Portal:Comics

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Introduction

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

Comics are 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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Ralph Bakshi, the director of Fritz the Cat

Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi (pictured) as his feature film debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States. It focuses on Fritz (voiced by Skip Hinnant), an anthropomorphic feline in mid-1960s New York City who explores the ideals of hedonism and sociopolitical consciousness. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, the free love movement, and left- and right-wing politics. Fritz the Cat was the most successful independent animated feature of all time, grossing over $100 million worldwide. The film had a troubled production history and controversial release. Creator Robert Crumb is known to have had disagreements with the filmmakers, claiming in interviews that his first wife signed over the film rights to the characters, and that he did not approve the production. Crumb was also critical of the film's approach to his material. Fritz the Cat was controversial for its rating and content, which viewers at the time found to be offensive.

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Anniversaries for October 18

1954: debut of Hi and Lois, American comic strip created and written by Mort Walker and drawn by Dik Browne
1955: birth of Sandy Plunkett, American comic book artist known for his work with Marvel Comics
1963: birth of Steve Epting, American comic book artist
1969: birth of Rachel Dodson, American comic book artist and inker
1969: start of Whizzer and Chips, British comic which ran until 1990
1973: death of Walt Kelly, American comic book artist and author best known for Pogo
1975: first appearance in The Beano of the British comic strips Ball Boy by Malcolm Judge and Tom, Dick and Sally by Dave Jenner
1978: birth of Sarah Dyer, American comic book artist known for her work on Action Girl Comics
1994: birth of David Mariotte, American editor at IDW Publishing who has contributed to the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing.
1995: first volume of Flame of Recca, Japanese manga created by Nobuyuki Anzai
1997: death of Milt Neil, American animator, toy designer, and comics artist, known for his work for Disney Studios
2006: release of 1001 Nights of Snowfall, graphic novel by Bill Willingham, a prequel to Fables
2006: death of Miriam Engelberg, American comics artist best known for Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person
2006: death of Don R. Christensen, American comics writer known for his work on Disney comics

More October anniversaries / All Anniversaries...

General images

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

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

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

... that the original release of Jason Shiga's comic Demon included a four-page issue, a sixty-page issue, and an issue in which all the panels were black?
... 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?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?
... 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 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 open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... that Piecemeal, who appeared in The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga, was considered one of the strangest characters to appear in a Marvel video game?
... that the Franco-Belgian comic book Hans had its title changed in Poland due to lingering ill-feeling toward Germany?

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Credit: Winsor McCay

A panel is an individual frame, or single drawing, in the multiple-panel sequence of a comic strip or comic book. A panel consists of a single drawing depicting a frozen moment. Newspaper daily strips typically consist of either four panels (Doonesbury, For Better or For Worse) or three panels (Garfield, Dilbert), all of the same size. The horizontal newspaper strip can also employ only a single panel, as sometimes seen in Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur.

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More did you know...

...that the Super Friends had two sets of sidekicks: Wendy & Marvin, and then the Wonder Twins?

...that during World War II, the Czech comics illustrator Kája Saudek was imprisoned in a German concentration camp?

...that Marvel Studios considered making stand-alone short films‍—‌known as Marvel One-Shots‍—‌for Loki, Black Panther, and Damage Control?

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The comics medium is a very specialized area of the Arts, home to many rare and talented blooms and flowering imaginations and it breaks my heart to see so many of our best and brightest bowing down to the same market pressures which drive lowest-common-denominator blockbuster movies and television cop shows. Let's see if we can call time on this trend by demanding and creating big, wild comics which stretch our imaginations. Let's make living breathing, sprawling adventures filled with mind-blowing images of things unseen on Earth. Let's make artefacts that are not faux-games or movies but something other, something so rare and strange it might as well be a window into another universe because that's what it is.

— Grant Morrison

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Featured content

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.