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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 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, 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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Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology is a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by the company Big Time Attic. The book tells a slightly fictionalized account of the Bone Wars, a period of intense excavation, speculation, and rivalry which led to a greater understanding of dinosaurs in the western United States. This novel is the first semi-fictional work written by Ottaviani; previously, he had taken no creative license with the characters he depicted, portraying them strictly according to historical sources. Bone Sharps follows the two scientists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Marsh as they engage in an intense rivalry for prestige. Ottaviani has Cope and Marsh interact and meet many important figures of the Gilded Age, from P. T. Barnum to U.S. Grant, as the two scientists pursue their hotheaded and sometimes illegal acquisitions of fossils. Unlike in his previous books, "the scientists are the bad guys this time". Upon release, the novel received praise from critics for its exceptional historical content, although some reviewers wished more fiction had been woven into the story.

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Anniversaries for July 19

1934: birth of Janusz Christa, Polish comics artist best known for Kajko i Kokosz
1950: birth of Richard Pini, American comics author best known for co-creating Elfquest
1952: birth of Bob Burden, American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of Flaming Carrot Comics
1959: birth of Luke McDonnell, American comic book artist
1970: debut of Cattivik, Italian comic series created by Bonvi
1970: birth of Devin Grayson, American comic book writer known for her work at DC Comics
1972: birth of Jamal Igle, American comic book artist known for his work on Firestorm
1982: first appearance of Geech, American comic strip by Jerry Bittle
2001: debut of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Japanese manga created by Yukito Kishiro
2005: death of Jim Aparo, American comic book artist best known for Batman
2005: free webcomic hosting provider Keenspace changes its name to Comic Genesis to avoid confusion with Keenspot
2007: death of Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentine cartoonist, comics artist, and writer known popularly as El Negro Fontanarrosa

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General images

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

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

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

... that the robotic enemies in the video game The Incredible Hulk were influenced by Marvel Comics' objection to the Hulk killing humanoid characters?
... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... 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 comic book artist Barry Windsor-Smith wrote, drew, inked, and lettered every page of his graphic novel Monsters by himself?
... that otomechikku, a subgenre of Japanese girls' comics focusing on stories about ordinary teenaged protagonists, has been compared to monogatari and the genre of Bildungsroman?
... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
... 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 the USC Trojans team that won the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had been compared to the Marvel Comics' Avengers?

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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 Jeff Hawke, a science fiction comic strip, almost perfectly predicted the date of the first human moon landing more than ten years before?

...that Thrud the Barbarian, a comic character parodying Arnold Schwarzenegger's depiction of Conan the Barbarian, (pictured) has the intelligence of a garden snail?

...that E. Normus Johnson is a fictional advertising mascot depicted in comic art on Big Johnson T-shirts that use double entendres?

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There were other Batman writers throughout the years but they could never capture the style and flavor of Bill's scripts. Bill was the best writer in the business and it seemed that he was destined to write Batman.

— Bob Kane

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