I read the daily comics everyday ( ), but I'm not a huge fan of anything but Pearls Before Swine. I can read books and books without end - I especially love the treasuries, because the things Stephen Pastis say's at the bottom of each strip are even more hysterical than the strips themselves.

I've been taking an interest in comics lately. I was thinking of getting some Marvel comics, as well as a few others.

I recently started showing interest toward Tintin. Those are comics, right? Or are they books? Or both? If they're graphic novels, I'm not sure how people classify those...

I saw what was allegedly the entire collection of Tintin stories in a set of volumes at my library.

~Riella

I may not be the right person to tell you this, because my knowledge of the stuff you're asking about is limited. But I do know this much...

Comic strips and Comic books are the same medium, yes. But they are NOT the same. This thread is about comic strips... what some people call "the funnies". Ya know, the stuff in newspapers, like: Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Family Circus, etc.

What you're asking about is something else entirely... strips that are more... story-like and bound together. (not to mention longer) Examples: Superman, The Flash, Batman, Spiderman, Fantastic Four. (so it might be better to ask your questions in your own Marvel SF )

It's kinda like the difference between School House Rock and Bill Nye: the Science Guy. (both fun and educational, but one was like a sort of commerical or song in length. and the other was a full 26 minute program) Make sense?

As for "graphic novels", to my understanding they are basically comic books... just not called comic books. (and some of them seem to be anthology type things)

If you like, you can check out more about the three types on wiki:
comic strips
comic books
graphic novels

(those don't even include webcomics and gag cartoons. And then there is also the fact that some people call comedians "comics". yeah, it gets a bit confusing )

As for Tintin, ask our resident expert on the character/stories, Warrior 4 Jesus.

p.s. Sorry if this came off as at all harsh. That's not my intention. (I'm having a rough afternoon, and it might be seeping into this conversation a bit. )

As for "graphic novels", to my understanding they are basically comic books... just not called comic books. (and some of them seem to be anthology type things)

That would be correct! (Good job on getting all of that information by the way.)

Dictionary.com defines a "Graphic Novel" as

a novel in the form of a comic strip

Our subscription to the local newspaper recently expired, so I have missed out on some of the lastest comics But we we will be getting the paper back as of next Thrusday.

Here is one of my favorite strips (even though Wally's attidude kinda scares me.)