Portal:Comics

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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 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...)

Show new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

The Kampung Boy, also known as Lat, the Kampung Boy or simply Kampung Boy, is a graphic novel by Lat about a young boy's experience growing up in rural Perak in the 1950s. The book is an autobiographical account of the artist's life, telling of his adventures in the jungles and tin mines, his circumcision, family, and school life. It is also the basis for the eponymous animated series broadcast in 1999. First published in 1979 by Berita Publishing, The Kampung Boy was a commercial and critical success; its first printing (of at least 60,000 copies) was sold out within four months of its release. Narrated in English with a smattering of Malay, the work has been translated into other languages, such as Japanese and French, and sold abroad. The book made Lat an international figure and a highly regarded cartoonist in Malaysia. It won several awards when released as Kampung Boy in the United States, such as Outstanding International Book for 2007 and the Children's Book Council and Booklist Editor's Choice for 2006. The Kampung Boy became a franchise, with the characters of The Kampung Boy decorating calendars, stamps, and aeroplanes. A Malaysian theme park is scheduled to open in 2012 with the fictional characters as part of its attractions. The Kampung Boy is very popular in Southeast Asia and has gone through 16 reprints. A sequel, Town Boy, which followed the protagonist in his teenage years in the city, was published in 1981 and a spin-off, Kampung Boy: Yesterday and Today, in 1993. The latter reused the setting of The Kampung Boy to compare and contrast the differences between Malaysian childhood experiences in the 1950s and 1980s.

More selected articles

Read more

edit

Anniversaries for April 28

1887: birth of Charles A. Voight, American cartoonist, best known for his comic strip Betty
1911: birth of Lee Falk, American comic book creator, best known for The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician
1924: birth of Dick Ayers, American comic book artist, known as inker for Jack Kirby
1926: birth of Bill Blackbeard, American writer on comics, founder of the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art
1953: birth of Will Murray, American novelist, journalist, and short-story and comic-book writer, co-creator of Squirrel Girl
1966: death of Jesse Marsh, American comic book artist known for his work on Tarzan
1969: birth of Greg Hyland, Canadian comic book creator, best known for his character Lethargic Lad.
1984: last issue of Spike, British comic
1990: first appearance of Les Pretend, British comic strip created by John Sherwood in The Beano
2005: final volume of Claymore, Japanese manga created by Norihiro Yagi
2005: death of Zeke Zekley, American comics artist known for Bringing Up Father

More April anniversaries / All Anniversaries...

General images

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

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

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

... that until the 1970s, most shōjo manga (Japanese girls' comics) were written by men?
... that Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
... that The Steranko History of Comics has been described as the first piece of cultural analysis on American comic books?
... that M. Night Shyamalan's Old is based on a Swiss graphic novel that the filmmaker received as a Father's Day gift?
... that open depictions of sexual acts were a defining trait of early works of josei manga ('women's comics')?
... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
... that Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany wore comic-book-accurate Scarlet Witch and Vision Halloween costumes in the WandaVision episode "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!"?
... that the comic book Nietzsche, se créer liberté tries to express Friedrich Nietzsche's personality visually?

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Julian Tysoe

Dave Gibbons, artist and designer of the Watchmen comic book series.

More selected pictures

Read more

edit

More did you know...

...that Joye Hummel (pictured) wrote 70 of the early Wonder Woman comics but she was not included in official histories?

...that the abuses suffered by Ben Affleck and Shia LaBeouf in the webcomic Theater Hopper stemmed from the artist's dislike of the actors?

... that Darktown Comics, a series of racist caricatures, was a perennial bestseller for Currier and Ives and by 1884 represented a third of the company's production?

More did you know facts

edit

Selected quote

Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El, to save the planet Earth.

— Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois (2005-2008), 44th President of the United States (2009-), October 2008

More selected quotes

More from Wikiquote

edit

Topics

edit

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.