Portal:Comics

Introduction

Comics is 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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Batwoman is the name of two fictional characters who act as female counterparts to the superhero Batman. The original Batwoman was created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff with writer Edmond Hamilton. This character appears in publications produced by DC Comics and related media beginning in Detective Comics #233 (1956). The character was introduced as a love interest for Batman to disprove allegations of homosexuality in response to the backlash from the book Seduction of the Innocent (1954). When Julius Schwartz became editor of the Batman-related comic books in 1964, he removed non-essential characters including Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Bat-Hound. The modern Batwoman is written as being of Jewish descent and as a lesbian in an effort by DC editorial staff to diversify its publications and better connect to modern day readership. Batwoman's sexual orientation has been both criticized and praised by the general public and the character has been described as the highest profile gay character to appear in stories produced by DC Comics. Both incarnations of the character are written as the heiress of a family whose fortune is comparable to the wealth of Bruce Wayne.

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Anniversaries for April 22

Unknown Year: birth of Elaine Lee, American playwright, actress and comic book writer
1923: birth of Sol Brodsky, American comic book artist best known as production manager at Marvel Comics
1946: first appearance of Sazae-san, Japanese manga by Machiko Hasegawa which ran until 1974
1947: birth of Steve Englehart, American comic book writer
1956: birth of Larry Mahlstedt, American comic book artist specializing in inking
1966: birth of Marie Javins, American comic book editor and colorist, known for her long association with Marvel Comics and the Teshkeel Media Group. As of 2020, Javins is editor-in-chief of DC Comics.
1969: birth of Ian Churchill, British comic book artist
1970: birth of Bryan Hitch, British comic book writer and artist
1974: birth of Yanick Paquette, Canadian comic book artist.
1990: debut of The Buckets, American comic strip by Scott Stantis
2002: death of Denis McLoughlin, British comic book artist best known for his work at Boardman Books

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General images

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

Image 1Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 2Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 3Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 4Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 5During 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 6Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 7The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 8Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 9Cover 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 10Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 11The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 12A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of 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 14BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 15Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 16Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 17Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 18A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)

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

... 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 Maystorm, a character from Ultimate X-Men, was initially created for a variant cover for the comic X-Men?
... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... 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 although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
... that John Romita Sr. has been credited with introducing romance comic themes to Spider-Man comic books?
... that Fabrizio Dori wants his comic book Il dio vagabondo to bring attention to an ancient Greek view of death?

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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 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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In the early days, I was writing scripts for virtually all the books, and it was very hard to keep all the artists busy; poor little frail me, doing story after story. So I'd be writing a story for Kirby, and Steve Ditko would walk in and say, 'Hey, I need some work now.' And I'd say, 'I can't give it to you now, Steve, I'm finishing Kirby's.' But we couldn't afford to keep Steve waiting, because time is money, so I'd have to say, 'Look Steve, I can't write a script for you now, but here's the plot for the next Spider-Man. Go home and draw anything you want, as long as it's something like this, and I'll put the copy in later.' So I was able to finish Jack's story. Steve in the meantime was drawing another story.....Okay, it started out as a lazy's man's device...but we realized this was absolutely the best way to do a comic.....Don't have the writer say, 'Panel one will be a long shot of Spider-Man walking down the street.' The artist may see it differently; maybe he feels it should be a shot of Spider-Man swinging on his web, or climbing upside-down on the ceiling or something.

— Stan Lee, 1975

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