Portal:Comics

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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 is 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, comic albums, and tankōbon have become increasingly common, along with webcomics as well as scientific/medical comics.

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 becomes plural when referring to works collectively (e.g. "Comics are popular reading material."). (Full article...)

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Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published in April 1950. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar, who felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively. Simultaneously disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, he and artist Frank Hampson created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris hawked the idea to several publishers, with little success, until Hulton Press decided to take it on. Following a huge publicity campaign, the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was the comic's most recognisable story, Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future (pictured). Other popular stories included Riders of the Range and P.C. 49. Eagle also contained news and sport sections, and educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery. Amidst a takeover of the comic's publisher and a series of acrimonious disputes, Morris left in 1959; Hampson followed shortly thereafter. Although Eagle continued in various forms, a perceived lowering of editorial standards preceded plummeting sales, and it was eventually subsumed by its rival, Lion, in 1969. A relaunched Eagle ran for over 500 issues between 1982 and 1994.

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Anniversaries for January 12

1891: birth of Raeburn van Buren, American comic strip artist best known for Abbie an' Slats
1960: birth of Ted McKeever, American artist known for his work in the comic book industry.
1962: birth of Joe Quesada, American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer.
1967: birth of Takehiko Inoue, Japanese mangaka best known for Vagabond
1968: birth of John Jackson Miller, American comic book writer, known for his work on the Star Wars franchise
1970: birth of Kaja Foglio, American writer, artist, and publisher, co-creator of Girl Genius
1973: birth of Hans Rickheit, American comics creator known for the graphic novel Chloe
2000: birth of Pontus Madsen, Swedish webcomic artist best known for Little Gamers
2001: death of Gian Luigi Bonelli, Italian comics writer best known for Tex Willer
2017: death of Gerry Gersten, American political caricaturist

More January anniversaries / All Anniversaries...

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 2Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 3A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 4Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 5Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 6Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 7Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 8Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 9Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 10Comic-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 11The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 12During 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 13The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 14A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 15Cover 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 16Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 17Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 18Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)

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

... that the author of the comic book Timeless Voyage was the leader of a UFO religion?
... that the Buddhist themes of David Bowie's 1967 composition "Karma Man" were compared to the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange?
... that Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
... that otomechikku, a subgenre of Japanese girls' comics focusing on stories about ordinary teenaged protagonists, has been compared to monogatari and the genre of Bildungsroman?
... that Fabrizio Dori wants his comic book Il dio vagabondo to bring attention to an ancient Greek view of death?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... that Arnie Roth debuted as a gay Marvel Comics character at a time when the publisher maintained a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy?
... that while Marvel Comics originally designated the main reality depicted in the MCU multiverse as Earth-199999, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness established it as Earth-616?

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Whiz Comics #2 (Feb. 1940), the first appearance of Captain Marvel. Cover art by C. C. Beck.

Credit: Fawcett Comics

Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940). With a premise that taps adolescent fantasy, Captain Marvel is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a youth who works as a radio news reporter and was chosen to be a champion of good by the wizard Shazam.

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More did you know...

...that the Super Friends had two sets of sidekicks: Wendy & Marvin, and then the Wonder Twins?

...that during World War II, the Czech comics illustrator Kája Saudek was imprisoned in a German concentration camp?

...that Marvel Studios considered making stand-alone short films‍—‌known as Marvel One-Shots‍—‌for Loki, Black Panther, and Damage Control?

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In the early days, I was writing scripts for virtually all the books, and it was very hard to keep all the artists busy; poor little frail me, doing story after story. So I'd be writing a story for Kirby, and Steve Ditko would walk in and say, 'Hey, I need some work now.' And I'd say, 'I can't give it to you now, Steve, I'm finishing Kirby's.' But we couldn't afford to keep Steve waiting, because time is money, so I'd have to say, 'Look Steve, I can't write a script for you now, but here's the plot for the next Spider-Man. Go home and draw anything you want, as long as it's something like this, and I'll put the copy in later.' So I was able to finish Jack's story. Steve in the meantime was drawing another story.....Okay, it started out as a lazy's man's device...but we realized this was absolutely the best way to do a comic.....Don't have the writer say, 'Panel one will be a long shot of Spider-Man walking down the street.' The artist may see it differently; maybe he feels it should be a shot of Spider-Man swinging on his web, or climbing upside-down on the ceiling or something.

— Stan Lee, 1975

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