Understanding Comics

The article actually explained a lot that I never previously even thought to think about. I never thought about when the first “comic” came into existence, so it was really interesting to hear about the debate surrounding what is the first comic developed or who created it. Also, the sheer broadness of the definition of what comics are was also very interesting. I suppose I was one of those who believed that our modern comic books and graphic novels where the only form of media that could be considered a comic book. It was great to get an actual meaning of the word and to see now how many paintings and drawings that tell a sequenced story could be considered a comic. It was interesting to hear what is not considered a comic too. Previously, I thought that anything with a picture of something and a text bubble was a comic, even if it was just a one-shot picture with no follow up. Come to find out that it has to be multiple images that follow a coherent thought to even be considered a comic. Finally, thinking about the future of comic books is pretty exciting as well. For a semi-comic geek like myself, thinking of how artist can take our beloved characters from comics today and the past, and showing them in a new light, not only through new storylines and character development but also through a new way of formatting a comic or other interesting ideas. The fact that comics have so much room to grow and expand into wild variations of what it is now while also having enough history and background to work off of to support that variety just makes waiting for this new event all the harder to do.