A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. Comic books are often called comics, especially in the U.K.. Although the term implies otherwise, the subject matter in comic books is not necessarily humorous. In fact, it varies widely.

Many early comic books were simply collections of comic strips that had originally been printed in newspapers. The commercial success of these collections led to work being created specifically for the comic book form, which fostered conventions specific to comic books like splash pages. Long-form comic books are called graphic novels.

American comic books have become closely associated with the superhero genre. In the UK, the term comic book is used to refer to American comic books by their readers and collectors, while the general populace would mainly consider a comic book a hardcover book collecting comic book stories, such as the Oor Wullie annual.

Regional categories

• American comic book
• British comics
• Manga (Japanese comics)
• Manhua (Chinese comics)
• Manhwa (Korean comics)
• European comic
  • Franco-Belgian comics - Bande Dessinée
  • Italian comics - Fumetti

Genres

• Tijuana bible (aka 8-pagers)
• Underground comics
• Alternative comics
• Romance comics
• Crime comics

Some particularly famous comic books

• 2000 AD (British)
• Asterix (French)
• Batman (United States - DC comics)
• The Beano (British)
• Clifton (Dutch/French) [1]
• The Dandy (British)
• Donald Duck (United States- Disney)
• Lone Wolf and Cub (Japanese)
• Mighty Crusaders (United States- [[Archie Comics])
• Monica's Gang (Turma da Mônica) (Brazilian)
• Mickey Mouse (United States-Disney)
• The Phantom
• Richie Rich (United States-Harvey Comics)
• Spider-Man (United States - Marvel Comics)
• The Incredible Hulk (United States) - Marvel Comics
• Superman (United States - DC comics)
• Sandman (United States- DC Vertigo Comics, 1988, World Fantasy Award (1st and only time for comics series))
• Spike and Suzy (Belgian Flemish, originally called Suske en Wiske)
• Tintin (Belgian)
• Viz (British)
• X-men (United States)
• Zap Comix (United States-underground comix)

Related articles

Comics - the sequential art form in general

• Comic strip
• Graphic novel
• Web comic
  • Sprite comic
• Storyboard
• Cartoon
  • Political cartoon

Comic book awards

• Eisner Awards
• Harvey Awards
• Kirby Awards
• Prix de la critique
• Angoulême International Comics Festival Prizes (aka Alph'arts) and the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême
• Tezuka Awards

Miscellaneous

• Cartoonist
• Comic book collecting
• Comic-Con International

Lists

• List of comic creators
• List of comic books
• List of comic book publishing companies
• List of comic and cartoon character pairs
• List of comic strips
• List of cartoonists
• List of comic and cartoon characters named after people
• Comic books in dialects

External links

• The Grand Comics Database
• The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency
• Bronze Age 1970s Comic Book Cover Showcase
• Don Markstein's Toonopedia