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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Self-portrait, 1922

George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–1944). More influential than popular, Krazy Kat had an appreciative audience among those in the arts. Gilbert Seldes' article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the greatest comics of the 20th century. Herriman's work has been a primary influence on cartoonists such as Elzie C. Segar, Will Eisner, Charles M. Schulz, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Bill Watterson, and Chris Ware.

Herriman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to mixed-race Creole parents, and grew up in Los Angeles. After he graduated from high school in 1897, he worked in the newspaper industry as an illustrator and engraver. He moved on to cartooning and comic strips—a medium then in its infancy—and drew a variety of strips until he introduced his most famous character, Krazy Kat, in his strip The Dingbat Family in 1910. A Krazy Kat daily strip began in 1913, and from 1916 the strip also appeared on Sundays. It was noted for its poetic, dialect-heavy dialogue; its fantastic, shifting backgrounds; and its bold, experimental page layouts.

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Anniversaries for May 14

1924: birth of Brad Anderson, American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Marmaduke
1936: birth of Lambil, Belgian comics artist best known for Les Tuniques Bleues
1955: birth of Dave Hoover, American comic book artist known for runs on The Wanderers, Starman and Captain America
1957: birth of Gary Leach, American comic book comics writer, artist, translator, art director, and production manager, known for his work on Disney comics
1970: birth of Norm Feuti, American cartoonist known for the comic strips Retail and Gil
1993: death of Gerda Gattel, American comic book letterer for DC Comics

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General images

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

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

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

... that until the 1970s, most shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) were written by men?
... that the Franco-Belgian comic book Hans had its title changed in Poland due to lingering ill-feeling toward Germany?
... 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 the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... that the robotic enemies in the video game The Incredible Hulk were influenced by Marvel Comics' objection to the Hulk killing humanoid characters?
... 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 although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
... 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?

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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 the two-inch-tall people of The Teenie Weenies were a Chicago Tribune comic strip written by William Donahey for over 50 years?

...that the manhwa Recast was published not just in Korean, but also in German, French, and American English?

...that author Ted McKeever cited Planet of the Apes as inspiration for his futuristic comic book series Meta 4, saying that it changed his life?

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Bob Kane had an idea for a character called "Batman", and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN.

— Bill Finger

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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.