TOOM

1950s horror comic publisher EC Comics did something subtle and creepy.

They used a machine to emulate hand lettering mechanically. The Leroy Lettering System emulated the look of handwriting but with a lifeless consistency.

Imagine desktop publishing but on a rickety device that has subtle inconsistencies. 

Now you can capture the same creepy classic look with TOOM — our new font by artist, writer, and university professor Christopher Sperandio.

• 3 all-caps faces (Regular, Italic, Bold Italic).
• Includes punctuation, special characters, and essential comic characters. including copyright, trademark, and reserved symbols. 
• OTF file.
• Support for European languages.
  
• Extras like skulls, excitement lines, and misprinted characters.
• Made by artist, writer, and university professor Christopher Sperandio.

Learn more about the history behind TOOM.

Recently, I found I needed a new font for my new graphic novels, so I made a digital version of the Leroy Lettering System. Fans of old comics will recognize Leroy Lettering. Bill Gaines, publisher of EC Comics, employed Jim Wroten, a former Leroy Lettering System salesman, and his wife, to letter ALL of their books. The use of Leroy Lettering made the EC books distinct. 

The font I made is called TOOM, its name a mash-up of TOON and TOMB, a tribute to the primary use of the Leroy Lettering System in 1950s horror comics.

Since authoring this font, I’ve used it in my new graphic novels and my contributions to comics anthologies such as š! from kuš! komiksi based in Riga, Latvia, and Kutlul, based in Berlin and Rotterdam, and in the daily comics that I make and post on Instagram.

- Chris Sperandio