Portal:Comics

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 means of image-making in comics. Photo comics are 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...)

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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 December 17

1929: birth of Dick Dillin, American comic book artist best known as penciller of Justice League
1938: debut of Pansy Potter, British comic strip created by Hugh McNeill in The Beano
1940: birth of Édika, French comic book artist mainly working for the satirical magazine Fluide Glacial
1950: birth of Mark Texeira, American comic book artist
1953: death of Stephen Slesinger, American comic book writer, co-creator of Red Ryder
1954: birth of Beau Smith, American comic book writer and columnist, best known for his work for DC Comics
1963: birth of Bart Sears, American comic book artist and author known for his work on Justice League Europe and Legends of the Dark Knight
1968: birth of Fabrice Neaud, French comic book artist and author known for his autobiographical works
1968: birth of Matt Hollingsworth, American comics colorist known for Catwoman
1971: birth of Dexter Vines, American comics artist and inker
2006: death of Joe Gill, American comic book writer best known as co-creator of Captain Atom

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General images

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

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

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

... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... that Maystorm, a character from Ultimate X-Men, was initially created for a variant cover for the comic X-Men?
... 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 John Romita Sr. has been credited with introducing romance comic themes to Spider-Man comic books?
... that Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that The Steranko History of Comics has been described as the first piece of cultural analysis on American comic books?
... that John Byrne retold the origin of Superman in the 1986 comic book limited series The Man of Steel, 48 years after the character was created?

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Credit: Fawcett Comics

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.

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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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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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