What are comics
Comics are picture stories. Images are ordered into a sequential narrative. Words don’t have to be used, but most comics combine words with images. Usually these words are in the form of word ballons or under the images. These balloons can be filled with all kinds of words, thoughts or just basic sounds like a door being closed loudly. Although they have a lot in common with picture books, they are an own media.
As with art, comics have been found on the walls of caves. The oldest are thought to be over 15000 years old and were found in France. Egyptian hieroglyphs used sequential pictures, while the Greeks painted their “comics” on vases. As with a lot of things, the Romans excelled in the art of comics, with the Trajan’s Column being a masterpiece. In the mediaeval times, people used tapestries (Bayeaux Tapestry) and illustrated manuscripts to convey a narrative. Pictures were important in these times, as a lot of people could not read or write. From http://www.ninthart.com/
A. Variously referred to as comics, comic strips and comic books, the comics format as we know it today is a unique art form and literary medium that originated in the U.S. in the late 1800s. Its popularity exploded in the U.S. in 1938 with the hugely popular introduction of SUPERMAN. Ironically, it has become relatively more popular in many other countries around the world, where adults and children read it avidly. At its simplest, a comic is a series of words and pictures that is presented in a sequential manner to form a narrative.
Although many people regard comics as purely humorous or think they’re meant only for younger readers, this is far from the truth. Today’s comics span a wide range of styles and genres; you only need to browse through our Comics and Graphic Novels to see the incredible variety that just this one company has to offer. From http://www.dccomics.com/new_to_comics/
Since comics appear in so many forms, it is hard to find a definition that fits all of them. Will Eisner, godfather of the American comic, came up with the useful term “sequential art” – any sequence of pictures – which can rightly be called ‘comics’.
In addition to selling comics, Lambiek wants to preserve our comics heritage and educate people about them. That is why we started the Comiclopedia, presenting an overview of thousands of international comic artists. Another important effort is the preservation of the history of Dutch comics, which can be seen in Lambiek’s History of Dutch Comics, where many beeldverhaal and krantestrip have been rescued from the fate of oblivion. From http://lambiek.net/comics/index.htm
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