Portal:Comics

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Introduction

Little Sammy Sneeze comic strip,
published 1904-1906
by Winsor McCay

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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Anarky is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe. Co-created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle (pictured), he first appeared in Detective Comics #608 (November 1989) as an adversary of Batman. Stories revolving around Anarky often focus on political and philosophical themes. Named after the philosophy of anarchism, the primary philosophical element that has underscored the character's appearances has been anti-statism. With Grant's transition to the philosophy of Neo-Tech, Anarky was transformed from a vehicle for socialist and populist philosophy, to rationalist, atheist, and free market based thought. The creation of the character was also partially influenced by Alan Moore's character "V" from V for Vendetta. Originally intended to only be used in the debut story in which he appeared, positive reception by readers and his editor convinced Grant to continue using Anarky as a recurring character throughout the early 90s. Batman: Anarky, a trade paperback collection of stories featuring the character, soon followed. This popular acclaim culminated, however, in a financially and critically unsuccessful ongoing solo series. The 1999 Anarky series, in which even Alan Grant has expressed his distaste, was quickly canceled after eight issues.

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Anniversaries for May 17

1890: debut of Comic Cuts, British comic magazine and first weekly comic paper
1928: birth of George Kashdan, American comic book writer and editor, primarily for DC Comics, who co-created such characters as Tommy Tomorrow, Mysto the Magician Detective, and others.
1929: birth of Piet Wijn, Dutch comics writer and artist best known for Aram and Douwe Dabbert
1956: birth of Dave Sim, Canadian comic book writer and artist best known for Cerebus the Aardvark
1962: birth of Steve Geiger, American comic book artist
1964: birth of Linda Medley, American comic book author and illustrator
1969: death of Arthur "Bugs" Baer, American cartoonist known as ghostwriter of Mutt and Jeff
2000: death of Dick Sprang, American comic book artist best known for his work on Batman
2002: death of Dave Berg, American comics artist known for the Lighter Side in Mad magazine

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General images

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

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

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 a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... 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 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 the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... that Piecemeal, who appeared in The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga, was considered one of the strangest characters to appear in a Marvel video game?
... that Kake has been described as "a sort of Johnny Appleseed ... spreading the seeds of liberated, mutually satisfying, ecstatically explicit gay sex"?
... that open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?

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Credit: Fox Feature Syndicate

Samson was a fictional superhero that appeared in comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. He first appeared in Fantastic Comics #1 (Dec. 1939). The writer was uncredited, but is believed to be Will Eisner; the artist was Alex Blum, using the pseudonym "Alex Boon".

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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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In the early days, I was writing scripts for virtually all the books, and it was very hard to keep all the artists busy; poor little frail me, doing story after story. So I'd be writing a story for Kirby, and Steve Ditko would walk in and say, 'Hey, I need some work now.' And I'd say, 'I can't give it to you now, Steve, I'm finishing Kirby's.' But we couldn't afford to keep Steve waiting, because time is money, so I'd have to say, 'Look Steve, I can't write a script for you now, but here's the plot for the next Spider-Man. Go home and draw anything you want, as long as it's something like this, and I'll put the copy in later.' So I was able to finish Jack's story. Steve in the meantime was drawing another story.....Okay, it started out as a lazy's man's device...but we realized this was absolutely the best way to do a comic.....Don't have the writer say, 'Panel one will be a long shot of Spider-Man walking down the street.' The artist may see it differently; maybe he feels it should be a shot of Spider-Man swinging on his web, or climbing upside-down on the ceiling or something.

— Stan Lee, 1975

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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.