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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...)

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Lat in 2009

Dato' Mohammad Nor bin Mohammad Khalid (Jawi: محمد نور بن محمد خالد; born 5 March 1951), more commonly known as Lat, is a Malaysian cartoonist. Winner of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2002, Lat has published more than 20 volumes of cartoons since he was 13 years old. His works mostly illustrate Malaysia's social and political scenes, portraying them in a comedic light without bias. Lat's best known work is The Kampung Boy (1979), which has been published in several countries across the world. In 1994, the Sultan of Perak bestowed him the honorific title of datuk, in recognition of the cartoonist's work in helping to promote social harmony and understanding through his cartoons. Lat also works for the government to improve the city's social security.

Born in a village, Lat spent his youth in the countryside before moving to the city at the age of 11. While in school, he supplemented his family's income by contributing cartoon strips to newspapers and magazines. He was 13 years old when he achieved his first published comic book, Tiga Sekawan (Three Friends Catch a Thief). After failing to attain the grades that were required to continue education beyond high school, Lat became a newspaper reporter. In 1974, he switched careers to be an editorial cartoonist. His works, reflecting his view about Malaysian life and the world, are staple features in national newspapers such as New Straits Times and Berita Minggu. He adapted his life experiences and published them as his autobiographies, The Kampung Boy and Town Boy, telling stories of rural and urban life with comparisons between the two.

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Anniversaries for April 24

1912: birth of George Wunder, American cartoonist best known for illustrating the Terry and the Pirates comic strip
1930: birth of Richard Donner, American film director and writer, known as director of Superman and writer of Action Comics
1930: birth of Howie Schneider, American cartoonist and children's book author, best-known for the comic strip Eek & Meek
1957: birth of John MacLeod, Canadian comics artist and creator, author of Dishman
1960: birth of Ralph Griffith, co-founder of Arrow Comics
1981: death of Howard Purcell, American comic book artist known as co-creator of Sargon the Sorcerer and Gay Ghost
2004: Nat Gertler organises the first 24-hour comics day

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General images

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

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

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

... 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 the USC Trojans team that won the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had been compared to the Marvel Comics' Avengers?
... that a 1944 serial film was the first film appearance of Captain America and the first film appearance of any Marvel Comics character?
... 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 comic book creator Brandon Dayton chose medieval Russia as the setting for his minicomic Green Monk after watching Andrei Tarkovsky's film Andrei Rublev?
... that the writer of the 2022 comic book miniseries Poison Ivy, starring the eponymous Batman villain, described it as a "love story" that features "plant-based body horror"?
... 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 Kamome Shirahama, in addition to writing and illustrating her best-selling Witch Hat Atelier manga series, has created variant covers for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and the Star Wars franchise?

Selected picture

Credit: Fox Feature Syndicate

The Junior comic books were published by Fox Feature Syndicate. This is the cover of the last issue published in July 1948, likely drawn by Al Feldstein.

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More did you know...

...that Len Lawson created several popular Australian comic book characters, including the "Lone Avenger" and the "Hooded Rider"?

...that Harvey Pekar described his collaboration with Heather Roberson on the comic book Macedonia as one of the best working relationships he has ever had?

...that an excerpt of Nick Bertozzi's The Salon containing a nude depiction of Picasso caused a comic book store owner to be charged with distributing obscene material to a minor?

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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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