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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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Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is a first-person shooter video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64 console and personal computer platforms. It was released in 1997 in North America and Europe. Turok is an adaptation of the Acclaim Comics comic book series of the same name. The player controls a Native American warrior, Turok, who must stop the evil Campaigner from conquering the universe with an ancient and powerful weapon. As Acclaim's first exclusive title for the Nintendo 64, Turok was part of a strategy to develop games internally and license merchandise; Acclaim acquired the rights to Turok when it purchased Acclaim Comics (né Valiant) in 1994. Suffering from cash flow problems and falling sales, Turok became Acclaim's best hope for a financial turnaround. Iguana pushed the Nintendo 64's graphics capabilities to its limits, and were forced to compress or cut elements to fit the game on its 8-megabyte cartridge. Bugs delayed the game's release from holiday 1996 to 1997. Critical reception of Turok was highly positive. Becoming one of the most popular games for the console on release, Turok won praise for its graphics and evolution of the genre. Complaints centered on graphical slowdowns caused by multiple enemies appearing onscreen and occasionally awkward controls. The game sold 1.5 million copies and boosted sales of the Nintendo 64. Turok spawned a video game franchise that includes six sequels.

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Anniversaries for June 3

1913: birth of Tom Gill, American comic book artist best known for drawing Dell Comics' The Lone Ranger.
1919: birth of Jerry Serpe, American comic book artist
1921: birth of Bob LeRose, American comic book colorist for DC Comics
1940: debut of Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, American comic strip by Russel Stamm which ran until 1956
1946: birth of Sergio Mulko, Argentine comics artist best known for Nippur de Lagash
1965: birth of Gavin Wilson, American comic book artist best known for work on Sandman Mystery Theatre
1973: death of Syd Shores, American comic book artist best known for working on Captain America
1977: death of Syd Nicholls, Australian cartoonist and commercial artist, best known for the comic strip Fatty Finn
1992: death of William Gaines, publisher of EC Comics and MAD magazine
2002: launch of science fiction webcomic A Miracle of Science, written by Jon Kilgannon, with art by Mark Sachs

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General images

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

Image 1The San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con in 2013 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 2A Fallout Cosplayer photographed at a Comic Con in a Fallout Themed area (from Comic book convention)
Image 3Close Hergé collaborator and magazine contributor Bob de Moor (from Bande dessinée)
Image 4During 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 5Phoenix Fan Fusion's 2017 convention in Phoenix, Arizona (from Comic book convention)
Image 6Japanese wood block illustration from 19th century (from History of manga)
Image 7Hokusai Manga (early 19th century) (from History of manga)
Image 8Convention crowd outside of Golden Hall in 1982 (from San Diego Comic-Con)
Image 9A page by Rodolphe Töpffer, whose work is considered influential in shaping the comics form. (from History of comics)
Image 10Chōjū-giga (12th century), traditionally attributed to a monk-artist Kakuyū (Toba Sōjo) (from History of manga)
Image 11Sequential depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy (from History of comics)
Image 12Cover 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 13The French comic Les Pieds Nickelés (1954 book cover): an early 20th-century forerunner of the modern Franco-Belgian comic (from Bande dessinée)
Image 14
Comics artist Mœbius (2008), who achieved international renown through Métal Hurlant
(from Bande dessinée)
Image 15Comic-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 16Cover to 27 December 1884 edition of Ally Sloper's Half Holiday. (from British comics)
Image 17Image of bathers from the Hokusai manga (from History of manga)
Image 18Comic Con crowds in 2011 as seen from a helicopter (from San Diego Comic-Con)

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

... that John Byrne retold the origin of Superman in the 1986 comic book limited series The Man of Steel, 48 years after the character was created?
... that the robotic enemies in the video game The Incredible Hulk were influenced by Marvel Comics' objection to the Hulk killing humanoid characters?
... 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 Arnie Roth debuted as a gay Marvel Comics character at a time when the publisher maintained a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy?
... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?
... 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 M. Night Shyamalan's Old is based on a Swiss graphic novel that the filmmaker received as a Father's Day gift?
... that The Steranko History of Comics has been described as the first piece of cultural analysis on American comic books?

Selected picture

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 Irving Phillips's comic strip The Strange World of Mr. Mum is cited as paving the way for later titles like The Far Side and Bizarro?

...that Jason Little was nominated for a Harvey Award and an Ignatz Award for his creation of the comic book Jack's Luck Runs Out?

...that Czechoslovak communist censors banned publishing of the comic album Muriel a andělé?

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Bob Kane had an idea for a character called "Batman", and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with a small domino mask, swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN.

— Bill Finger

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