Portal:Comics

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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 amongst 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; fumetti 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, while online webcomics have proliferated in the 21st century.

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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Louis Riel is a historical biography in comics by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, published as a book in 2003 after serialization in 1999–2003. The story deals with Métis rebel leader Louis Riel's antagonistic relationship with the newly established Canadian government. It begins shortly before the 1869 Red River Rebellion, and ends with Riel's 1885 hanging for high treason. The book explores Riel's possible schizophrenia—he believed God had named him Prophet of the New World, destined to lead the Métis people to freedom.

The work is noted for its emotional disengagement, its intentionally flat dialogue, and a minimalist drawing style inspired by that of Harold Gray's comic strip Little Orphan Annie. Unusual for comics of the time, it includes a full scholarly apparatus: a foreword, index, bibliography, and end notes. The lengthy, hand-lettered appendix provides insight into Brown's creative process and biases and highlights where he changed historical facts to create a more engaging story, such as incorporating a conspiracy theory not widely accepted by historians. Brown became interested in the issue of property rights while researching the book, which led to a public change in his politics from anarchism to libertarianism.

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Anniversaries for May 31

1872: birth of W. Heath Robinson, English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives
1915: birth of Allen Bert Christman, American comics artist known for co-creating Sandman (Wesley Dodds) and drawing the Scorchy Smith newspaper strip
1917: birth of Cees van de Weert, Dutch comic artist, known for his work at the Marten Toonder Studios
1940: birth of Gilbert Shelton, American underground comix artist known for The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
1944: birth of Andy Yanchus, American comics colorist known for his work for Marvel Comics
1952: birth of David Anthony Kraft, American comic book writer, publisher, and critic
1967: birth of Dean Haspiel, American comic book artist, writer, and playwright
1974: birth of Adrian Tomine, American comics artist, best known for his comic book series Optic Nerve
1982: birth of Ian Flynn, American comics artist best known for working on Sonic the Hedgehog
1992: death of Walter Neugebauer, Croatian comic book artist and animator, one of the founders of comics in Croatia
2005: death of Eduardo Teixeira Coelho, Portuguese comic book artist best known for Ragnar

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

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

... that according to one source, The Embroidered Couch is "most likely China's earliest vernacular pornographic novel"?
... that Darktown Comics, a series of racist caricatures, was a perennial bestseller for Currier and Ives and by 1884 represented a third of the company's production?
... that Hikaru Natsumi contributed to adult comic magazines while still in high school?
... 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 M. Night Shyamalan's Old is based on a Swiss graphic novel that the filmmaker received as a Father's Day gift?
... 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 it took Zachary Levi an average of twenty minutes to get into costume as the titular character in Shazam!?
... that the 1994 video game Kajko i Kokosz, the first based on the Polish comic book series of the same name, was not playtested, and the initial release had to be recalled and replaced?

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Credit: Jim Henderson

Midtown Comics is a New York City comic book retailer with three shops in Manhattan and an e-commerce website. The largest comic book store in the United States, the company opened its first store in the Times Square area in 1997. Its second was opened on Lexington Avenue in 2004, and is known as the Grand Central store for its proximity to Grand Central Terminal.

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More did you know...

...that speech balloons (example pictured) are used in comic books and strips to allow the characters words and thoughts to be viewed by the reader?

...that A Commitment To Our Roots is the first charity devoted to helping comic book industry veterans in need?

...that between 1970 and 1984 the WE Seal of approval program aided in an estimated US$100,000 in restitution being made to collectors of comics and other memorabilia victimized by mail fraud?

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A couple of months after I published this story, it occurred to me that a Superman as a hero rather than as a villain might make a great comic strip character in the vein of Tarzan, only more super and sensational than that great character. Joe and I drew it up as a comic book.

— Jerry Siegel

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs). 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. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.