Comic Book Sites

1 - Decide what kind of comics or comic books you are looking for. You can choose popular newspaper comic strips such as Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield, Peanuts, Pickles, Mutt & Jeff, For Better or For Worse and more. There are also editorial and political cartoons for free from many popular newspaper cartoonists. A few comic books are available online as well.

Try doing an online search. You can make your search general, such as "free comics online" or "free comic books online". You can also narrow your search if you are looking for a specific comic type, such as "free political comics online", "free Garfield comics online", "free Marvel comics online" etc.

2 - Check with online newspapers, or search to see if your favorite comic strip has a website where you can view comics for free. Also look for web sites that offer multiple types of free comics online.

3 - Consider reading comic books online. You can find a few selections from popular companies such as Dark Horse Comics. They offer free original content in their MySpace Dark Horse Presents series. Other comic book companies sometimes offer featured selections or digital samples that you can read for free on their websites or some offer what's known as free Ecomics. Check with comic book companies or comic artists that you are aware of to see if they offer any free selections.

4 - Look for comic books in the public domain. These are usually vintage online reprints of classic golden age comics whose copyrights have expired.

You may also find new comic book makers or artists who offer free online comics to get exposure.

Try doing an online search using search terms such as "copyright free comics", "creative commons comics", "public domain comics" etc.

5 - Use the instructions given on the web sites you choose. Some sites may require registration. You will find comics and comic books offered by download or some that can be read directly online.

You may want take advantage of features offered by some sites that notify you when your favorite comics are updated. You can subscribe to RSS feeds or sign up to be notified by email.

Examples of web sites where you can find free comics and comic books to read:
- Go Comics
- Comics.com
- Creators.com
- Garfield.com
- MySpace Dark Horse Presents
- Image Comics
- Buffy Ecomics
- Marvel Free Digital Comics
- The Comic Web - Golden Age Comic Books
- The Golden Years Library Comic Books

Article Source: eHow.com
Comic Book Sites

The emergence of Sesame Street changed the landscape of children's television program forever. It brilliantly brought forth education in a fun and entertaining way. It debuted in the 1960's, during a time where quality children's program was lacking.

The use of television as an educational tool was a new and unpopular concept back then. Today however, children's educational shows are a common sight in television. It can be said that Sesame Street pioneered a generation of fun and informative children's television programs. A look into the history of Sesame Street depicts the rise and transformation of this show into a historical landmark.

The show premiered on November 10, 1969 and featured Jim Henson's Muppets as main characters. Produced by a non-profit organization known as Sesame Workshop (previously known as Children's Television Workshop, CTW), the show was made possible thanks to Joan Cooney (a documentary producer), Lloyd Morrissett (an executive in Carnegie Institute) and Lewis Freedman who decided that television could make a better impact on children through informative programs. Jim Henson was also given credit because his involvement added a unique sense of fun to the show.

Sesame Street recorded a first in history by becoming the first children's television program to include a learning curriculum. Prior to Sesame Street, there was limited knowledge regarding incorporation of research in television production. The show was a hit from the start, and displayed strong intercultural and life values understood by children. The history showed that the popularity of the show continued to soar in the 1970's and was even broadcast in other countries. This marked the globalization of a children's television program. In the 1980's, the deregulation of advertisement fuelled greater profit generation for CTW, as more children advertisements were aired during the show.

The history of Sesame Street holds a dear story to the creation and rise of a humble children's show. A clever combination of animation, puppets, and live actors enables the stimulation of young children's minds. It is undoubtedly one of the best children's television shows and still relevant today, four decades after its inception.

At the end, I'd like to share cool website with more information on topics like History of Sesame Street and History of Sock Puppets. Visit for more details.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

By: Scott Brady

What is it that makes Japanese animation popular, not only to the young but to adults as well? I remember a few years ago when I was a freshmen and sophomore in university I was addicted to the Japanese anime "Dragon Ball Z". In fact, it even gave the famous American cartoon "The Simpsons" a run for its money in my book.

What I find odd is that "Dragon Ball Z" has about 39 episodes per season but if you want to write an overview of the entire season you can do so in just about one paragraph. And I mean you can add all the meat of the entire season into just that one paragraph. Here is basically what I mean...

Episode 1-10ish: Bad guy arrives and starts terrorizing the fictional planet. Minor super heroes fight the villain and lose (perhaps one even dies). Main hero who was conveniently not able to combat said villain for whatever reason finally arrives for the ultimate showdown. Episode 10ish - 38: Half of the time verbal fists are being thrown between said hero and villain while the other half goes to physical fists. Sprinkle in some dialogue from the minor heroes like, "Wow! He is at full power!", and you have yourself about 600 minutes. Episode 38 ending: Hero kills villain. Episode 39: Everyone is happy and life returns to normal.

And there I was, in my late teens, with my eyes glued to the television. I even knew nothing of importance was going to happen for about 25 episodes but there I sat unable and unwilling to move. "Dragon Ball Z", which aired in Japan from 1989 - 1996 did not first air in America until 1996. By the time I started watching this anime it was already 10 years old. And this length of time for an animated series is a long time when compared to the new techniques and styles of animated characters. But "Dragon Ball Z" was at the top of the charts for a cartoon series for its duration in America.

So back to the original question, what makes Japanese animation so popular? It may be this humble author's opinion but I would have to say the action, and to a further extent the deadly violence. As a prime example "The Simpsons" being probably the most popular America cartoon is a comedy based cartoon. In fact most of the newer American cartoons are based on comedy or to some extent mystery (Yes, Scooby Doo, I am looking at you).

In the 1980's America had its share of action cartoons like "Transformers", "Thunder Cats" and "He-Man" but as the end of the 80's came so did most of the American action cartoons. And with the release of the great "Akira" on video in 1990 and the subsequent mind blowing action/gore that came with it, most American cartoon lovers immediately turned their eyes to Japan. The movie stuck its "geta" in the door and made the debut for Japanese animation in the west.

In the 1990's newer American cartoons such as "Batman" and "Superman" came out and were enjoyed by most American action cartoon lovers, but with only these few American cartoons there left a lot of time for other action animation from Japan to fill the gap. With the amount of older Japanese anime being translated along with Japan's fresh anime, there is quite a lot of the Japanese component in the western market. So, this author's opinion is that Japanese anime happened to come along to the west at just the right time, and now that it's here it won't be leaving anytime soon. S.B.

Scott Brady works for a translation and English teaching company in Fukuoka, Japan. He works under Samurai Translators and has recently started up a telephone English school Myer English School

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

The GI Joe toy franchise from Hasbro spawned a lot of media tie ins, such as the GI Joe Saturday morning cartoons of the 1980s and the GI Joe comic books published by Marvel. At the time, the crossover of toys, cartoons and printed comics was an unprecedented set of tie ins, and the original GI Joe Comic run for Marvel ran for 155 issues, most of them written by Larry Hama.

This stint of writing nearly 155 issues in a continuous stream was also something nearly unheard of in the era, with most comic book publishers swapping writers and artists out after two to three years to prevent story lines and properties from going stale was the norm. Hama was also responsible for writing the file cards for the 9.5cm scale toys, which gave a short two paragraph biography of each character.

The GI Joe toy line sold from 1982 to 1994, and was resurrected for a new generation of kids in 1997, and has remained more or less continuously in production ever since, with a significant part of the market adults who are re-collecting the toys of their childhoods.
The first series of Marvel comics has not been reprinted due to legal issues with Hasbro (beyond the collection of the first 50 issues), and remains somewhat of a collector's item.

The GI Joe "universe" is built around an elite special forces team, called the Joes, originally formed by General Joseph Colton, the original Korean War era GI Joe, and led by a General Hawk. The Joes are tasked with defending American and world freedom from a terrorist organization called Cobra, and their adventures take place on all seven continents and around the world.

The GI Joe character list is enormous – over 250 action figures were eventually released in the line, with around a dozen tied to mainline continuity, and the remainder used as specialists added to the team as the mission arrived. One of the great points of divergence between the Saturday morning cartoon and the comics was the treatment of casualties and injury.

In the comics, it was possible for characters to be "killed off" (though they were usually brought back in time to keep the trademarks valid), while in the cartoon, any vehicle or plane that was shot down clearly showed one of the Joes rolling to safety, or using a parachute.

The original comic series ended after 155 issues, due to management disputes between Marvel and Hasbro, and remains something of a collectible.

In 1996, a four issue short run of the property was done by Darkhorse Comics, followed by a promised, but never published renewal of the series by Benchpress Comics. The series was successfully relaunched (even with input from creator Larry Hama) in 1999 by Devil's Due productions.

The Devil's Due productions comics bring the G.I. Joe comics up to the production standards of 21st century comic books, and the more adult tastes of modern comic consumers, many of whom were readers of the initial run in the 1980s, and expect a grittier, more action oriented fare.

* Gavin Roberts has grown up with comic books and has compiled a massive comic book collection. He has also created an Online Comic Book Store that showcases thousands of constantly updated comic books. Check out some GI Joe Comics or any other of your favorite comics at his website http://onlinecomicbookstore.net/

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

By: David Reed

The History of Manga starts in the 19th Century. A common misconception made by Westerners is that the term 'manga' simply refers to anime and animated projects. While this is true to a certain extent, the word manga itself actually means 'Comic'.

The first manga appeared early in the 19th Century - in 1814. This was called the Hokusai manga, and consisted of a series of sketchbooks by a Japanese artist named Hokusai. Each sketch in the Hokusai manga is based on various topics including gods, monsters, mountains, flowers, and birds - the sketches were loosely if not at all related to each other.

It is important to remember that at that stage, the images in the Hokusai manga weren't representative of the manga we see today. The Hokusai manga style was that of sketchings, and it wasn't until later, when the influence of the western world set in, that we began to see the drawing style we see in manga today. This was known as Ponchi-e - when Japanese artists began to concentrate on effectively using thick lines, colours, and forms. The era of Ponchi-e also went hand in hand with animated films, and in the 20th Century we saw the first emergence of manga animation - today commonly known as 'anime'.

Animation quickly became very popular in Japan due to the under-developed 'live action' entertainment industry it had at the time. The 1980's saw a boom in production of anime, as mainstream Japan began accepting it more and more readily. In the 1990's and 2000's Japan's anime influence spread overseas, and currently there are anime series' that broadcast almost on a global scale. An example of this is the ever popular Dragon Ball Z anime, which broadcasts all over America, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Europe.

Today, we see western countries like America becoming more and more enravelled in the jap-anime style of drawing. Safe is it to assume that anime will live on, and the background and history, of anime and manga will spread and diversify due to exposure from western cultures, and the more advanced animation technologies we have today.

* This information was provided by David Reed, who regularly contributes at the Lestai Blog for anime, manga, and japanimation.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

By: Michael Russell

What are the primary differences between Japanese Manga (Comics) and American Comics?

There is a big difference in art styles between Manga, which is more stylized (exaggerated) and American comics, which tend to be more "realistic". There are also quite a few serious differences between the two types of comics. Some of the differences, just to mention a few of them are the cost, creation, diverse audience and genres, presentation and even size.

The creation of Manga as well as its presentation is quite different than American Comics. Manga is printed in black-and-white format while American comics are the majority of the time in full color. Also, when you look at a graphic novel or Manga you will notice a difference in the size. Manga is frequently smaller than traditional American comic books, usually digest-size and roughly half to one-third the size of American comics. But where the American comics are generally thin like a small magazine, running about 32 pages, Manga comic books are thick and can be hundreds of pages in length!

In page count, Manga is quite similar to graphic novels, which are often just collections of the ongoing American comics. But unlike American graphic novels, which are usually just a collection of monthly comics in a single unified story or story arc, Manga books are often apart of an even bigger story and a complete Manga storyline can run thousands of pages.

Another difference between traditional American comics is that mainstream American comics are often created in a sort of assembly-line fashion. They have a writer (story), a penciler (initial sketch), inker (uses a pen to ink over the sketch), letterer (adds dialog) and a colorist (colors the inked sketch). Most Manga books are done by a single creator, who combines all those chores (except coloring).

Also Manga story lines usually move at a much quicker pace. Due to the high page count, one reads a Manga book at an accelerated pace. Manga books almost always have fewer panels and less dialogue (rambling) per page than American comic books. The price for Manga is also more than the average comic book and a bit more than a standard paperback novel, the small size of Manga and black-and-white printing rather than full color keeps the cost down. The lack color is made up when you consider the story development that it'll have with the amount of pages it has.

In Japan, Manga is not viewed as just for kids unlike the American stereotype. There pretty much is a Manga for everyone. With that being stated there are three main genres in Japanese Manga: Shonen Manga (boy's comics), Shojo Manga (girl's comics) and Hentai (adult comics).

Shonen Manga is pretty much comics that are primarily action and/or adventure geared. If you'd like to view some examples of that genre, I'd recommend "Bleach" and/or "Full Metal Alchemist". Shojo Manga is for the opposite sex; they are often about relationships and/or love interests. Please note that even though a particular genre is geared towards a certain audience it's not limited to just that audience (unless otherwise stated). Finally Hentai Manga, I won't delve much into this since it is primarily for adults and NOT suitable for children (just to be safe in case a child is reading this). Anyways, Hentai Manga is sometimes sexually explicit and/or adult-themed. In other words, do not purchase this for your child.

Next time someone asks you what the difference is between Manga and [American] comics, you can surprise them with your knowledge.

Independent guide to Comic Books

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

By: Dave Gieber

The origins of the comic book are somewhat controversial and perhaps the jury is still out. So lets go back to the cartoonish broadsheets of the Middle Ages, which were parchment products, created by anonymous woodcutters. As mass circulation of these broadsheets became possible, they soon developed a market, particularly at public executions, popular events for centuries (ugh), which drew thousands of happy spectators. Many of these spectators would invest in an artist's rendering of a hanging or burning, and thus making a very lucky day for the broadsheet seller.

The broadsheet evolved into higher-level content as humor was introduced. Eventually, all types of broadsheets emerged, which were eventually bound in collections, the prototype of the modern magazine. Magazines formatted like the popular Punch, an elegant British creation, became the primary focus of documentary accounts of news and events, fiction and humor. One can see in Punch, the sophisticated evolution of a comic style, particularly in respect of the evolution of comics in Great Britain. Still and all, from an historical standpoint, the comic strip stood in the alley, waiting to be born. And then some say Great Britain's Ally Sloper's "Half Alley" was the first comic book. This was a black and white tabloid that had panels of cartoons mixed with a sliver of news; circa 1884.

Now while all this was going on in Great Britain, this inching towards the comic book, the United States had its own brand of evolution. Instead of magazines, US newspapers took the lead in creating the comic book industry. Newspapers, with their first steps, took their single image gags and evolved them into multi-paneled comic strips. It was during this period that William Randolph Hearst scored a knockout with the Yellow Kid, which was actually printed in yellow ink.

So where did the actual comic book begin? Some say it was with reprints of Carl Schultz' Foxy Grandpa, from 1901 to 1905. Although others say it was Great Britain's Ally Sloper's Half Alley. In 1902, Hearst published the Katzenjammer Kids and Happy Hooligan in books with cardboard covers. For a time, the Yellow Kid himself was a top contender. But it depends how rigid you are in your description of a comic book. These examples, for sure, were predecessors to the modern comic book, which exploded in the 1930's.

The Whitman Publishing Company, in 1934, became one of the pre-launchers for the modern comic book. They published forty issues of Famous Comics, which was a black and white hardcover reprint. The first regularly published comic in the more recognizable modern format though, was Famous Funnies. It featured such memorable characters as Joe Palooka, Buck Rogers and Mutt and Jeff.

Superheroes as we know them today took a strong foothold in the 1930's. In 1938, Max C. Gaines, who was one of the comic industry giants, brought "Superman" to Dell Comics publisher, Harry Donenfield. Donenfield scored the comic coup of the century when he published a story written by two teenagers, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster- and so "Superman of Metropolis" (the title of their short story they wrote in their own fanzine) was born. Superman was to set a standard for comic book heroes that persist to this day.

* Dave Gieber, a former rocket engineer, has decided to take up residency on the Internet. He is the owner and editor of several websites, one of which was built around one of his childhood passions; http://www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com . You can visit here to keep up to date on the world of comic books and comic book collecting. Feel free to sign up for my comic book ezine at http://www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-ezine.html

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

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