

https://www.myfonts.com/collections/dossier-font-tabular-typ...

I've never hated comic sans at all. I think it's an attractive, easy-to-read font.

The problem with it is that it kept being used for inappropriate things, which is annoying and distracting, but that's not a problem with the font itself.

It's not bad actually in terms of readability. I would want a dotted zero though.

Weird letter shapes. Mildly so: v, y, k. Disturbingly so: w. I don't know what it is about it, but it seems to be hanging from the x-height rather than sitting on the baseline--sort of like Sanskrit writing or boobs.

"Designed specifically for programming as the name suggests,"

At first, I thought they were referring to the first word in the name, given how humorous some of the code I've read in my life is

I have always loved comic sans. It's such an unambiguously fun font. I wish I could customise the OSes of today to use it everywhere. But I'm not sure if it will work for code.

Disturbing, yet compelling. Seriously, I loaded it (and ComicMono) on an xterm and it's surprisingly easy for my dyslexic eyes to read. I may have to keep one of them.

I’ve previously heard that folks with dyslexia have an affinity for Comic Sans. Perhaps the same is true for these Comic monospaced fonts.

A quick google search turned up this: https://www.boia.org/blog/does-comic-sans-benefit-people-wit...

I have used a comic sans lookalike mono font (not this one) for some months now and I am incredibly happy with it and how readable everything is.

I actually quite like it! It’s worth a purchase

The monospaced version is terrible, my eyes and head hurt from trying to read that. I got a few lines in an got a headache.

I love this, my friend hates comic sans so I’m definitely using this for April fools

(2019)

discussion then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20533923

Comic Sans is the Barry Manilow or maybe Justin Bieber of typefaces.

This looks light and beautiful. I'm using it for everyone

Mono Papyrus next?

(I find no sign of such a thing existing, with a search)

I can't find it now but a few years ago there was a fontforge script going around that would papyrusify any font. It was pretty gruesome for most but always funny.

I found it nicer than I thought it'd be

This font has Mario 64 vibes.

I love the concept, but charging people for what is essentially a joke seems excessive.

That's essentially what professional comedians do.

I don’t think this is a joke at all.

Comic Mono has gained traction over the years, and I personally use it for my writing projects. I learned about it when Andy Ihnatko mentioned that he uses it for writing, and I can now understand why.

I don’t know if we needed a new/paid version of this, and Comic Mono looks better to me personally, but it’s not just a joke.

As the article mentions, a free (speech) version of the same concept can be found here: https://dtinth.github.io/comic-mono-font/

It's not a joke. As a dyslexic person this is the only programming font that keeps my eyes from bouncing around a screen of text.

This is the only font I use in any editor/IDE. If I can set it in a terminal, I use it there too.

The creator is a highly regarded professional type designer; I don't think this is a joke at all. He has a sense of humour which he applies to his work.

For example, he has pioneered the use of XBOX controllers in kerning typefaces:

https://twitter.com/Tosche_E/status/574735819589746688?t=F6w...

He later built his own custom input device for kerning:

https://twitter.com/Tosche_E/status/1641422399580012544?t=Wk...

This might seem like a gimmicky line of inquiry, but it is the kind of thing he is into, and it comes from a deep engagement with the business of making fonts. He is not a gag merchant.

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