Portal:Comics

Introduction

Little Sammy Sneeze comic strip,
published 1904-1906
by Winsor McCay

Comics are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically takes the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. There is no consensus among theorists and historians on a definition of comics; some emphasize the combination of images and text, some sequentiality or other image relations, and others historical aspects such as mass reproduction or the use of recurring characters. Cartooning and other forms of illustration are the most common means of image-making in comics. Photo comics are a form that uses photographic images. Common forms include comic strips, editorial and gag cartoons, and comic books. Since the late 20th century, bound volumes such as graphic novels and comic albums have become increasingly common, along with webcomics.

The English term comics is used as a singular noun when it refers to the medium itself (e.g. "Comics is a visual art form."), but as a plural when referring to works collectively (e.g. "Comics are popular reading material."). (Full article...)

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An ashcan comic is a form of the American comic book created solely to establish trademarks on potential titles and not intended for sale. The practice was common in the 1930s and 1940s when the comic book industry was in its infancy, but was phased out after updates to US trademark law. The term was revived in the 1980s by Bob Burden, who applied it to prototypes of his self-published comic book. Since the 1990s, the term has been used to describe promotional materials produced in large print runs and made available for mass consumption. In the film and television industries, the term "ashcan copy" has been adopted for low-grade material created to preserve a claim to licensed property rights.

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Anniversaries for January 23

1883: death of Gustave Doré, French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor
1884: birth of George McManus, American comic strip creator best known for Bringing up Father
1905: death of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, Portuguese comics pioneer best known for Zé Povinho
1910: death of Angelo Agostini, considered the first Brazilian cartoonist and a pioneer of sequential art
1930: debut of Quick & Flupke, Belgian comic series by Hergé, in Le Petit Vingtième
1934: birth of Don Wright, American editorial cartoonist
1949: birth of Tom Condon, DC Comics managing editor from 1984-1986.
1952: birth of Klaus Janson, German-born American comics artist, best known as an inker
1953: death of Raymond De La Nezière, French comic artist mainly known for his drawings of horses and his anthropomorphic animals
1958: death of Ilia Beshkov, Bulgarian painter, graphic artist, comics artist, caricaturist, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and pedagogue.
1965: first publication of Sparky, British comic which ran for 652 issues
1978: birth of Philip Tan, Filipino comic book artist.
1988: last issue of Battle Picture Weekly, British comic which ran since 1975
2001: first issue of Planetes, Japanese manga created by Makoto Yukimura
2001: debut of Zipang, ongoing Japanese manga by Kaiji Kawaguchi

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General images

The following are images from various comics-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 2A statue of The Rose of Versailles. This is a statue of Oscar and André at the Takarazuka Grand Theater in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, which is the musical of the work. (from History of manga)
Image 3Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 4Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 5The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 6Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 7Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 8Comic-Con crowd inside the second floor of the convention center in 2011 waiting for the exhibition hall to open (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 9Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 10Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 11Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 12A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 13Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix (from Comic book convention)
Image 14During panels at comic book conventions, the audience is sometimes invited to line up and ask questions using a dedicated microphone. (from Comic book convention)
Image 15Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 16Cover of Illustrated Chips in 1896 featuring the first appearance of the long-running comic strip of the tramps Weary Willie and Tired Tim. (from British comics)
Image 17The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 18Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 19A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that John Romita Sr. has been credited with introducing romance comic themes to Spider-Man comic books?
... that the 2003 graphic novel The Life Eaters, presenting an occult-driven, hypothetical Axis victory in World War II, has been discussed in the context of its portrayal of The Holocaust?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... that a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?
... that the author of the comic book Timeless Voyage was the leader of a UFO religion?
... that Fabrizio Dori wants his comic book Il dio vagabondo to bring attention to an ancient Greek view of death?
... that the writer of Poison Ivy: Thorns felt the titular DC Comics character was "tailor made for [her] interests as a nature-loving, gay makeup enthusiast"?
... that comic book artist Barry Windsor-Smith wrote, drew, inked, and lettered every page of his graphic novel Monsters by himself?

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Credit: Jennifer Graylock

The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting activities.

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More did you know...

... that Marvel Comics published a parody of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue featuring artwork of superheroes in bathing suits?

... that Shueisha, the publisher of Weekly Shōnen Jump, has produced a manga series in collaboration with Marvel Comics?

... that Wolfgang J. Fuchs, an early German comics scholar who co-wrote a 1971 standard work on the topic, translated Garfield and Mom's Cancer?

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Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El, to save the planet Earth.

— Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois (2005-2008), 44th President of the United States (2009-), October 2008

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