Portal:Comics

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Introduction

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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Selected article

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and one's family.

Writing and illustrating Fun Home took seven years, in part because of Bechdel's laborious artistic process, which includes photographing herself in poses for each human figure. Fun Home has been the subject of numerous academic publications in areas such as biography studies and cultural studies as part of a larger turn towards serious academic investment in the study of comics/sequential art.

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Anniversaries for December 18

birth of Jordan D. White, American editor for Marvel Comics
1913: birth of Alfred Bester, American author known for Green Lantern and The Phantom
1919: birth of Ken Reid, British comics author best known for Roger the Dodger and Grandpa
1949: birth of Paul Neary, British comic book artist, writer and editor
1965: birth of J. H. Williams III, American comics artist known for Batwoman and Detective Comics
1977: birth of Ryan Scott Ottney, American comics writer known for The Legend of Isis

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General images

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

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

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

... that Kamome Shirahama, in addition to writing and illustrating her best-selling Witch Hat Atelier manga series, has created variant covers for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and the Star Wars franchise?
... 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 until the 1970s, most shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) were written by men?
... that open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... that Fabrizio Dori wants his comic book Il dio vagabondo to bring attention to an ancient Greek view of death?
... 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 comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... 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?

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Selected picture

Credit: J-E Nyström

Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."

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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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Selected quote

...'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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Featured content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Comics}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.