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, 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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Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and has historically been cross-promoted with the release of a superhero film. Over two thousand participating stores give away millions of comic books annually. The event was proposed by Joe Field in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine and Free Comic Book Day was launched in 2002, coordinated by the industry's single large distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. FCBD has become an official Children's Book Week event and has inspired similar events for German- and Dutch-language comics industries. The twenty-second edition of FCBD was held on May 4, 2024.

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Anniversaries for April 17

1923: birth of Earl Norem, American artist known for his work with Marvel Comics
1940: birth of Claire Bretécher, French comics creator known for Agrippine, Cellulite and Les Frustrés
1964: birth of Ben Dunn, American comics creator known for Ninja High School and Warrior Nun Areala
1972: birth of Shawn Martinbrough, American comic book artist
2012: launch of Stan Lee's World of Heroes, a YouTube channel created by Stan Lee
2006: start of the syndication of F Minus, American comic strip by Tony Carrillo

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General images

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

Image 1Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 2During 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 3Comic-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 4The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 5A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 6Cover 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 7A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 8Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 9The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 10Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 11Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 12Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 13BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 14Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 15Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 16Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 17Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 18Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)

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

... 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 a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... that Tina Leung dressed as her comic book alter ego when accepting an award for the House of Slay?
... that Maystorm, a character from Ultimate X-Men, was initially created for a variant cover for the comic X-Men?
... that a teacher of medieval literature and comic books writes the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle?
... that until the 1970s, most shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) were written by men?
... 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 writer of Poison Ivy: Thorns felt the titular DC Comics character was "tailor made for [her] interests as a nature-loving, gay makeup enthusiast"?

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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 24-hour comics have become so popular that there's now a holiday for it on April 24?

...that Uri-On, created by Michael Netzer (pictured) in 1987, was the first Israeli superhero to be published in color?

...that T.H.E. Fox, drawn on a C64 KoalaPad and published on CompuServe, Q-Link and GEnie, is among the earliest online comics?

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...'comic' simply means funny, so the word is inadequate. To tack on the word 'adult' has resulted in a style of magazine suitable for only some adults, glossy comics barely containing their airbrushed breasts, leaving little room for genuine content.

— Paul Gravett

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