Digital Comics

www.digmics.comJoin Digital Comics Realm Digital Comics can be viewed online and are available for download. Available titles are; Criptyk Expedition, Jester, Comic Kids, Politi-cartoon. As the global market for comic concepts grow and the variety of mediums expand. There is a push to develop comics organically on computer monitors. Artists employ many techniques for creating digital comics. Such as hand drawing characters then scanning them and then filling in the colors using Photoshop or Illustrator. Another useful method is to vectorize the concepts using Illustrator or a pressure sensitive tablet. Using these effective methods of digitizing comic books reduces time and resources. These methods support no loss in quality and can be applied into a variety of mediums.

New Comics- Digital Age

New Comics- Digital Age Extra thought and planning regarding quality and environmental issues have created a fresh comic market. Comic books although for years have been a staple of the mass produced saddle back pamphlet the switch to digital has been well received by artists and readers alike. Artists and writers now create drafts to post for fans’ feedback on upcoming versions, creating a more personal read for enthusiasts. As an environmental and fiscal choice by publishers, paper production of comics have now changed from saddle back pamphlets to a new novel sized comic. However for those looking just to browse and search, versions will be available online. Through special offers, subscribtions, new products and giveaways; limited edition versions will be distributed to created a more exclusive series. These new tools will create an interactive environment for consumers and producers alike.

Censored Comics

The war on comics was to censor youth from mature content. However juveniles’ were going to be exposed eventually. Dr. Frederic Wertham a psychologist published, “Seduction of the Innocent.” A book explaining why comic books were detrimental towards youth well being. He became the lead debater against the publication of graphical comics. In order to eradicate the images of violence and crime, the case to censor comic publisher’s was taken to the US Senate. A Senate committee held hearings for both concerned parties. The result was that the publishing companies self police their publications. Thus creating the Comic Code Authority (CCA) which embodied the standard for comics. The CCA stamped every book that adhered to their guidelines excluding the once popular horror genre. Stores and Newstands would just not accept titles without the CCA approval stamp. Small horror publishers ran out of business while others adapted and survived. Notable publisher Marvel Comics toned their content down to adhere to the CCA guidelines and EC Comics adapted into a magazine which is still featured today as Mad. Even with companies going out of business and the industry in a crippled state. Dr. Wertham didn’t approve of the CCA’s creation, complaining there were still unsettling elements being published. This villain had thwarted the breadth creative comics forcing a change to the industry.

Post Gold Glory

As comics gained credibility trough the early 30’s the stories typically catered to super-heroes.

In 1938 Captain America surpassed Time and Newsweek monthly, selling more than 2 million copies per month. World War II saw comic characters pitching in on the war effort, fighting Natzi forces and Pacific war fleets. Captain America’s first issue cover depicted him punching Adolf Hitler in the face. The issue came before the March start of the war, appearing on news stands in February. As the war subsided so did comic book sales due to an over saturation of comic characters and their political motivations. Stories and characters with more relative feelings to the average person started to increase comic versatility. Creating a new field, for comic strips to extend into comic books. Walt Disney’s animal characters had fun with daily activities staged around the house. They eventually climbed into full action cinematic features.

Publisher’s in 1948 felt desperate to revitalize their profits and searched smaller publishers for content. Lev Gleason had a small selection of publishing’s most notable “Daredevil Comics” and “Crime Does Not Pay.” “Crime Does Not Pay” was subtitled “All True Crimes,” adding to it’s notoriety. The success of the title took five years to hit mainstream audiences. Paving the way for a whole comic book, crime genre which flourished while raising the profits in the comic sector. The illustrations were graphically gruesome depicting murderous actions committed by true criminals. People being dismembered and tortured were mainstays in the crime genre.

The graphic images bled through to the female detective genres. Later to be known as “good girl art” they were full of detailed pictures scantily dressed, large breasted, sexually empowered women. The audience was merely young and maturing males who wanted non-censored comics with the coinciding images. The myth is that a young child was caught by his mother, reading a crime comic with a large breasted woman. The father who was a senator, was informed and convened a panel to study the effects of comics on the American public.

Comics began to sell faster than ever based around EC’s horror creations. Their second to last issue had a story titled “From the Crypt of Terror” which subsequently sparked horror titles most notably, “Tales from the Crypt.” Publisher’s could not get enough horror titles onto book shelves fast enough. The public devoured every related title and the market became saturated with a lot of good and bad comics. Much like the comic strip frenzy in the turn of the century or the super hero bonanza in the pre-golden ages.

The eradication of comics became tops of the American senate’s agenda. Brought on by the outcry of sensitive parents and a report from the Juvenile Delinquency agency which related comics to youth crimes. Frederic Wertham, a psychologist published an article in reader’s digest directly stating that comics were degrading American youth, making grades drop, young men rob, rap kill and do drugs.

The fallout from the dark cloud surrounding comic books, put a crippling effect on the field. The day of the comic hero and the frolicking child had been overshadowed by the new comic genres.

Comics – Golden Age

Foster, the “Tarzan” artist, created historically accurate depictions of the mid evil times through “Prince Valliant” adventures. Through the accumulative design process from all precursors, comics where yet to be mainstream until the arrival of a fully costumed, “Phantom.” One of the greatest comic writers of all time, Lee Falk wrote the “Phantom’s” script for more than fifty years. At that time Belgic Herge’s from Belgium created a clean line style comic “Tintin” and formed a great cult fan base in Europe. This “Pre-Golden Era” became a revolution for comics, marked by the creation of “Superman. Stereotypically American comics have been based upon super-hero adventurers, modeled after “Superman.” Costumed draped heroes typically fought an array of super-villains and their entourage of mind numb soldiers. “Superman” was created in 1933 by Jerry Siegel inspired by Philip Wylie’s 1930 novel “Gladiator” but didn’t make comic covers until 1938. In 1940, creators sold the copyrights to DC comics, which sparked the creation of hundreds of characters imitating the archetype myth “Superman”. In the 40’s few characters had any shelf life, except for some notable legends such as; “Captain America” who became a model for the American army World War 2 recruitment forces after being depicted in a battle with Neo Natzi, Adolf Hitler and “Batman” the dark knight, orphaned by his parents murder and befriended by an orphan boy wonder “Robin”.

Comics – Platinum

Using symbols to represent words, the existence of words was not mandatory. Letters were added to give more information and boost the narrative flow. The structure for a brand new art form was set but comic books were essentially comedic, hence the explanation for the name they have today. Originally there were only child comics like “Little Nemo in Slumberland” (by Winsor McCay) and “Popeye” (by E. Segar) that are still relevant today. The Stock Market crash in 1929 was the biggest turning point in comic book’s history causing the 30’s era comic’s to evolve into picture adventures like Alex Raymond’s “Flash Gordon”, Chester Gould’s “Dick Tracy” and Hal Foster’s adaptation of E. R. Borroughs’ “Tarzan”. This era became known as the Pre-Golden Age with three essential genres; science fiction, detective stories and jungle adventures respectively based upon each of the above adventure comic books.

Comics – New Commun

Before comic books cave men would tell their stories using simple images, then ancient Egyptians used images with a symbol to create a visual narrative. Worldwide comic books have other denominations, such as Italian fumetti smoke, an allusion to the shape of the speech balloon, French bande dessine; a drawn strip, Portuguese historia em quadradinhos is story in little squares and Japanese manga is comprehensive storylines and detailed artwork. . Comics books first appeared in the start of the 20th century for means of communication and expression in a visually graphic medium. “Richard Fenton Outcalt’s “creation, “The Yellow Kid,” in 1890 was the first comic to encapsulate what a character said into a balloon that had a tail pointing to the mouth. Originally stories’ themes were mostly comedies about children and their pet’s adventures. Improvements in the press and printing technologies were a strong force in the development of comics.