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, 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...)

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Tintin in Tibet is the twentieth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The cartoonist considered it his favourite Tintin adventure and an emotional effort, as he created it while suffering from traumatic nightmares and a personal conflict while deciding to leave his wife of three decades for a younger woman. The comic, serialised from 1958–59 in Tintin magazine, tells of the young reporter Tintin in search of his friend Chang Chong-Chen, whom the authorities claim has died in a plane crash in the Himalayas. Convinced that Chang has survived, Tintin leads his companions across the Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet, along the way encountering the mysterious Yeti. Themes in Hergé's story include extrasensory perception, the mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism (Tibetan monastery pictured), and friendship. Tintin in Tibet has been translated into 32 languages, is highly regarded by critics, and has been praised by the Dalai Lama, who awarded it the Light of Truth Award. The story was a commercial success and was published in book form in 1960; the series itself became a defining part of the Franco-Belgian comics tradition.

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Anniversaries for June 25

1917: birth of William Woolfolk, American writer of comic books, novels, and television screenwriting
1928: birth of Peyo, Belgian comic author and artist, creator of The Smurfs
1928: birth of Alex Toth, influential American comic book artist
1953: birth of Jerry Bingham, American artist of comic books, commercial illustration, and design
1973: publication of the last part of Ayako, a manga trilogy by Osamu Tezuka
1973: last appearance of Mafalda, comic strip by Argentine creator Quino which ran since 1964
1979: debut of Latigo, American comic strip by Stan Lynde
1983: last publication of Wow!, a British comic which ran for just over a year
1983: first publication of Cliff Hanger, a British comic strip by Jack Edward Oliver in Buster
1986: birth of Rebecca Taylor, American comic book editor
1990: final issue of Akira, successful manga by Katsuhiro Otomo
1999: debut of Alice!, American webcomic by Michael McKay-Fleming

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General images

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

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

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

... 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 John Romita Sr. has been credited with introducing romance comic themes to Spider-Man comic books?
... 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 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 comic book artist Barry Windsor-Smith wrote, drew, inked, and lettered every page of his graphic novel Monsters by himself?
... that Iván Arias's eccentric but successful 2021 La Paz mayoral campaign involved an action figure, comics, and chocolate kisses named and styled in his likeness?
... that Tina Leung dressed as her comic book alter ego when accepting an award for the House of Slay?
... that a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?

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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 Marvel Studios film, Captain America: The First Avenger set for release in 2011 has been in development since 1997?

...that writer Neil Gaiman invented the fiction that Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream to ensure that humans never forgot Faerie?

...that Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man is a Korean action comic that combines the styles of Mad Max, Dune and The Lord of the Rings?

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A couple of months after I published this story, it occurred to me that a Superman as a hero rather than as a villain might make a great comic strip character in the vein of Tarzan, only more super and sensational than that great character. Joe and I drew it up as a comic book.

— Jerry Siegel

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