What Are Comics?Building a Workable Definition

June 15, 2010

"Comics are a way of creating a universe and populating it with characters using a secret code that works in the simplest and most direct way possible to enter the 'reader's' brain... series of little pictures and groups of words arranged in a rhythmic pattern to create and activate a world 

inside us."

    - James Kochalka, The Horrible Truth About Comics 

Comics are a medium, not a genre.

  medium n.  a mode of artistic   expression or communication

  genre n. a category of artistic,  musical, or literary composition   characterized by a particular   style, form, or content

Comics are a form of storytelling, like song,

film, or short story, not a type of story to be told.

(In other words, there's more to comics than superheroes.)

Comics are an integration of images and words,visual art and storytelling.

  "The medium we call comics is based on a simple  idea: the idea of placing one picture after another  to show the passage of time... Comics is a   language. Its vocabulary is the full range of visual     symbols."

    - Scott McCloud, Reinventing Comics

Note: Mr.McCloud has since altered 

his remarks to include one panelcomics as well.

Comics:A static image or series of static images, most commonly drawn, 

and often incorporating text, depicting the passage of time for a narrative

 or other informational purpose.

Let's break it down...

A static image or series of

static images...

One or more non-moving images...

...most commonly drawn, and often incorporating text...

...while comics can be done in a number of visual media, the majority areillustrated; also, while most comics rely on some for of text in order to 

present part of its information, some are purely visual...

...depicting the passage of time...

...for a narrative or other informational purpose.

... in order to tell a story or provide another form of information.

But most importantly...

Comics are a form of 

storytelling, like song,

film, or short story, not a 

type of story to be told.

(In other words, there's more to comics than superheroes.)

INTENT!

Just because an image falls under the previously  prescribed criteria does not make it a comic. The intent of creation is as vital in

 comic work as in any other form of art.

Not a Comic: Comic:

Now that we know what comics are,

let's get started onmaking our own!