In 1837 there came a small, seemingly inconsequential shift in the way stories were told. One Obadiah Oldbuck was drawn into existence as a series of sequential pictures with text captions. It was originally created with the purpose of being a diversion for the creator and his friends, but all too unexpected it became incredibly popular in both the US and France.
This is often considered the first comic, and Rodolphe Töpffer is often considered the father of the genre. Comic Book Day honors this man and everything that has come to follow from that first humble publication.
Learn about Comic Book Day
Comic Book Day has been created so that we can pay tribute to this form of entertainment. This day gives you the perfect opportunity to read a comic, no matter whether this is something that you would usually do or not. If you are an avid fan of comics, why not use the day to write your own comic? If this is something you have always wanted to do, now is the perfect time for you to get started.
There are a lot of comics around the world that are incredibly popular. One of the most popular comics is One Piece, which has sold more than 473 million copies around the world. One Piece is a Japanese manga series, which has been illustrated and written by Eiichiro Oda.
The story is one that is about following the adventures of a boy who is named Monkey D. Luffy. After eating a Devil Fruit by accident, the boy’s body gained the properties of rubber. The comic follows the boy as he goes on search of ‘One Piece’ – the world’s ultimate treasure – in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
This is just one of many comics that have gained mass popularity all across the world. Others include The Adventures of Tintin, Case Closed, Naruto, Golgo 13, Dragon Ball, Lucky Luke, Peanuts, and Asterix. Asterix has sold more than 370 million copies. This is a French comic that follows Gaulish warriors during the Julius Caesar era as they fight and have adventures in the Roman Empire.
As is the case for many comics, Asterix has been adapted into a number of different films and games. There is even an Asterix theme park, which is based on the series. The theme park opened in 1989 and it is located 22 miles to the north of Paris.
History of Comic Book Day
While Obadiah Oldbuck was considered to be the first comic, in 1933 the publication known as Famous Funnies is considered to be the first actual comic book. It was produced in the United States from a collection of comic strips that had appeared earlier in newspapers.
While the term ‘comic’ implies that the tone of these strips are always humorous, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Comics have been used as a medium for telling stories of all kinds, and while the debate raged for a long time as to whether or not comics could be considered literature, it was the publication of Maus that settled that argument once and for all.
Maus was published by the American Cartoonish Art Spiegelman, and was originally published in a serialized form for 11 years from 1980-1991. It was a recounting of the experiences of his father as a Polish Jew and a survivor of the Holocaust. It covered the era from the years before World War II straight through to the liberation of his parents from the Nazi Concentration camps.
It is often considered to be one of the most important texts on the Holocaust and a painfully real retelling of the struggle and survival of Jews through these dark times. It also stood as a shining example of the fact that comic books could cover incredibly difficult subjects in a real and approachable way.
How to celebrate Comic Book Day
Whether you grew up glued to the pages of comic books, or you’ve never experienced the wonders that lie between their pages, Comic Book Day encourages you to get out and embrace this incredible story telling medium. This isn’t a day to simply peruse the funny pages in the newspaper, but to head out to your local comic shop and remember or discover the amazing tales that lie between the pages of comic books.
This day presents you with a great opportunity to read a comic and truly appreciate this form of story-telling and illustration. You can grab a comic that you have never read before! Even if you are not a massive comic fan, you will find that you have a new appreciation for the art of comics once you give yourself a few quiet moments to read one.
As mentioned earlier, a lot of comics have been transformed into different films, television shows, and video games. Therefore, you can make the most of different forms of entertainment when you are celebrating Comic Book Day.
If you are your friends are big fans of comics, why not make the most of Comic Book Day and host a comic-themed party? You can get everyone to dress up as their favorite comic book character. This is a great way to have a lot of fun and a lot of laughs with the people you love the most. You can base the decor, food, and drinks on a comic book as well to really add some more fun and vibrancy to the mix!
