Patti Smith

Portal topics - (Random portal)

Activities

Culture

Introduction

Shortcuts

Little Sammy Sneeze comic strip,
published 1904-1906
by Winsor McCay

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, and comic albums, 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

Halo: Uprising is a four-issue American comic book limited series set in the Halo universe. The series was written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Alex Maleev, and published by Marvel Comics. Uprising tells a story set between the ending of the 2004 video game Halo 2 and the beginning of its sequel, Halo 3, as Earth is under attack by a collective of alien races known as the Covenant. The series was intended to be released and concluded before Halo 3 shipped on September 25, 2007, but the final issue did not appear until April 2009. The series was brought together by Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel's Vice President of Development. He attained the license to publish Halo comics, including the single-volume The Halo Graphic Novel, in 2005. The graphic novel's critical and commercial success prompted Marvel to announce a new Halo limited series in 2006 with Jayatilleke serving as the series' editor. Bendis, a long-time Halo fan, was excited about adding to the franchise story. Reception to the series was lukewarm. The series' artistic style was generally praised. However, the lack of Master Chief-focused action and character development—as well as the delays in publishing—led to average reviews. The series was commercially successful and appeared in the top slot of The New York Times Graphic Books bestsellers list.

More selected articles

Read more

Anniversaries for June 24

1928: birth of Yvan Delporte, Belgian comics writer and influential editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine
1928: birth of Jesse Santos, Filipino comic-book artist, co-creator of Dagar the Invincible and Tragg and the Sky Gods
1929: birth of Vic Carrabotta, American comic book artist best known for his work with Atlas Comics
1948: birth of Alan Zelenetz, American film producer and comic-book writer, co-creator of Alien Legion for Epic Comics
1960: birth of Reiko Okano, Japanese mangaka best known for Onmyoji
1961: birth of Peter Milligan, British comic book writer
1963: birth of Mike Wieringo, Italian-American comic book artist best known for work on The Sensational Spider-Man
1963: birth of Denis Rodier, American comic book illustrator; known for his work on "The Death of Superman" story arc.
1965: birth of Kevin VanHook, American comic book writer and artist, visual effects supervisor, and filmmaker, best known creating the character Bloodshot for Valiant Comics. .
1969: death of Frank King, early American comic strip writer and artist, best known as creator of Gasoline Alley
1978: birth of Carlo Pagulayan, Filipino comics artist best known for Elektra
2002: death of Larry Alcala, Filipino comics artist best known for Kalabog en Bosyo

More June anniversaries / All Anniversaries...

General images

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

Image 1Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 2Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 3Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 4The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 5Comic-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 6The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 7Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 8Cover 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 9Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 10BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 11Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 12Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 13Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 14Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 15During 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 16A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 17A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 18Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)

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 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 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 a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?
... that a teacher of medieval literature and comic books writes the blog Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle?
... 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 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?

Selected picture

Credit: J-E Nyström

Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck (1947), Gladstone Gander (1948), the Beagle Boys (1951), The Junior Woodchucks (1951), Gyro Gearloose (1952), Cornelius Coot (1952), Flintheart Glomgold (1956), John D. Rockerduck (1961) and Magica De Spell (1961). The quality of his scripts and drawings earned him the nicknames The Duck Man and The Good Duck Artist. Writer-artist Will Eisner called him "the Hans Christian Andersen of comic books."

More selected pictures

Read more

More did you know...

...that Irving Phillips's comic strip The Strange World of Mr. Mum is cited as paving the way for later titles like The Far Side and Bizarro?

...that Jason Little was nominated for a Harvey Award and an Ignatz Award for his creation of the comic book Jack's Luck Runs Out?

...that Czechoslovak communist censors banned publishing of the comic album Muriel a andělé?

More did you know facts

Selected quote

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

More selected quotes

More from Wikiquote