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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Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The cartoonist considered it his favourite Tintin adventure and an emotional effort, as he created it while suffering from traumatic nightmares and a personal conflict while deciding to leave his wife of three decades for a younger woman. The comic, serialised from 1958–59 in Tintin magazine, tells of the young reporter Tintin in search of his friend Chang Chong-Chen, whom the authorities claim has died in a plane crash in the Himalayas. Convinced that Chang has survived, Tintin leads his companions across the Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet, along the way encountering the mysterious Yeti. Themes in Hergé's story include extrasensory perception, the mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism (Tibetan monastery pictured), and friendship. Tintin in Tibet has been translated into 32 languages, is highly regarded by critics, and has been praised by the Dalai Lama, who awarded it the Light of Truth Award. The story was a commercial success and was published in book form in 1960; the series itself became a defining part of the Franco-Belgian comics tradition.

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Anniversaries for May 18

1917: birth of Bill Everett, American comic book writer best known for creating Namor the Submariner and co-creating Daredevil
1931: birth of Don Martin, American comic book artist and author best known for his work on MAD magazine
1942: birth of Don Donahue, American comic book publisher, known for operating Apex Novelties
1953: birth of Alan Kupperberg, American comics artist known for working in both comic books and newspaper strips
1953: birth of Arthur Suydam, American comic book artist known for his work on horror comics
1960: birth of James W. Fry, American comic book pencil artist best known for his work on Star Trek comics
1988: first appearance of Pugad Baboy, Filipino comic strip created by Pol Medina Jr.
2001: debut of Zatch Bell!, Japanese shōnen manga by Makoto Raiku
2017: death of Oscar González Guerrero, Mexican comic book artist known for his co-creation of Zor y Los Invencibles and Hermelinda Linda, and being the artistic director of ¡Ka-Boom! Estudio

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

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

... that Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
... that the 1992 comic book storyline "Man and Wolf", in which Captain America is transformed into a werewolf, has been described as "one of the most bizarre moments of the core Marvel Universe"?
... 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 Kake has been described as "a sort of Johnny Appleseed ... spreading the seeds of liberated, mutually satisfying, ecstatically explicit gay sex"?
... that otomechikku, a subgenre of Japanese girls' comics focusing on stories about ordinary teenaged protagonists, has been compared to monogatari and the genre of Bildungsroman?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... that comic book creator Brandon Dayton chose medieval Russia as the setting for his minicomic Green Monk after watching Andrei Tarkovsky's film Andrei Rublev?

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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 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"?

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Selected quote

A lot of the people who read comics think of comics as a culture—or as a subculture; something with its own private codes that mark its members as belonging, and everybody else as not belonging.

— Douglas Wolk, 2006

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Topics

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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.