Portal:Comics

Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Originally published by DC Comics as a monthly limited series from 1986 to 1987, it was later republished as a trade paperback. It was one of the first superhero comics to present itself as serious literature, and it also popularized the "graphic novel" format. Watchmen is the only graphic novel (besides Frank Miller's 300)to win a Hugo Award, and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time magazine's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present." Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. In Watchmen, superheroes are depicted as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who have neuroses and failings, and who are largely lacking in superpowers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism and multi-layered dialogue, has changed both comics and film.

• 1887: birth of Jean Ray, Flemish writer who wrote comic-strip scenarios under the name John Flanders
• 1918: birth of Irwin Hasen, American cartoonist, co-creator of the Dondi comic strip and creator of DC Comics' Wildcat
• 1937: birth of Shinji Nagashima, Japanese manga artist known as the "father of seinen manga"
• 1946: birth of Mort Castle, American horror author. writing teacher, and regular contributor to comic anthology Graphic Classics
• 1947: birth of Turk, Belgian comics author best known for Clifton, Léonard and Robin Dubois
• 1949: death of Harold Knerr, American comic strip creator, best known as the writer-artist of The Katzenjammer Kids
• 1959: birth of Stan Woch, American comics artist, best known for his work for DC Comics
• 1963: birth of Whilce Portacio, Filipino-American comic book writer and artist, and one of the co-founders of Image Comics
• 1967: end of Buck Rogers comic strip, created by Philip Francis Nowlan and syndicated by the National Newspaper Service
• 1963: debut of Fred Basset, ongoing Scottish comic strip created by Alex Graham for the Daily Mail
• 1979: birth of David Baron (comics), American comics colorist, best known for his work for DC Comics
• 1982: death of Sylvan Byck, American editor and cartoonist, who was the comic strip editor for King Features Syndicate for over 30 years
• 1997: death of Clay Geerdes, American writer, photojournalist, publisher, and teacher, known for his work in underground comics
• 2017: death of Bob Lubbers, American comic strip and comic book artist, known for his work on Tarzan, Li'l Abner, andLong Sam

• ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
• ... that Arnie Roth debuted as a gay Marvel Comics character at a time when the publisher maintained a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy?
• ... that Steve Englehart wrote the Captain America comic book storyline "Secret Empire" as an allegory for the Watergate scandal?
• ... that the 2003 graphic novel The Life Eaters, presenting an occult-driven, hypothetical Axis victory in World War II, has been discussed in the context of its portrayal of The Holocaust?
• ... that the writer of Poison Ivy: Thorns felt the titular DC Comics character was "tailor made for [her] interests as a nature-loving, gay makeup enthusiast"?
• ... that The Steranko History of Comics has been described as the first piece of cultural analysis on American comic books?
• ... that Maystorm, a character from Ultimate X-Men, was initially created for a variant cover for the comic X-Men?
• ... that Pinky & Pepper Forever is a graphic novel that follows two anthropomorphic dog girlfriends through hell?

San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego (as given on its website), and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con or "SDCC", was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by a group of San Diegans, which included Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger and Mike Towry. It is traditionally a four-day event (Thursday through Sunday — though a three-hour preview night on Wednesday is open to professionals, exhibitors, and some guests pre-registered for all four days) held during the summer in San Diego, California, United States, at the San Diego Convention Center.

• ...that the fictional goat Koziołek Matołek has been a popular Polish children's literature character since first appearing in 1933?

• ...that Michigan State University Libraries has the largest catalogued collection of comic books in the world, with over 150,000 items?

• ...that as part of the DC Universe reboot, Justice League Dark has been launched featuring some of DC Comics' more bizarre and supernatural characters?