Portal:Comics

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Show new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Lazarus is an American dystopian science fiction comic book series created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark. The two began developing the idea in 2012 and partnered with colorist Santi Arcas to finish the art. Image Comics has been publishing the book since the first issue was released on June 23, 2013. Other creators were brought in later to assist with lettering and inking. A six-issue spin-off limited series, Lazarus: X+66, was released monthly in 2017 between issues 26 and 27 of the regular series. Rucka initially said the series could run for up to 150 issues, but later reduced the estimate by half. Lazarus is being collected into paperback and hardcover editions, which sell better than the monthly issues.

In the series, the world has been divided among sixteen rival families, who run their territories in a feudal system. The main character is Forever Carlyle, the military leader of the Carlyle family. The major themes of Lazarus are the meaning of "family" and nature versus nurture. Critics have given it mostly positive reviews and have praised its worldbuilding. It has received particular attention for its political themes.

More selected articles

Read more

Anniversaries for November 24

1916: birth of Stan Kaye, American comics artist known for his work on DC Comics
1918: debut of Gasoline Alley, ongoing American comic strip created by Frank King
1941: birth of Horacio Altuna, Argentine comics artist bets known for El loco Chavez
1952: first appearance of Judge Parker, ongoing American comic strip created by Nicholas P. Dallis
1962: birth of John Kovalic, English comics author best known for Dork Tower
1984: final appearance of Joe Palooka, American comic strip created by Ham Fisher which ran since 1930
1986: death of Al Smith, American comic strip creator best known for continuing Mutt and Jeff
2005: launch of Jesus and Mo, British webcomic by Mohammed Jones

More November anniversaries / All Anniversaries...

General images

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

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

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

... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... that comic book artist Barry Windsor-Smith wrote, drew, inked, and lettered every page of his graphic novel Monsters by himself?
... 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 open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... 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?
... 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 circulation numbers for early comic books featuring Captain America remained close to a million copies per month, outstripping news magazines such as Time?
... 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"?

Selected picture

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.

More selected pictures

Read more

More did you know...

...that 24-hour comics have become so popular that there's now a holiday for it on April 24?

...that Uri-On, created by Michael Netzer (pictured) in 1987, was the first Israeli superhero to be published in color?

...that T.H.E. Fox, drawn on a C64 KoalaPad and published on CompuServe, Q-Link and GEnie, is among the earliest online comics?

More did you know facts

Selected quote

There were other Batman writers throughout the years but they could never capture the style and flavor of Bill's scripts. Bill was the best writer in the business and it seemed that he was destined to write Batman.

— Bob Kane

More selected quotes

More from Wikiquote