Portal:Comics

Introduction

Comics is 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, and comic albums, 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 June 11

1933: first appearance of Captain Easy, American comic strip by Roy Crane which ran until 1988
1934: debut of Mandrake the Magician, American comic strip created by Lee Falk
1949: birth of Steve Moore, British comics writer known for his collaborations with Alan Moore
1959: birth of Susan van Camp, American artist in gaming and comics
1971: birth of Dame Darcy, American comics creator known for Meatcake
1976: birth of Ivan Reis, Brazilian comics artist
1982: birth of Jared K. Fletcher, American comic book letterer
1992: death of Todd Loren, American comic book publisher, owner of Revolutionary Comics
2003: launch of Count Your Sheep, American webcomic by Adrian Ramos

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General images

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

Image 1Cover 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 2Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 3Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 4Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 5Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 6A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 7Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
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 9The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 10During 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 11Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 12BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 13Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 14Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 15A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 16Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 17The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 18Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)

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

... that John Byrne retold the origin of Superman in the 1986 comic book limited series The Man of Steel, 48 years after the character was created?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that the first time The Witcher universe was portrayed outside the novels was in the 1993–1995 Polish comic book series of the same name?
... that The Steranko History of Comics has been described as the first piece of cultural analysis on American comic books?
... that a teacher of medieval literature and comic books writes the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle?
... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?

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Credit: Julian Tysoe

Dave Gibbons, artist and designer of the Watchmen comic book series.

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More did you know...

...that the first issue of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic comic book had pre-orders exceeding 100,000 copies, making it one of the most successful comics of 2012?

...that xkcd creator Randall Munroe recently finished a self-updating webcomic strip that spanned 3,099 frames over 123 days?

...that A-Force, the upcoming ongoing comic book series to be published by Marvel Comics, will feature Marvel's first all-female team of Avengers?

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The comics medium is a very specialized area of the Arts, home to many rare and talented blooms and flowering imaginations and it breaks my heart to see so many of our best and brightest bowing down to the same market pressures which drive lowest-common-denominator blockbuster movies and television cop shows. Let's see if we can call time on this trend by demanding and creating big, wild comics which stretch our imaginations. Let's make living breathing, sprawling adventures filled with mind-blowing images of things unseen on Earth. Let's make artefacts that are not faux-games or movies but something other, something so rare and strange it might as well be a window into another universe because that's what it is.

— Grant Morrison

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