Portal:Comics

Introduction

The Yellow Kid by Richard F. Outcault
The Yellow Kid
by Richard F. Outcault

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.

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...)

Selected article

Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman, published in 1959. Kurtzman aimed it at an adult audience, in contrast to his earlier work for adolescents in periodicals such as Mad. The social satire in the book's four stories targets Peter Gunn-style private-detective shows, Westerns such as Gunsmoke, capitalist avarice in the publishing industry, Freudian pop psychology, and lynch-hungry yokels in the South. Kurtzman's character Goodman Beaver makes his first appearance in one of the stories.

Kurtzman created the satirical Mad in 1952, but left its publisher EC Comics in 1956 after a dispute over financial control. After two failed attempts with similar publications, Kurtzman proposed Jungle Book as an all-original cartoon book to Ballantine Books to replace its successful series of Mad collections, which had moved to another publisher, Signet Books. Ballantine accepted Kurtzman's proposal, albeit with reservations about its commercial viability. It was the first mass-market paperback of original comics published in the United States. Though it was not a financial success, Jungle Book attracted fans and critics for its brushwork, satirical adult-oriented humor, experimental dialogue balloons, and adventurous page and panel designs.

Anniversaries for July 27

1907: birth of Jesse Marsh, American comic book artist known for his work on Tarzan
1922: birth of Ruben Moreira, Puerto Rican comic book artist and writer best known for his work on Tarzan and as a DC Comics artist.
1927: birth of Guido Buzzelli, Italian comic book artist, writer, illustrator, and painter
1938: birth of Pierre Christin, French comics author best known for his collaborations with Enki Bilal and Jean-Claude Mézières
1938: birth of Bill Pearson, American comic book writer and letterer
1940: birth of Ernie Chan, Chinese-American comics artist, known for work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics
1948: birth of Kaiji Kawaguchi, Japanese mangaka best known for Eagle
1960: birth of Nicola Scott, comics artist from Sydney, Australia whose notable works include Birds of Prey and Secret Six.
1977: birth of Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean comics artist best known for Nightmares & Fairy Tales
2004: launch of Joe and Monkey, American webcomic by Zach Miller
2005: death of Marten Toonder, influential Dutch comics creator best known for Tom Puss
2006: death of Carlos Roque, Portuguese comics artist best known for Wladimyr
2017: death of Stan Hart, American comedy writer who worked for Mad Magazine and Topps

General images

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

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

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that the writer of the 2022 comic book miniseries Poison Ivy, starring the eponymous Batman villain, described it as a "love story" that features "plant-based body horror"?
... 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 the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... that the USC Trojans team that won the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had been compared to the Marvel Comics' Avengers?
... that a teacher of medieval literature and comic books writes the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle?
... that John Romita Sr. has been credited with introducing romance comic themes to Spider-Man comic books?
... 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 Tina Leung dressed as her comic book alter ego when accepting an award for the House of Slay?

Selected picture

Cover of Wow Comics 38 (Sept./Oct. 1941).

Superhero comics is a form of American comic books. The form rose to prominence in the 1930s and 1940s and has remained the dominant form of comic book in North America since the 1960s. Superhero comics feature stories about superheroes and the universes these characters inhabit.

More did you know...

Brinkley Girl

...that New York Journal cartoonist and illustrator Nell Brinkley created the "Brinkley Girl" (pictured), an iconic representation of independent working women popular in the early 20th century?

...that Star Trek: Countdown, a comic book prequel to the 2009 film Star Trek, is also a sequel to the 2002 film Star Trek Nemesis?

...that Leland Myrick wrote the autobiographical graphic novel Missouri Boy, even though he considers himself "a very private person"?

Selected quote

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File:Betty Boop - Poor Cinderella (1934) - HD.webm
File:Photograph of Gustave Doré by Nadar, between 1856 and 1858.jpg
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Projects

Main project

Comics

Parent projects: Arts • Entertainment • Visual arts

Sub-projects: Batman • Comic strips • G.I. Joe • Superman • DC Comics • Transformers • Webcomics

Related Projects: Animation • Anime and manga • Biography • Film • Fictional characters • Media franchises • Music • Television • Video games

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Requested articles: Fenwick (comics), The Ranger, Khimaera (comics), Mutant Underground Support Engine, Bruce J. Hawker, Marc Dacier, Hultrasson, Frankenstein Comics, The Brooding Muse (comics), Dave Johnson (comics), Paco Medina, More...
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