# Comic Sans: why it exists, and where it turned up

> Comic Sans was drawn for Microsoft Bob in 1994. Its history, its most talked about uses, and Comic Neue as a free Google Fonts alternative.

Web page: https://davidewins.com/fonts/comic-sans

Drawn in 1994 for the speech bubbles in Microsoft Bob.

Preview uses Comic Neue, the closest free match.

## History

- Vincent Connare designed it at Microsoft and it was released in October 1994. [1]
- He made it after seeing Times New Roman in the cartoon speech bubbles of a Microsoft Bob beta, drawing on comic lettering from The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. It was finished too late for Bob. [1]
- It first shipped in 3D Movie Maker, then in the Windows 95 Plus! Pack. [1]

## Who uses it

- CERN's Higgs boson results presentation in July 2012, by ATLAS spokesperson Fabiola Gianotti [1]
- Dan Gilbert's 2010 letter to Cleveland Cavaliers fans after LeBron James left [1]
- A Sydney Morning Herald front page in September 2014 [1]
- Sans's dialogue in the game Undertale (2015) [1]

## Sources

1. [Wikipedia: Comic Sans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans)

## The free alternative

Comic Neue keeps the hand-lettered comic book look, with more even, tidier shapes.

Body fonts that go with Comic Neue:

- [DM Sans](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=comic-sans&body=dm-sans): A clean geometric body keeps the joke in the heading only.
- [Karla](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=comic-sans&body=karla): Slightly quirky grotesque that matches the informal tone without more handwriting.
- [Lato](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=comic-sans&body=lato): Rounded and friendly, so it agrees with the heading instead of fighting it.

[Open Comic Sans in the pairing tool](https://davidewins.com/fonts?heading=comic-sans)