We’venjust celebrated Batman‘s first appearance in comic books, andntoday we celebrate cartoons and cartoonists.n
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nWhichnmade me wonder, what’s the difference between cartoons and comics?
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Mostnpeople will tell you that cartoons are animated features with movingnpictures and sound, whereas comics are still pictures, either printednor online, that tell a story through a series of drawings, usuallynwith narrative words and dialogue.
Mostnpeople will tell you that cartoons are animated features with movingnpictures and sound, whereas comics are still pictures, either printednor online, that tell a story through a series of drawings, usuallynwith narrative words and dialogue.n
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nHowever,nthat isn’t completely correct. Otherwise, why would we call thenstill, printed political cartoons “political cartoons”?
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n“Cartooning”nis actually a simplified style of drawing that exaggerates features,neither to be humorous or to make a point. A synonym for cartoonnis caricature. (Check out this explanation of how the word cartoon came to be.)
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nThenword comic comes from comedy and means, of course,nhumorous. Most comic strips are indeed funny (and “the comics”nsection in a newspaper is often called “the funnies”). But somencomic strips and comic books are not at all humorous.
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nManyncomic strips and books are drawn as cartoons. In other words, thendrawing style is simplified and exaggerated. However, many comicnbooks (and a few comic strips) feature very detailed and evennrealistic drawings. And some even use photographs!
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nToday,nwe use the term graphic novel for a long story told in comics,nwhen the publication looks like a book, and we use the term comicnbook for comics published in a magazine format.
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nSo…cartooningnis a style. A lot of comic strips, comic books, and animated moviesnare drawn in cartoon style.
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nComicsnis a genre that features pictures, captions, speech balloons, andnsound-effect words as it tells a story or conveys information. Comicsnincludes comic books, comic strips, political cartoons, graphicnnovels, and webcomics. n
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(Bynthe way, for anyone who is interested, there is a book callednUnderstanding Comics that tells the history and theory ofncomics WITH COMICS. How brilliant is that?)
(Bynthe way, for anyone who is interested, there is a book callednUnderstanding Comics that tells the history and theory ofncomics WITH COMICS. How brilliant is that?)n
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nToday…
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nReadn a comic book, or the funnies, or a graphic novel.
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nWatchn a cartoon.
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Createn your own characters for a comic strip. Think of simple stories thatn can be told in just a few drawings arranged in a panel. For example:n
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n>n Boy sees leaves blowing, gets a huge smile on his face.n
n>n Boy gets his kite and runs up a hill. The kite looks very unhappy.n
n>n Boy is high in the sky, looking terrified—and the kite isn grinning as he holds the string and “flies” the boy.n
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n Remember that humor cannoccur because of a “switcheroo,” like the boy-and-kite storynabove. It can occur because of an unexpected ending or irony or plainnold silliness. Also remember that not all comics are funny!
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Bynthe way…
Bynthe way…n
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nIfnyou were wondering, “Why is National Cartoonists’ Day today, of allndays?” it’s because today is the anniversary of the first-everncolor cartoon, ThenYellow Kid,nin 1895.
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nPlannAhead…
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards of Maynholidays, historicalnevents in May,nand Maynbirthdays.
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nAlso on thisndate:
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nCinco de Mayon
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nPhilosophy Day
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nChildren’snDay in South Korea
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