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Publishing Explored! - Learn about comic books... |
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INDEX
Superheroes?
Absolutely!>
I
don't pretend to know everything about superhero publishing, but what
I do know I will share with you in this column.
Celebrating
the superhero fiction found in comic books and graphic novels, old and
new, highlighting favourite characters, creators and showing you the beauty
of the form!
So here goes.
Rawle
Austin presents...
Introductions
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books have been around for over 70 years covering many different
topics, fact and fiction.
I'm
focusing on American superhero comic books as they are the market
leaders, originators and innovators of this genre.
In
Japan, comic books are called Manga (which literally means 'entertaining
visual').
They
are a greater part of everyday culture, read by people of all
ages and backgrounds.
There
is a wealth of mature, relevant and entertaining material being
produced by the mainstream publishers and a thriving independent
press.
I
want to help highlight some of these works.
Click
here to check out the Infinite Crisis (DC Comics) trade paperback
by Geoff Johns and George Perez  |
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To
join others, already in the industry, spreading the word and celebrating
comic book culture, past, present and future.
Annual
comic book sales in 2000 were over US$250 million (roughly £100
million) and rising.
I
aim to promote and share my love of comic books with you.
There
are comic books written for everybody and whatever your personal
tastes there's something out there for you.
So.
What is a comic book?
Basically,
in my opinion, it's a combination of written words and pictures
arranged in a particular way and used to tell a story.
Any
story.
Unlike
movies, where there are budget restraints on special effects,
any idea or concept can be realized.
In
fact, it's only now that movies are able to show, through advanced
special effects, comic book concepts in all the glory that their
creators intended.
Click
here to check out the House of M featuring the Avengers and the
X-Men (Marvel Comics) by Brian M Bendis and Olivier Coipel
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The
good news is that, on a good day, comic books are able to produce literature
that can go toe to toe with Shakespeare or Charles Dickens.
Stories
that last the test of time.
On
a bad day, however, what is produced isn't even worth turning the page!
Unfortunately,
there can be more bad days than good ones in the comic book industry
but the overall quality is steadily improving.
The
comic book creators who inspired me the most have to be the writer,
Stan Lee and the late artist/writer, Jack Kirby.
Between
these two, at Marvel Comics, they created some of the best known
comic book characters and stories of all time.
The
personality and energy that Stan put into his stories and the
incredible visuals provided by Jack helped define a new dawn for
comic books.
I
grew up on many reprinted stories written and inspired by these
two masters.
Their
style is still being emulated by todays creators.
Click
here to check out the Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 TPB (All-New
Edition) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby |
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 They
worked for a new company called Marvel Comics (this was the early 1960's)
and with other creators produced Spider-Man, X-men, Hulk, Daredevil, Fantastic
Four and many others.
Another
comic book character, Blade (created by writer Marv Wolfman) was the first
successful film featuring a Marvel Comics character and paved the way
for the X-Men movie followed by Spider-Man.
Black
Panther is another popular Marvel Comics superhero created by Stan Lee
and Jack Kirby.
The
character had recent updates by writers Christopher Priest and
Reginald Hudlin.
At
this stage I must mention two comic book characters that are probably
the most well known throughout the world.
Superman
and Batman.
These
characters are owned and produced by a company called DC Comics
(DC meaning Detective Comics).
They
first appeared in comic book form in the late 1930's and early
1940's and are still going strong today.
Batman
was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and Superman was created
by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Click
here to check out the Essential Avengers Volume 1 TPB (All-New
Edition) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
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The
above characters, creators and publishers are just the main icons of the
industry.
There
are many, many more and well worth having a read.
That's
all for now. Join me next time to learn more, about comic books!
Superheroes?
Absolutely!>
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