Giveaway: Comics 101 with Vyse and Page Turner

Some of our comic collection

I have been deemed the "comic book lady" of the group. I know comic books are not everyone's cup of tea. However, I know some people may be curious. I decided to write a post with my boyfriend,Vyse, called Comics 101 to share some terminology used in the comic book world. I very recently came into the comic book world, while Vyse has been part of it longer than I have. As he grew to love comics more and more, I decided, "What the heck! I'm in the comic shop at least once a week, why not try something new?" As you can see I now enjoy them just as much as Vyse! - Page Turner

Our entire comic collection.

 

Comics 101

Some of the main comic book publishers:

Marvel- X Men, Spiderman, Hulk, The Avengers, etc.

DC Comics-  Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, Green Lantern, Batwoman, etc.

Vertigo (who is a part of DC)- The Sandman, Fables, Transmetropolitan,V for Vendetta, etc.

Dark Horse- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alabaster Wolves, Orchid, Mind MGMT, etc. They also publish manga.

IDW- True Blood, Doctor Who, The Transformers,etc

Image-  Spawn, Hack/Slash, The Maxx, Morning Glories, etc

Zenescope-  Grimm Fairy Tales, Wonderland, Charmed, etc. (Side Note: They tend to over accentuate  the figures of women in the comics. I know most comics do, but this publisher is more in your face about it)


There are independent publishers, but we have not read anything by them.


General Comic Book Shop Lingo

HB or Hardback- a compilation of a story arc with a hard cover.

TP, TPB, Trade, or Trade Paperback- a compilation of a story arc with a soft cover.

Graphic Novel-  usually a trade paper back or hardback. The terms are interchangeable.

Singles - are a single part of the story arc, typically 10-15 pages long. Singles also make up a trade, hardback, graphic novel.

Left to right: a paperback trade, a hardback trade, and a single issue

 

A side view of the previous paperback trade, hardback trade, and single issue

Back Issues- previously released single issues.

One Shot- An entire story set in one comic issue, usually thicker than a single.

Cross Over- When characters cross over into another character's storyline. (i.e., X-Men and Avengers, Batman and Superman, Batman and Batwoman)

Ongoing- A comic series that is still being published

Manga- Japanese comics. Commonly printed in black and white and published in paperback sized books, usually half an inch thick.

Left to Right: A copy of Stardust and a volume of Cromartie High School, which is a manga. Both books have their spine to the left hand side. As you can see you can see the cover of Stardust and the back cover of Cromartie High School.

Now both spine are on the right hand side. As you can see, the back cover of Stardust and the front cover of Cromartie High School.

My lovely hand. Also, on the left hand side is Stardust and right hand side is Cromartie High School. This is to compare the thickness of a book to a single volume of manga.

Interested in Reading Comics? But Don't Know Where to Start? Let us help!:

 
DC's The New 52- A reboot of most of the DC Universe and a GREAT place to start if you would like to start reading DC Comics. Most everything has been restarted to the beginning.

Marvel's Ultimate Universe- Not necessarily a reboot but alternate universe in which everything started from the beginning. Similar to DC's the New 52, but Marvel did not reboot its entire franchise. (Side Note: What the movies are based around, i.e. The Avengers, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man)

Vertigo- You can start with the beginning of any trade and read through it. The comics Vertigo tends to publish are more thought provoking, literature based, beautiful artwork, and very rarely have super hero characters.

So next time your in your library or out shopping for books, be a bit adventurous and try a comic book.


*WARNING: SOME COMICS MAY CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, AND GORE.*

THIS GIVEAWAY IS FOR THE U.S. ONLY

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Happy Reading,

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