In comics, stories or information are given using pictures, or pictures and words together. A story is told with pictures, mostly in panels. The first panel is supposed to be read first, and takes place earlier in time than the panels that follow it.

There are many kinds of comics. Comic strips are short comics which are often found in newspapers. Comic books are thin comics magazines. Graphic novels are books of comics. In Japan, comics are very popular, and Japanese comics are popular around the world. The Japanese word for comics is manga, and people use this word for Japanese comics in English and other languages.

The first comic strips in the United States were funny. "Comic" is another word for "funny", so they were called "comic strips". The first comic books were collections of comic strips. Today, some comics are serious, but they are still called "comics".

In comics, speech is usually shown through word balloons. There are many different kinds of balloons, such as the "speech balloon", the "thought balloon" and the "scream balloon".

History of comics

• Couperie, Pierre & Horn, Maurice 1968. A history of the comic strip. Crown Publishers, New York. [pre-ISBN]
• Sabin, Roger 1996. Comics, Comix, & Graphic Novels: a history of comic art. Phaidon, London. ISBN 0-7148-3993-0
• Sabin, Roger 1993. Adult comics: an introduction. Routledge, London. ISBN 0-415-04419-7
• Schodt, Frederik L. 1983. Manga! Manga! the World of Japanese comics. Kodansha, Tokyo. ISBN 0-87011-752-1 (U.S.)
• Chapman, James 2011. British comics: a cultural history. Reaktion Books, London. ISBN 978-2-86189-855-5
• Estren, Mark James 1974. A history of underground comics. Ronin Publishing Inc. California. ISBN 0-914171-64-X
• McCloud, Scott 1994. Understanding comics: the invisible art. HarperCollins 1994. New York. ISBN 0-06-097625-X

The Bayeux Tapestry is similar to comic-strip form.

Related pages

• Cartoon