10 Figures Who Completely Reshaped Comic Book History
9. Richard F. Outcault
Like Töpffer, Outcault's gift to comic books is only applicable once you acknowledge a key correlation between comic strips and comic books. If you don't then Outcault's real contribution would be the term 'Buster Brown' based on one of his most famous characters. Oh, and the speech balloon, Outcault made those popular too.
When artists wanted to portray specific dialogue from a subject they would use the 'speech scroll' which looks like someone spitting out paper like a stock ticker, sell sell sell! Outcault's most remembered character, The Yellow Kid, is credited with being the first comic to regularly use speech balloons.
On a technical level this is important as it allows the story to progress far more fluidly allowing the dialogue to move as swiftly as the character and gives comics a distinction from ordinary picture books. If not for Outcault's decision, comic book dialogue may still be restricted to block text or - God forbid - a resurgence of the speech scroll.