Did you know...?
...that the gamma ray-riddled rocket in which the Fantastic Four acquired their powers crash landed just north of Ithaca? (as documented in Fantastic Four #245 & The Thing #10)
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Comics Databases and Web Sites
Comic fandom has flourished since at least the late 1960s, issuing zines, newsletters, bibliographies, price guides, and other publications, but the internet has broadened fandom's reach and influence far beyond comic conventions and local collectors' clubs. The list below highlights some of the more ambitious web sites and fan-created databases that contain a wealth of information on the history of the genre.
Bibliographic Sources
CBDB (Comic Book Database)
A free, interactive site to look up comic characters, artists, writers, or comic book series. The database currently comprises data on over 50,000 comic books and is growing daily.
ComicsResearch.org
"...covers book-length works about comic books and comic strips, from 'fannish' histories to academic monographs, providing detailed information and guidance on further research. Each entry will include the book's Table of Contents as well as (if applicable) a list of comics works reprinted in it (and their sources, sometimes undocumented), other general notes on content and organization, ISBN numbers, and reviews--either included on these pages, listed from print sources, or linked to from on-line sources. Books in any language, about comics from any country, are included." Also maintains a list of comics-related dissertations and theses.
Comics Research Bibliography
The Comics Research Bibliography began as an online resource in 1996. When updates to the online version have stopped, the compilers decided to produce a semi-annual print and electronic version to fill the gap. The final (2022) edition of the Bibliography is available here via the Internet Archive.
Cover Browser
Web site containing covers for many U.S. comic titles, displayed in chronological/issue number order. No annotations or credits included, just covers.
DC Comics Database
A wiki-based resource that bills itself as "the world's largest DC Comics encyclopedia that anyone can edit, hosted by wikia. Our project contains 75,606 articles and 85,796 images." [as of 1/13] Focus is on the major DC superheroes. Searchable.
Digital Comic Museum
Provides free access to hundreds of pre-1959 public-domain comic books uploaded by users who often offer historical research and commentary alongside high-quality scans.
The Grand Comics Database (GCD)
Created by "a nonprofit, Internet-based organization of international volunteers dedicated to building a database covering all printed comics throughout the world." Contains more than 400,000 cover images, artist/writer credits, and individual issue annotations spanning the history of the form. It's goal is to "contain data for every comic book ever published in every country around the planet."
Marvel Comics Database
Wiki-based resources similar to the DC Comics Database.Covers the contents of Marvel comics published since 1939, including cover images, story synopses, credits, etc. Searchable and browsable by title, year, etc.
News and Culture
The Beat: the News Blog of Comic Culture
A "daily news blog of comics news, reviews, and information," covering comics culture, industry, conventions, publishers, and cartoonists." Also includes comics sales data.
Comics and Graphic Narratives Discussion Group
The Modern Language Association's (MLA) site for information on upcoming comics studies events.
Comic News (CBR)
The latest comic news and detailed insights on the comics stories and characters from the experts at CBR. From Marvel to DC and beyond
Specialized Resources
The Annotated Watchmen
Doug Atkinson's annotations to the Alan Moore's Watchmen "are intended for the second-time reader, someone who's read through once, knows the basic plot, but missed a lot of the detail and wants to find it. If you are reading them along with your first reading of the series, you may find that it spoils some of the surprise."
Guardians of the North
Based on an archival exhibition of the same title that was originally mounted at the National Archives' Canadian Museum of Caricature in 1992, this revised version of the original exhibition features digital images of the items that were displayed at the Museum of Caricature. The site also incorporates an updated version of John Bell's out-of-print book Guardians of the North: The National Superhero in Canadian Comic-Book Art, which was published by the National Archives in 1992
Underground Comix.Info
A graphical aid for authenticating the various printings of classic 'head' Comix of the 60's & 70's. Intended as a supplement to J.Kennedy's 1982 guide, with some updates. No longer actively curated, but available via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Women in Comics Wiki
"We aim to be the leading source of information on women in all comics forms and all creative roles throughout history....We wanted an area independent of any other wiki or database to really focus on women's contributions to comics. In addition, we recognize that not all creators are "notable" by the Other Wiki's standards, and this is a place where they can be included regardless." (website)