Portal:Comics

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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 image-making means 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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Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published in April 1950. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar, who felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively. Simultaneously disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, he and artist Frank Hampson created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris hawked the idea to several publishers, with little success, until Hulton Press decided to take it on. Following a huge publicity campaign, the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was the comic's most recognisable story, Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future (pictured). Other popular stories included Riders of the Range and P.C. 49. Eagle also contained news and sport sections, and educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery. Amidst a takeover of the comic's publisher and a series of acrimonious disputes, Morris left in 1959; Hampson followed shortly thereafter. Although Eagle continued in various forms, a perceived lowering of editorial standards preceded plummeting sales, and it was eventually subsumed by its rival, Lion, in 1969. A relaunched Eagle ran for over 500 issues between 1982 and 1994.

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Anniversaries for June 5

1905: birth of Wayne Boring, American comics artist best known for his work on Superman
1911: birth of Vin Sullivan, American comics editor, artist and publisher best known for editing the first issue of Action Comics and drawing the first cover of Detective Comics
1942: birth of Frank Chiaramonte, American comics artist and inker for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics
1955: first publication of Lance by Warren Tufts, one of the last full page comic strips
1962: Amazing Fantasy volume 1 number 15, with the first appearance of Spider-Man was released, with a cover date of August 1962
1968: birth of Dave Lanphear, American comics letterer
1970: death of Jay Irving, American comic strip author best known for Pottsy
1982: first publication of Wow!, a British comic which ran for just over a year
1983: end of Latigo, American comic strip by Stan Lynde
1987: birth of Dan Mora, Costa Rican comic book artist
1987: Spider-man's Wedding performed live at Shea Stadium
1998: last appearance of King of Bandit Jing, Japanese manga created by Yuichi Kumakura

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

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

... that M. Night Shyamalan's Old is based on a Swiss graphic novel that the filmmaker received as a Father's Day gift?
... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... that the USC Trojans team that won the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had been compared to the Marvel Comics' Avengers?
... 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 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 Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
... that Kake has been described as "a sort of Johnny Appleseed ... spreading the seeds of liberated, mutually satisfying, ecstatically explicit gay sex"?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?

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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 fictional goat Koziołek Matołek has been a popular Polish children's literature character since first appearing in 1933?

...that Michigan State University Libraries has the largest catalogued collection of comic books in the world, with over 150,000 items?

...that as part of the DC Universe reboot, Justice League Dark has been launched featuring some of DC Comics' more bizarre and supernatural characters?

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Selected quote

A lot of the people who read comics think of comics as a culture—or as a subculture; something with its own private codes that mark its members as belonging, and everybody else as not belonging.

— Douglas Wolk, 2006

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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.