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Comic Code: Monospaced interpretation of the most over-hated typeface
- retrocryptid 3y agoDisturbing, 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.
- tyleo 3y agoI’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-with-dyslexia?hs_amp=true https://www.boia.org/blog/does-comic-sans-benefit-people-wit...
- damnesian 3y agoIt's not bad actually in terms of readability. I would want a dotted zero though.
- warning26 3y agoI love the concept, but charging people for what is essentially a joke seems excessive.
- pfdietz 3y agoThat's essentially what professional comedians do.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- haswell 3y agoI 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.
- ngc7293 3y agoAs the article mentions, a free (speech) version of the same concept can be found here: https://dtinth.github.io/comic-mono-font/ https://dtinth.github.io/comic-mono-font/
- MacsHeadroom 3y agoIt'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.
- dosodbr 3y agoThe 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=F6wkLeLxSzxrawex2bIrOg&s=19 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=WkdCCB0SrEW4pHcOV7BrQA&s=19 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.
- c-fe 3y agoI 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.
- haswell 3y agoI’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/ https://dtinth.github.io/comic-mono-font/
- c-fe 3y agoSame. 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.
- mouse_ 3y agoI also prefer Comic Mono.
- vanderZwan 3y agoComic Mono is great! I personally like Fantasque Sans just a little bit more though [0] https://github.com/belluzj/fantasque-sans https://github.com/belluzj/fantasque-sans
- Sindisil 3y agoThank you for this. Fantasque-sans with the non-loopy k is wonderful!
- sunpazed 3y agoI actually quite like it! It’s worth a purchase
- ChrisArchitect 3y ago(2019)
- ChrisArchitect 3y agodiscussion then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20533923 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20533923
- TheRealPomax 3y agoIt's not so much the most hated font, as the most abused font. Once we finally collectively acknowledge this, it can start healing.
- ssgodderidge 3y agoAgreed, the most hated font is easily Papyrus. Looking at you, Avatar.
- TheRealPomax 3y agoThat'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.
- zerocrates 3y agoWhat do you mean that's what it was commissioned for? Papyrus long predates Avatar.
- ssgodderidge 3y agoAgreed, 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) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_(typeface)
- a_e_k 3y agoIYMI: SNL had a pretty good skit about those two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ (Wait till the tag at the end, too.)
- ssgodderidge 3y agoOne of my all-time favorite SNL sketches.
- pawelduda 3y agoI found it nicer than I thought it'd be
- lgunsch 3y agoThis 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.
- tombert 3y agoI'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.
- Perz1val 3y agoThe 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
- Volundr 3y agoI 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'.
- tombert 3y agoSure, but how does Comic Code compare to the free Comic Mono? Comic Mono is pretty readable.
- acrispino 3y agoThey 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
- anamexis 3y agoI've been using Codelia by the same designer for a bit over a year, also for nearly everything. https://tosche.net/fonts/codelia https://tosche.net/fonts/codelia I absolutely love it – it was indeed a tough sell paying for a font, but it makes me happy.
- seeknotfind 3y agoThis looks light and beautiful. I'm using it for everyone
- bamfly 3y agoMono Papyrus next? (I find no sign of such a thing existing, with a search)
- giraffe_lady 3y agoI 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.
- PreInternet01 3y agoI prefer Fantasque Sans Mono (https://github.com/belluzj/fantasque-sans 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...
- narag 3y agoFantasque too and I add another reason: Comic Mono lacks proper support for Spanish.
- aptenoforst 3y agoFantasque is my favorite font, but it lacks more weights :(
- jraph 3y agoTheir '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.
- UnixSchizoid 3y agoI love this, my friend hates comic sans so I’m definitely using this for April fools
- programmarchy 3y agoThis font has Mario 64 vibes.
- el_nahual 3y agoI wish we had a monospaced version of Comic Neue[0], which is a really nice font! [0]: https://comicneue.com/ https://comicneue.com/
- uncletaco 3y agoRight now my linux desktop uses comic Neue as system font along with comic code as monospace font. It's beautiful.
- king_geedorah 3y agoI 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.
- mrweasel 3y agoThe monospaced version is terrible, my eyes and head hurt from trying to read that. I got a few lines in an got a headache.
- perryizgr8 3y agoI 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.
- JohnFen 3y agoI'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.
- readthenotes1 3y ago"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
- karmakaze 3y agoWeird 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.
- gorjusborg 3y agoComic Sans is the Barry Manilow or maybe Justin Bieber of typefaces.
- vba616 3y agoI 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-type-foundry https://www.myfonts.com/collections/dossier-font-tabular-typ...
- xinayder 3y agoThere'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 https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Comic+Neue