Definitions of Comic
Introduction
A comic is a type of literature that tells a story. It uses drawings, words and images to tell the story. There are many types of comics including comic strips, comic books, graphic novels and more!
Definition of comic in English
Comic
A comic is a form of art that uses humor, dialogue and sequential illustrations to tell a story. Comic strips are the most common form, but there are also comics in book form and online.
A comic strip consists of one or more panels (or frames) arranged in vertical rows on an imaginary grid, often with speech balloons containing text conveying the dialogue between characters and/or thoughts attributed to them by their creators. The word “comic” derives from the Greek κωμικός (“komikos”), meaning “of or relating to farce or comedy”. The first recorded use of this word in English was in 1829 when Punch magazine applied it to “a satirical drawing printed on paper as part of its humorous contents.”
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Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in panels to display brief humor or provide narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. The entire sequence of drawings is called a strip or single cartoon. When the comics are read aloud, they are called cartoon strips.
The term comic strip has been in use at least since 1843 when “Punch” magazine referred to its humorous illustrations as “comic strips.” The word “cartoon” was first used for a humorous drawing made on a chalkboard in an 1867 printed book by John Leech (1817-1864), who defined it as an original design intended to amuse or provoke laughter from its viewers.
Comic book
Comic books are a medium used to tell stories and convey information. They are often created by a single author, though there are exceptions (such as the X-Men comic book series). Comic books are usually printed on low-quality paper and bound together in a book format.
A type of graphic literature that tells a story.
A comic is a type of graphic literature that tells a story. A comic can be published in print, on the internet, or both. It may consist of one or more stories and often has separate panels to show what happens in each scene. A sequence of drawings that make up the story of an imaginary character are called frames; when put together they tell what happens in each scene.
A comic book is similar to a magazine but it’s usually only about comics and has no other articles (like magazines).
Wences Comic by Arcadio Esquivel (Costa Rica)
Definitions of Comic
Synonyms
adjective
- humorous, funny, droll, amusing, hilarious, uproarious, comical, farcical, silly, slapstick, zany, witty, jocular, priceless, side-splitting, rib-tickling, killing
- risible, funny, laughable, comical, amusing, mirthful
noun
- comedian, comedienne, funny man/woman, humorist, wit, joker, clown, kidder, wisecracker
- comic strip, cartoon, comic book, funny
- comedian
Examples
- But I did arrive at a point in my life where I realized I would not be a huge stand-up comic.
- This cheapens and degrades the movie and insults the current style of the comic franchise.
- These elements, coupled with some spot-on comic timing are side-splitting to behold.
- It may have been written in a comic style, but it’s hardly the barrel of laughs the reviewers make it out to be.
- There seems to be an unwritten law that football songs should be comic or humorous, or at least not too serious.
Word Origin and History
adj.
late 14c., “of comedy in the dramatic sense,” from Latin comicus “of comedy, represented in comedy, in comic style,” from Greek komikos “of or pertaining to comedy,” from komos. Meaning “intentionally funny” first recorded 1791, and comedic (the 1630s) has since picked up the older sense of the word.
Speaking of the masters of the comedic spirit (if I call it, as he does, the Comic Spirit, this darkened generation will suppose me to refer to the animal spirits of tomfools and merryandrews) …. [G.B. Shaw, 1897]
Something that is comic has comedy as its aim or origin; something is comical if the effect is comedy, whether intended or not.
n.
“a comedian” is from the 1580s, from comic (adj.). Latin adjective comicus also meant “a comic poet, writer of comedies.” Meaning “a comic book or comic strip” is from 1889 ( Comic strip first attested 1920; comic book is from 1941). Comic relief is attested from 1825.
Conclusion
We hope this has been a useful overview of the different types of comics and their main characteristics. From our perspective as comic book fans, it’s important to understand what makes a comic book unique so we can better appreciate them for what they are. If you have any questions about this post or would like us to cover something specific in future articles, please leave comments below!
Definitions of Comic Research and written by Arifur Rahman
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