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 means of image-making 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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Sir Osbert Lancaster CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general public about good buildings and architectural heritage.

The only child of a prosperous family, Lancaster was educated at Charterhouse School and Lincoln College, Oxford; at both he was an undistinguished scholar. From an early age he was determined to be a professional artist and designer, and studied at leading art colleges in Oxford and London. While working as a contributor to The Architectural Review in the mid-1930s, Lancaster published the first of a series of books on architecture, aiming to simultaneously amuse the general reader and demystify the subject. Several of the terms he coined as labels for architectural styles have gained common usage, including "Pont Street Dutch" and "Stockbroker's Tudor", and his books have continued to be regarded as important works of reference on the subject.

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Anniversaries for November 10

1697: birth of William Hogarth, English cartoonist who is often credited as one of the pioneers of comics
1910: birth of Zhang Leping, Chinese manhua artist best known for Sanmao
1918: birth of Howard Purcell, American comics artist and writer
1960: birth of Neil Gaiman, British comics author best known for Sandman
1967: birth of Darick Robertson, American comics artist
1993: death of Alberto Breccia, Argentine comic book creator, collaborated with Héctor Germán Oesterheld
2002: debut of Aria, Japanese manga created by Kozue Amano
2006: death of Jack Williamson, American comic strip writer known for Beyond Mars

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General images

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

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

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

... that the writer of Poison Ivy: Thorns felt the titular DC Comics character was "tailor made for [her] interests as a nature-loving, gay makeup enthusiast"?
... 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 a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... 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 Arnie Roth debuted as a gay Marvel Comics character at a time when the publisher maintained a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy?

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Credit: Emuzesto

Scott McCloud, whose work Understanding Comics identified the different styles of art used within comics.

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More did you know...

...that Milt Gross, (pictured) writer of comics that used Yiddish-inflected English, also wrote a 1930 "silent" graphic novel He Done Her Wrong: The Great American Novel and Not a Word in It — No Music, Too?

...that the DC comic book Batman: The Last Arkham drew on the influences of psychology and biology books such as "Superstition in the Common Pigeon"?

...that the Young Justice episode "Independence Day" introduces a younger version of the DC Universe?

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...'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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