Comics

Comics are a medium that uses sequential art to tell stories or convey information. They combine drawings with text placed in captions and speech balloons, organized into panels and gutters to control pacing and rhythm. Comics can be created for print or digital formats and range from humor to drama and nonfiction.

The modern form emerged in the 19th century in Europe and North America, with early albums and serialized features. Key developments include newspaper comic strips, the rise of monthly comic books in the United States during the mid-20th century, and the global spread of manga in Japan, which includes various genres and readerships.

A comics work typically involves collaboration among writer(s), artist(s), inkers, colorists, and letterers. Common terms include panel, gutter, splash page, balloon, and caption. The art often complements the script or can be driven by visual storytelling in wordless or near-wordless forms.

Formats include newspaper strips, standalone comic books, collected graphic novels, and webcomics or digital-first releases. Genres span humor, action-adventure, science fiction, fantasy, romance, memoir, and nonfiction, with regional styles illustrating differences in tone, pacing, and audience expectations.

Comics have influenced film, animation, and literature, and they continue to evolve with digital distribution, scaling from short episodes to long-form storytelling. Scholarly and critical attention treats comics as a legitimate medium with its own formal grammar and cultural significance.