Comics: a Medium or a Genre?

When most people hear 'comic book' or 'graphic novel', they likely picture dashing heroes using fantastic powers to keep their city/country/world safe from evil-doers. Comics and Superheroes are often synonymous. But comics are just a way of telling a story that uses pictures and words together. Comics can, and do, tell any kind of story, such as auto-biographies about civil rights leaders, Pulitzer-Prize winning stories about the holocaust, and romantic stories .

This blog will attempt to examine how the medium of comics (in magazine and book form, not strips) and the fan-base, creators, and business have been changed by the rise of the internet and digital culture. The format, once a physical medium, has expanded into digital distribution but much slower than music, movies, and even novels. The fanbase has grown and changed by both the rise of digital culture as well at the sudden mainstream popularity of Marvel movies and the Superhero genre. While creators can have much closer relationships with their fans (and detractors). Like most physical mediums, comics and comic book culture look much different today than they did before digital culture. But is this change for the better or worse or both?

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Are Comics Cool?

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Comics in a Digital World

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