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 image-making means 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

The Playboy is a graphic novel by the Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, serialized in 1990 in Brown's comic book Yummy Fur and collected in different revised book editions in 1992 and 2013. It deals with Brown's guilt and anxiety over his obsessive masturbation to Playboy Playmate models.

The story begins with Brown's first purchase of an issue of Playboy as a teenager. His obsessive masturbation gives him great guilt and anxiety, and out of fear of being caught he repeatedly rids himself of copies of the magazine, only to retrieve them later. His conflicting emotions follow him into adulthood until he purges them by revealing himself through his comics. The free, organic arrangement of odd-shaped panels of simple, expressive artwork contrasts with Brown's more detailed grid-like pages in his 1980s work, such as Ed the Happy Clown.

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Anniversaries for June 4

1938: first appearance of Just Jake, British comic strip by Bernard Graddon in the Daily Mirror until 1952
1951: birth of Wendy Pini, American comics creator best known for co-creating Elfquest
1958: birth of Josef Rubinstein, American comic book artist and inker, most associated with inking Marvel Comics' The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
1973: first publication of Barefoot Gen, Japanese manga novel by Keiji Nakazawa
1984: death of Sol Brodsky, American comic book artist best known as production manager at Marvel Comics
1986: birth of Jorge Jimenez, El Salvador-born comic book writer and artist known for his work on various DC Comics series
1988: final appearance of Steve Canyon, American comic strip by Milton Caniff which ran since 1947
1989: death of Dik Browne, American comic strip creator best known for Hi and Lois and Hägar the Horrible
1994: the first Alternative Press Expo is held in San Jose, California
1998: debut of Hunter × Hunter, Japanese manga created by Yoshihiro Togashi
2002: start of Scary Go Round, British webcomic by John Allison

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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 3Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 4A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 5Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 6The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 7Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 8Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 9Cover 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 10
Comics artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant
(from Bande dessinée)
Image 11A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 12Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 13Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 14Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 15Comic-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 16Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 17The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
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 Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that M. Night Shyamalan's Old is based on a Swiss graphic novel that the filmmaker received as a Father's Day gift?
... that Fabrizio Dori wants his comic book Il dio vagabondo to bring attention to an ancient Greek view of death?
... that open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... that the USC Trojans team that won the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had been compared to the Marvel Comics' Avengers?
... that the Buddhist themes of David Bowie's 1967 composition "Karma Man" were compared to the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange?
... that the Franco-Belgian comic book Hans had its title changed in Poland due to lingering ill-feeling toward Germany?
... that circulation numbers for early comic books featuring Captain America remained close to a million copies per month, outstripping news magazines such as Time?

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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 Marvel Comics published a parody of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue featuring artwork of superheroes in bathing suits?

... that Shueisha, the publisher of Weekly Shōnen Jump, has produced a manga series in collaboration with Marvel Comics?

... that Wolfgang J. Fuchs, an early German comics scholar who co-wrote a 1971 standard work on the topic, translated Garfield and Mom's Cancer?

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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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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.