Edge of the Comic-Verse

There are two different types of big stories that occur in comic books, events and eras.  You might have heard the saying "A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square". Essentially it means that two things can go together in one direction but not in the other. For example here, you have as many events taking place in an era, but you won't see eras taking place in events.  In short, an era is a space of time in which a certain grand overarching story exists, and an event refers to the smaller, one-off, things that happen throughout that era. Now I'll go into a little more detail to try and to clear a few things up with some examples. Photo Credit Marvel Comics An era, sometimes called an age, can refer to the age that the comic falls into such as Golden, Silver, and Bronze (you can read more about what those ages mean in a post I made here ). But far more often when people use the word in everyday comic conversation, they're referring to storyline eras....

The term retcon is used in most media communities, but it really has a life of its own within the comic community. A retcon, short for retroactive continuity, is a new situation that is presented to erase or change past canon events. Retcons are a dime a dozen in the comic book community, but there are still a handful of bad ones that people will be angry over forever. Retcons can happen for any number of reasons, both bad and good. It could be that in order for the current story to continue, the past has to be edited so that it makes sense. It could be that there was something that happened in older comics that was extremely controversial or in poor taste, so they went in and created a story to retcon those scenes. Photo Credit Marvel Comics Here is an example of a retcon that always surprises people. Did you know that Captain America being frozen in the ice for a number of years was not the original story? After WWII ended, Captain America found himself without a nemesis. For years t...

Photo by Frank Parker from Adobe Stock We've already covered some of the physical vocabulary for comics, that you can find in the post here , and now we get to move into the pages. In this section I'm going to talk about some of the vocabulary words that will help you navigate the comics you read. I think that it's important to remember that these are just base definitions and examples, they go deeper than what I can provide you here. I've included some links in case you want to look deeper into these topics. Mantles Mantles are identities that have been used by more than one person. An example of this is Batman's young sidekick, Robin, as there have been numerous characters that have gone by the name "Robin" over the years. Most of those characters have, at some point, left the Robin mantle behind and grown into their own hero identities.   Continuity   This was by far the hardest definition to come up with because continuity is used all the time in a ver...

by Caroline Rea Let's take a break from the heavy details and talk about the history of comics. This can be helpful when you're looking for retro comics, trying to see when a hero first appeared, or when you're just looking to have some fun facts in your repertoire.  Created by Caroline Rea The Ages We can start by discussing the timeline breakdown people have overwhelmingly agreed upon. Generations of comics are broken down into four general "ages". Those are the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Modern Age. There are also two older and lesser-known categories called the Victorian Age and Platinum Age.  Knowing which age your comic falls into isn't critical, but it can make it easier to find things if you know what age the comic you're looking for is from. Comic books are also often different sizes for different ages, so if you're looking for storage options, it's good to check if you have any comics from an older age.  When it comes to the ...

One of the things that can be overwhelming when you first enter the comic book space is the number of words that are thrown around without explanation. Knowing these vocabulary terms can help you know what you're looking for, understand your surroundings, and feel more confident in the community.   I'm breaking down the vocabulary list into two sections. Words relating to physical types of comics and words that help you understand comics internally. That post can be found here . These will, by no means, be exhaustive lists. They are just meant to give you a basic understanding to help you feel more comfortable and confident. Today we're going to talk about physical types of comic series!  Groups of Comics Issue - An issue is any individual comic. One-Shot - A one-shot is a series where the whole story is told in a single comic issue. Graphic by Caroline Rea Limited Run - A limited run is a series/run where there are a pre-determined number of issues that the story will...

In the comic space, there are two types of readers. Legacy readers and new readers. Some kids grow up as legacy readers, reading their parents' old comics and being surrounded by the comic community for as long as they can remember. The rest of us had to find the way through this hobby ourselves. Carving out our own place in the community. I discovered my love for comics in 2010 but didn’t fully embrace comic book collecting until 2017. When I first delved into the hobby, I traversed the comic space completely alone. None of the people I knew were already in the hobby. I know how hard and intimidating it can be to get into the hobby, but I also know how worthwhile it can be.  So here is my Comics 101 guide to getting into comic books. This blog is dedicated to breaking down the barriers to entry in the comic book community. We all deserve to be here, read comics, and enjoy the space.  Photo Credit: deberarr (Adobe Stock) Some of the topics I’m planning to cover are, comic bo...