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KM Comix Publishing, LLC THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO

Guide Kevin Muela Logo Christian Hernandez 2

Table Of Contents

About Me - Disclaimer 3 Histoy Of Comics 4 Types Of Comics 5 Terminology Of Comics 6 Anatomy of Comics 10 Genres Of Comics 16 Major Publications 17 Where to Start 20 Where to Get Comics 21 Care 22 Barcodes, Variants & Prints 23 Reading Recommendations 24 25 3

About Me -Disclaimer

Hi, my name is Kevin Muela! I am a public relations student at William Paterson University, graduating May of 2017. I have studied all aspects of public relations including social media, customer relations, and interpersonal communication. Beyond an extensive scholastic history, as a hobby I have been involved in different kinds of art over the years. This includes logo, publication and graphic design as well as life, comic and cartoon drawing.

Why aren’t you using the online GUIDE!?!?

This guide book was created for educational use, as part of a Capstone project. This is in no way intended to be used as a form of revenue. It should also be known that the text and images are owned by thier perspective companies and businesses. Show them support by buying their comics! 4

History Of Comics

The earliest comics strip is credited to 1895’s “The Yellow Kid” by Richard Outlcaut, printed for the World newspaper.

Eastern Color Printing, later EC Comics, began reprinting older comic strips as promotional items to draw in new readers. With the commercial success, EC later printed a collction of old strips becoming the first in 1933, known as “.”

In 1954, , a German psychiatrist, convinced the public that comics were a menice to society. This lead to the creation of the , a self governing group ensuring the content of comics were appropriate and in good taste.

Originally comics were sold at newsstands. In the 1970’s the comic book industry began selling their books to a more specified group, using a direct distribution method. Giving rise to the modern day comic book shop.

When comics were first released they were priced at 10 cents. Over the years the prices have increase, generally comics are now priced at about $3.99. But the prices can vary with publications and the type of comic book. 5

Types Of Comics

There are various kinds of comics. These are examples of them. For more definitions specific to the comic book industry, see Terminology.

Dailies are comics seen in a daily newspaper, except Sunday

Sunday Comics are comics seen in the Sunday newspaper

One-Shot are a self-contained story outside of current issues

Web Comics are comics published on the internet

Comic Strip is a series of adjacent drawn images, usually arranged in a horizontal layout. Designed to be read as a narrative. or chronilogically. Comic Book The most recognizable type of comic, also known as floppy, single issue, or comic. generally a longer narrative then that of comic, can also be a collection of comic books forming a story

Dilbert is a daily comic found in local news papers 6

Terminology

Ages Comics historians divide the history of American comics into ages such as the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern age. Artist Person in charge of handling the art of the A comic. Bronze-Age Comics made between 1970-1985. Comics Back Issues Comics not considered to be the B current issue

Caption This is a set of text considered to be the dialogue of the narrator. Person doing most of the work, usualy is also the writer. Collection A group of various single issues in a single hard or soft cover book. C Colourist Person filling in the black and white with color. Cover The front page of the comic. 7

Terminology

Golden-Age Comics made between 1938-1950. Comics Gutter Space in between the comics panels. Graphic Novel Can also be referred to as Trade , but generally tell a single standalone G closed-end story. Hardcovers A hard bound collection of comics H of single issues.

Inker Makes the pencils permenant using ink I Inset Panel A panel within a panel Person in charge of placing the speech L bubbles and captions within the comics. 8

Terminology

Modern-Age Comics made between 1985-Present. M Comics One-Shot A standalone comic book with a self- O contained story. Panels Bounding box displaying a drawing or segment of action Person drawing the structure of the comics images. P Pointer/Tail Indicates who is talking in a speech bubble. Pull List Reservation of a comic books each month with a specific retailer. Printing Refers to which batch the comic was printed with 9

Terminology

Silver-Age Comics made between 1956-1970. Comics Single issue Typical form of comics most commonly seen. Sound Effect Text that mimics sounds. Speech bubble A piece of dialouge said by a character. S Splash A 1 to 2 page display that introduces the comic. Spread Art work covering more than one page.

Tier A row of panels. Trade-Paperback A soft bound collection of a few T single issues. Variant Is an issue with various unique comic book cover art, usually drawn by different artists. V Volume A collection of comics following a story arc. Writer Person in charge of creating the , plot, W dialogue, and action for a comic. 10

Anatomy Of Comics Cover Page

Comic Book Title

Publication

Issue Number

Price

Writer Person in charge of creating the script, plot, dialogue, and action for a certain comic. Artist Person in charge of handling the art of the comic. Colorist Person filling in the black and white with color

Barcode 11

Anatomy Of Comics Cover Page 12

Anatomy Of Comics Layout

Caption This is a set of text considered to be the dialogue of the narrator.

Panel Bounding box displaying a drawing or segment of action.

Speech Bubble A piece of dialouge said by a character.

Gutter Space in between the comics panels.

Tier A row of panels. 13

Anatomy Of Comics

Splash Page Spreads A 1 to 2 page display that Art work covering more than one page. introduces the comic. 14

Anatomy Of Comics Artists

Knowing the artist can help you pick you want to read.

Penciller Person drawing the structure of the comic books images.

Inker Makes the pencils permenant using ink.

Colorist Person filling in the black and white with color. 15

Anatomy Of Comics

Knowing the artist can help you pick future comics you want to read.

Penciller Inker Colorist 16

Genres Of Comics

Action/Adventure Alternative Childrens

Fantasy Horror Manga

Romance Western 17

Major Publications

DC Entertainment, was founded in 1934 as National Allied Publications by Malcom Wheeler-Nicholson. The publication went through name changes within its infancy until it was decided that they would use the name from one of their comic titles. Since then they have been known as DC Comics.

Scooby Doo Wonder Woman 18

Major Publications

Timely comics was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman. then became Atlas Magazines until the early 1960s when it became . Marvel is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Marvel ues its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.

Spider-Man Wolverine Deadpool 19

Major Publications

Founded in 1992 by seven of Marvel Comics’ artists. allows the creators ownership of their comic book characters allowing them to become the third largest comics publisher in the

Power Rangers Adventure Time 20

Where to Start

Do some research. Who are some influential works or writers, look through a few different comics. See which writers you find most appealing. Comics are a very visual mediumand so check out the artists.

Visit a comic book store. these can be a great place for more information. The sales associates can be a great reference and recommend some readings too.

Read some popular comics. If it’s so popular then it’s worth looking into. With everyone buying them it must mean the comic is good.

Read different genres. Think about what types of movies or tv shows you like seeing, and check out that genre. This tip can be tricky because most major comics don’t normally stick to one genre.

Start with issue one. This isn’t an absolute rule, but a personal suggestion. This is done in an effort to avoid confusion if the comic series refers back to previous events.

Hey! New comics usually come out every Wednesday! 21

Where to Get Comic

Print. Google or ask someone where the nearest comic book store is located.

Live in ? Try Midtown Comics is a comic retailer with a large and diverse selection.

Dont? Check out Barnes and Nobles, they carry graphic novels.

Online. Many comic publishing companies sell digital copies of their comics 22

Comic Book Care

Let me emphasize that this is NOT a must. It really depends on your personal preference. If you want to keep them in the best condition possible I recommend keeping them this way.

Gather your materials: sleeve, cardboard, & any comic book

Place Carboard inside sleeve

Place comic inside sleeve, ensure it sits on top of the cardboard

Most shops sell these for a few extra cents. These sleeves and cardboard do come in different sizes:

• Bronze Age • Silver Age • Golden Age • Modern Age 23

Barcode, Variants & Prints

Modern Age Comics use the barcode to display information like issue number, Variant number, and printing.

First number. The three digit issue number. Second number. The variant cover number. Third number. The printing number.

Variant 1 Variant 3 Variant 4 24

Reading Recommendations

Understanding Comics Maus Written in comic book A Pulitzer Prize wining A mature story that style, this book analyzes story that follows Art questions what the all aspects of past, Spiegelman as he world would be like if current and future interviews his father on superheroes were in a comics. It also explores his experiences of the real society. Set in the theoretical ideas through holocaust. The story is Nixon era, Watchmen an analytical look at famous for its depiction explores the possible comics in an effort to of Jews as mice and moral and social concerns change view on comics. Nazi’s as cats. of the time. 25

Citations

The following sources are cited in APA formart.

1. About. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from http://marvel.com/corporate/ about

2.About DC Entertainment. (2017, March 26). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from http://www.dcentertainment.com/about-dc-entertainment

3. About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from http://blog.boom-studios. com/about-us/

4. Browse Genre - Comics by comiXology. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2017, from https://www.comixology.com/browse-genre

5. DeForest, T. (2016, December 12). Marvel Comics. Retrieved April 10, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marvel-Comics

6. Glossary of comics terminology. (2017, March 14). Retrieved March 18, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_comics_terminology

7. Ross, S., & Wood, J. (n.d.). Comics Timeline. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/comicstimeline.html

Logo Design Credit Christian Hernandez To get a hold of Chris; https://muelablog.wordpress.com/contact/