what is a speech balloon

A speech balloon, also known as a speech bubble, is a graphic convention used in comic books, comics, and cartoons to represent a characters speech or thoughts. It is a shape, like a cloud, balloon, or bubble, that contains text representing what the character is saying or thinking. The tail of the balloon points to the character who is speaking, so there is no need to include "he said" or "she said". Speech balloons can also be used to convey messages in other forms of publications, including websites. In some cases, speech balloons can be used to represent thought text, and a chain of progressively smaller circular bubbles leading to letters can be used to show the characters thought process. The terms "speech balloon" and "speech bubble" are interchangeable and have the same meaning.