Portal:Comics

Introduction

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 are 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.

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 as a plural when referring to works collectively (e.g. "Comics are popular reading material."). (Full article...)

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The first season of Smallville began airing on October 16, 2001, on The WB television network. Smallville recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The first season comprises 21 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 21, 2002. The season's stories focus on Martha and Jonathan Kent's attempts to help their adopted son Clark cope with his alien origin and control his developing superhuman abilities. Clark must deal with the meteor-infected individuals that begin appearing in Smallville, his love for Lana Lang, and not being able to tell his two best friends, Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan, about his alien nature. Clark also befriends Lex Luthor. "Villain of the week" storylines were predominant during the first season; physical effects, make-up effects, and computer-generated imagery became important components as well. The pilot broke The WB's viewership record for a debut series, and was nominated for various awards. Although the villain of the week storylines became a concern for producers, critical reception was generally favorable, and the series was noted as having a promising start.

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Anniversaries for June 14

1912: birth of Ami Hauhio, Finnish artist, best known for co-creating the science fiction comic Maan mies Marsissa
1912: first appearance of The Teenie Weenies, American comic strip by William Donahey which ran until 1969
1912: birth of Bob Wood, American illustrator during the Golden Age of Comics, co-creator of the series Crime Does Not Pay
1915: birth of George Klein, American comic book artist
1917: birth of Joe Letterese, American comic book letterer
1930: birth of Sam Grainger, American comic book artist best known as a Marvel Comics inker during the Silver Age
1932: death of John "Dok" Hager, American cartoonist, creator of the comic strip Dok's Dippy Duck
1944: birth of Jordi Bernet, Spanish comic book artist known for Torpedo and Clara del Noche
1955: birth of Paul Kupperberg, American writer and comics editor
1959: birth of Mark Heike, American comic book creator and editor, mainly known for his work for AC Comics
1962: birth of Denis Beauvais, Canadian artist whose work has appeared in comic books and role-playing games.
1970: birth of David Lapham, American comic book writer, artist, and cartoonist, best known for his work on the independent comic book Stray Bullets..
1975: first issue of Monster Fun, British comic marking the first appearance of X-Ray Specs, comic strip by Mike Lacey
1997: debut of Crazy for Daisy, British comic strip by Nick Brennan in The Beano
1999: launch of Elf Life, American webcomic by Carson Fire
2002: start of Pixel, American webcomic by Chris Dlugosz
2006: death of Jean Roba, Belgian comics artist best known for Boule et Bill

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General images

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

Image 1Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 2A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 3The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 4A statue of The Rose of Versailles. This is a statue of Oscar and André at the Takarazuka Grand Theater in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, which is the musical of the work. (from History of manga)
Image 5Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix (from Comic book convention)
Image 6During 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 7Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 8Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul at the 2013 Comic-Con International, with Cranston holding his realistic Walter White mask. (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 9Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 10Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 11Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 12Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 13The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 14Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 15BD artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international fame through Métal Hurlant (from Bande dessinée)
Image 16A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of 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)
Image 19Comic-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 20Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)

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... 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 a rights dispute meant that two different actors played Quicksilver in two competing film franchises at the same time?
... that the 2003 graphic novel The Life Eaters, presenting an occult-driven, hypothetical Axis victory in World War II, has been discussed in the context of its portrayal of The Holocaust?
... that pages of Lewis Hancox's graphic novel were displayed in The Cartoon Museum of London?
... that Tina Leung dressed as her comic book alter ego when accepting an award for the House of Slay?
... 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 a graphic novel for teens was among the 10 most challenged books in the United States in 2023?
... that the 2003 series Trouble frequently appears on lists of the worst or most controversial Spider-Man storylines?

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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."

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More did you know...

...that the film Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds has been in development since the 1990s and once included a comedic incarnation with Jack Black set to star?

...that Leland Myrick wrote the autobiographical graphic novel Missouri Boy, even though he considers himself "a very private person"?

...that Chilean cartoonist and plastic artist Fernando Krahn had to leave his country in order to escape from the 1973 coup d'état?

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...if the form is to say something important, rather than just involve itself in the kinetic thrill of drawn characters chasing each other, then we have to think harder.

— Eddie Campbell

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