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Genre
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Action |
Action genre emphasizes heightened activity: fighting, chasing, etc. Lead characters are best described by their skills. Plot is oriented around "what happens next" |
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Adventure |
Adventure genre emphasizes characters on a quest, seeking a particular goal. Plots tend to be long-term, covering many episodes. |
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Anime |
Anime is, literally, Japanese for "animation". In the West, "Anime" refers to animation from Japan, or in the style of animation from Japan. |
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Comicbook Hero |
Comicbook Hero genre emphasizes a main character with unusually heightened, magical, or "super" abilities who uses those abilities to resolve the plot's conflict. Typically the Comicbook Hero resolves the conflict within one episode. |
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Drama |
Drama genre emphasizes serious characters, purposes, and consequences, often with realistic characters, even when depicted in unreal or fantasy settings. |
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Editorial/Political |
Editorial/Political genre emphasizes commentary and/or satire of current political or social events. |
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Experimental |
Experimental genre comics seek to break the traditional boundaries of genre, technique, presentation, characterization, or story. The creators are attempting to redefine the genres of comics. |
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Fantasy |
Fantasy genre emphasizes magical characters and other-worldly settings. Plots are often within the Adventure genre. |
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Finished / Completed |
Finished comics are those whose stories have come to an end and the author plans no subsequent episodes or issues. |
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Furry |
Furry genre comics depict the main characters as animals (or other non-human characters) with human characteristics and abilities. |
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Gaming |
Gaming genre emphasizes characters and settings associated with computer games |
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Graphic Novel |
Graphic Novels are long-form comics that tell a story with unusually complex character and plot development. |
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Horror |
Horror genre emphasizes characters and situations that evoke fearful, suspenseful, or deadly outcomes and emotions. |
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Humorous / Comedy |
Humorous / Comedy genre's main purpose is to evoke a laugh. |
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Manga |
Manga is, literally, Japanese for "comics". In the West, "Manga" refers to comics in the Japanese style. |
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Mystery |
Mystery genre emphasizes plot-driven stories where an unknown element drives and motivates the characters and action, and is revealed at the climax of the story. Subtypes include Crime, Detective, Whodunit, Thriller, Cozy, Police Procedural, etc. |
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Non-fiction |
Non-fiction genre depicts real-life people, settings, and/or events |
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Porn |
Porn comics main purpose is to sexually arouse and titalate the reader, although often Humorous in comics. "We know it when we see it" |
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Quirky |
Quirky comics are those that doen't quite fit into any other genre, but not necessarily in an attempt to break traditional boundaries, as an Experimental comic might |
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Religious |
Religious comics main purpose is religious inspiration, instruction and/or evangalism |
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Romance |
Romance genre comics emphasize the personal, loving, relationships between the main characters. |
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Science Fiction |
Science Fiction genre emphasizes settings or technology that do not (yet) exist. |
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Serial |
Serial comics continue their story line and character development from one issue / episode to another. |
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Single Panel |
Single Panel comics capture a single moment, sometimes with speech bubbles or captions. |
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Slice-of-Life |
Slice-of-Life comics explore the humor, satire, pathos, etc. of everyday life |
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Vintage |
Vintage comics are older comics, typically finished/completed and done in a style that is not usually employed any longer. Think "antique" |
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Format
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Animated |
Comic contains animation |
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Comic Book |
Available in a hardcopy format, but not necessarily exclusively. "Comic Book" genre can also apply to webcomics that have adopted the traditional comic book layout, length, or style. |
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Interactive |
Comic requires some kind of input from the reader. Webcomics that merely require the user to click a link to turn the page are not "Interactive" in this sense. |
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Mini-Comic |
According to http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/oct01/art_1001_13.shtml: Self-published, tiny number of copies, always in print, non-standard formats and/or size, created by individuals. Usually. |
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Newspaper |
Available in newspapers, magazines, etc. as an adjunct to other content. Contrast this with "Comic Book" genre wherein the comic is the principal, or only, content. The "newspaper" genre usually implies the comic is formatted to fit in a small piece of |
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Webcomic |
Available online, but not necessarily exclusively |
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Artwork
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Art: Gross / Vulgar / Offensive |
Artwork depicts ugly, repulsive, decrepit, characters or settings, usually for humorous purposes |
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Backgrounds: Real / Rich |
Score this YES/Strong for realistic or richly developed backgrounds; MAYBE for simple or cartoony backgrounds; NO for minimal or blank backgrounds |
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Black & White |
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Caricatures |
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Cartoony Drawing |
Usual comic art style featuring exaggerated and/or simplified bodies, facial expressions, backgrounds, settings, etc. |
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Clip Art |
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Color |
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Computer Graphics (CGI) |
CGI comics use computer software to render the artwork, usually in 3D. This is not the same as an artist using a drawing program, like Photoshop, where the artist draws all the lines and color. |
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Manga/Anime' Influenced |
Art style shows influences of Manga and/or Anime', such as overly large eyes, chibi, "face faults", bulging veins, hammerspace, boys getting sudden bloody noses encountering pretty girls, etc. |
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Minimal color palette |
Includes two-tone and grayscale (or greyscale if you prefer) |
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Minimalistic |
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Paint Style |
Paint style comics appear to have been painted. Contrast with Pen & Ink and CGI styles |
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Pen & Ink |
Pen & Ink is the usual "Cartoon" style of drawing, where a pen is used to draw the outlines of the characters, settings, etc and the space inside the outlines is filled in with ink. |
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Pencil / Pen |
Pencil / Pen comics have the look of being drawn with a single instrument, typically in Black & White as opposed to "Pen & Ink" which uses black outlines and color fill. |
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Photographic / Fumetti |
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Realistic |
Characters and Settings are drawn to look as much like real life as possible |
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Sprite |
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Stick Figures |
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Vector Graphics |
VG comics use computer software to render the artwork. Unlike CGI, the final result is rarely photorealistic nor does it have the look of hand-drawn art. It is clearly drawn with a computer program. |
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Writing
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Action |
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Adventure |
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Anthropomorphic |
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Autobiographical |
Contains autobiographical elements |
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Breaks 4th Wall |
Characters are aware they are characters in a comic. (The 4th wall is the one the reader looks through to see the comic) |
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Crime |
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Dramatic |
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Editorial |
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Fantasy |
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Fiction |
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Gag-a-Day |
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Gaming |
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Heroic |
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Homosexual |
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Humorous |
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Legal |
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New Age |
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Non-Fiction |
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Novel |
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Poetic / Verse |
Writing is poetry or in verse |
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Political |
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Religious |
Contains Religious elements without necessarily being the "Religious" genre wherein the main purpose is religious inspiration, instruction and/or evangalism |
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Romance |
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Science Fiction |
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Soap Opera |
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Spiritual |
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Story Lines |
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Superheroes |
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Supervillians |
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Sword & Sorcery |
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Time/Dimension Travel |
Comic includes travel through time, to other dimensions, to other planes of existence, etc |
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Writing: Gross / Vulgar / Offensive |
Writing depicts ugly, repulsive, decrepit, characters or settings, usually for humorous purposes |
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Setting
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Fantasy World |
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Future |
Comic is set in the future. Rhetorical Question: is it right to call this "post-modern" if "Historical" setting is "pre-modern"? Discuss. |
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Historical |
Comic is set in pre-modern times |
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Home |
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Home: Family |
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Home: Single(s) |
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Japan |
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Other Worlds |
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Outer Space |
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Political Place |
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Real World |
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School |
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School: College |
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School: Grade School |
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School: High School |
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School: Middle School |
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School: Preschool |
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Workplace |
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Workplace: Bookstore |
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Workplace: Gaming Store |
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Workplace: Office |
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Workplace: Restaurant/Bar/Cafe |
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Workplace: Retail Store |
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Characters
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0-18 (age of characters) |
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18-25 (age of characters) |
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25-40 (age of characters) |
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40-65 (age of characters) |
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65-99 (age of characters) |
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100+ (age of characters) |
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Actors |
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Aliens (Extra-Terrestrial) |
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Animals (realistic) |
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Animals (talking/thinking) |
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Artists |
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Athletes |
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Clergy |
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Criminals |
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Doctors |
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Families |
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Fantasy Beings |
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Gamers |
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God(s) |
You know who you are |
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Goth-style People |
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Gothic non-Human Beings |
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Indeterminant Species |
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Law Enforcers |
Police, FBI, Sheriffs, Time Cops, etc. |
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Magical Beings |
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Main Character is Female |
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Main Character is Male |
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Military |
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Musicians |
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Nerds |
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Ninjas |
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Politicos |
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Robots |
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RPG-Style Characters |
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Scientists |
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Spies |
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Spirits |
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Students |
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Super-beings |
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Teachers |
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Zombies |
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Language
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Chinese |
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Dutch |
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English |
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French |
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German |
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Hindi |
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Italian |
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Japanese |
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Korean |
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Polish |
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Portugese |
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Russian |
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Spanish |
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Tagalog |
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|+ Anglicized other language |
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|+ Other |
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Appropriateness of Content
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Alcohol Consumption |
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Cartoon/Fantasy Violence |
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Comedic/Unrealistic Drug Use |
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Comedic/Unrealistic Drunkenness |
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Comedic/Unrealistic Sex Acts |
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Erotic Nudity |
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Intense Adult Language |
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Mild Adult Language |
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Mild Nudity |
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NSFW: Not Safe For Work |
Not porn, but contains images that would be unsuitable for the workplace |
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Oriented to Grownups |
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Oriented to Kids |
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Realistic Drug Use |
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Realistic Drunkenness |
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Realistic Sex Acts |
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Realistic Violence |
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Suitable for ages 0-6 |
Similar to MPAA-G, TV-Y, TV-G, Web-G, Marvel-All, UK-U, ESRB-EC |
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Suitable for ages 6-12 |
Similar to MPAA-PG, TV-Y7, TV-Y7-FV, TV-G, Web-G, Marvel-T+, UK-PG, ESRB-10+ |
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Suitable for ages 12-18 |
Similar to MPAA-PG-13, TV-PG, TV-14, Web-14, Marvel-PA, UK-12, UK-15, ESRB-Teen |
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Suitable for ages 18+ |
Similar to MPAA-R, MPAA-NC-17, TV-MA, Web-MA, Web-NC-17, Marvel-MAX, UK-18, ESRB-Mature, ESRB-Adult Only |
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Website
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Advertising: Comic-oriented Only |
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Advertising: Interstitial |
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Advertising: Popups |
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Advertising: R-Rated |
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Advertising: X-Rated |
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Features: Blog |
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Features: Cast/Characters Page |
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Features: Fan Art |
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Features: Fan Fiction |
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Features: Forums |
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Features: Gallery |
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Features: Guestbook |
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Features: Online Store |
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Features: RSS Feed |
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Features: Story Summary |
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Features: Web Ring |
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Features: Wiki |
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Flash/Shockwave needed |
Site needs a Flash- or Shockwave-enabled browser to see the comic. Some sites prefer Flash or Shockwave but offer non-Flash/Shockwave versions; these sites should NOT be labeled "Flash/Shockwave needed" |
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Creator(s)
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Fan Created |
Fan-Created indicates a comic made by someone other than the original creator, usually unauthorized, using the original comic's characters and settings but with new plot and character developments. |
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Member of AAEC |
AAEC is the American Association of Editorial Comics, an organization of professional editorial/political cartoonists. |
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Member of NCS |
NCS is the National Cartoonists Society, an organization of professional cartoonists and grantor of the distinguished Reuben award |
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Winner of Eisner Award |
The "Oscars" of comics, awarded annually at Comic-Con. See http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_eisners_main.shtml |
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Winner of Hugo Award |
The Hugo Award -- officially the "Science Fiction Achievement Award" -- is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society |
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Winner of Pulitzer Prize |
Grand-daddy of prizes for excellence in Journalism, Letters, Drama, and Music. |
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Winner of Reuben Award |
Awarded by the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) |
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Winner of WCCA |
WCCA is the Web Cartoonist's Choice Award |
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