adaptation: telling a story in a different way and in a new format. For example, making a musical out of a series of comic strips would be adapting the comics into the musical.
afterlife: the ancient Egyptian belief in life after death.
Allied forces: the armies of the countries that fought together against Germany in World War I and World War II.
alter ego: a second personality in the same person.
American Revolution: the war during which the 13 American colonies fought England for independence. It lasted from 1775 to 1783.
ancestor: someone from your family who lived before you.
animation: multiple drawings in sequence to show movement.
anime: Japanese animation.
archaeologist: a scientist who studies ancient people through the objects they left behind.
arch-nemesis: a character who is the opposite of the main character, and usually the enemy.
aristocrat: a person of royal blood or privilege.
artifact: an object made by people in the past, including tools, pottery, and jewelry.
astrologer: a person who studies how the movements of the sun, moon, and planets affect humans.
astronomer: a person who studies objects in the sky, such as stars and planets.
backstory: a story about the events leading up to the main story.
BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. These non-religious terms correspond to BC and AD. This book was published in 2014 CE.
Boston Massacre: a riot in Boston that took place on March 5, 1770. Five colonists were shot and killed by British soldiers.
brainstorm: to come up with a bunch of ideas quickly and without judgment.
broadcast: a program transmitted over a long distance.
carbon copy: an exact copy of a document made using carbon paper between two or more pieces of paper.
cartoon: a comic published in a newspaper or magazine.
cast: a group of characters.
casting: a metal print form created to make multiple copies of a printed page.
cathedral: a large important church.
censor: to examine books, movies, letters, etc., in order to remove things that are considered to be offensive or harmful to society.
character: someone in a story.
cherub: a type of angel, usually shown as a small child.
chromolithography: a color printing process using metal plates to layer tints of color.
city–state: a city and its surrounding area, which rules itself like a country.
civilization: a community of people that is advanced in art, science, and government.
cliffhanger: an exciting moment that makes you wonder what happens next.
codex: another name for a book. Plural is codices.
collaboration: working with others.
color reproduction: to make color prints of an original piece of art.
comic: images in sequence that tell a story, with or without words.
comic relief: the inclusion of a funny character or scene in an otherwise serious work.
Comics Code: a set of guidelines created by comics publishers to help regulate the content of comics.
commercial: operating as a business to earn money.
community: a group of people who live in the same area.
concentration camp: a prison where people were sent during the Holocaust to be killed or made to do hard work.
conceptualized: imagined and thought out.
content: the written material and illustrations in a story, article, book, or website.
convention: a gathering of people who are all interested in a certain idea, topic, or event.
creative rights: the right to use something that is created, often for profit.
culture: the beliefs and way of life of a group of people.
custom: a way of living and doing things, such as food and dress.
decay: to rot.
depict: to create a representation of something experienced or seen.
desktop publishing: computer software that edits and formats comics, books, and magazines.
diabolic: extremely evil.
dialogue: a conversation between two people.
digital: characterized by electronic and computerized technology.
direct mail: a system used to sell things directly to subscribers through the U.S. mail.
drafted: required to join the military.
drama: an exciting event or series of events.
dynamic: full of movement.
eccentric: odd, usually in a unique way.
emcee: a master of ceremonies who helps to lead a story or event.
epic: a long poem, usually about the life of a hero or heroine.
era: a set segment of time.
etching: a print made by scratching original art onto a metal plate.
fantasy: a genre of comics and literature based on myth and legend.
folk tale: a story told by a specific group of people, often involving magic and a moral.
freelance: to work on a project without being employed by the company assigning the work.
French Revolution: a period of violent change in France between 1789 and 1799.
funnies: the original name of comic strips in Sunday newspapers.
generation: all the people born around the same time.
genre: a type of creative work, such as mystery, romance, or fantasy.
Golden Age: the period of comics history before the 1950s, considered to be the best and most popular by many fans and historians.
graphic novel: a comic as long as a book, that tells one story.
hearing: a special session of Congress or the Senate held to “hear” from witnesses and experts on a given issue.
hieroglyphics: a writing system that uses pictures and symbols called hieroglyphs (or just glyphs) to represent words and ideas.
Holocaust: a time before and during World War II when the German Nazis tried to kill the entire Jewish race, as well as several other groups.
hometown: the place where a person, thing, or idea is born.
humor: the quality of being funny.
iconic: a widely recognized symbol of a certain time.
identity: the characteristics that make a person an individual.
image: a picture of something, either real or imagined.
immigrant: a person who leaves his or her own country to live in another country.
imprint: a part of a publishing company that publishes a certain type of book.
inbetweener: an animator who assists the head animator by drawing movements in between key frames.
independent comic: a comic book published without the help of a large company.
indigenous: native.
inking: to use ink to add definition to pencil drawings.
innovation: a new creation or a unique solution to a problem.
invincible: someone who cannot be defeated.
key frame: a drawing in animation that captures the major points of movement. For example, if a character is waving her arm from left to right, the key frames would show the arm on the left, middle, and right.
layering: stacking images on top of each other.
literate: having the ability to read.
logic: the principle, based on math, that things should work together in an orderly way.
manga: a term for Japanese-style comics.
martyrdom: the death of a person for his or her beliefs.
Marvel Method: a way of creating comics that relies on an assembly-line format.
master page: the version of a printed page that is used to make other copies.
medieval: describes the Middle Ages, the period of European history after the fall of the Roman Empire, from about 350 to 1450 CE.
medium: the material artists use to create their art, such as stone, paint, and ink.
mini comic: a small, self-published comic.
monument: a building, structure, or statue that is special because it honors an event or person, or because it is beautiful.
moral: a valuable lesson to help people know how to behave.
movable type: a process of printing that uses individual type pieces to spell out words.
mummify: to preserve a dead body so it doesn’t decay.
mythology: a set of stories or beliefs about a particular religion or culture.
narration block: a block of text that contains the voice of the writer or of a character talking about what is happening.
Nazi: the main political party of Germany before and during World War II.
network: a company that provides programs to be broadcast over radio or television stations.
observation: something you notice.
orally: spoken out loud.
pamphlet: an informative book or brochure.
panel: a square or other shape that frames a single scene in a comic strip.
parody: an imitation of something for comical effect.
patent: a document from the government that gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, or sell his or her invention.
Pearl Harbor: a U.S. naval base in Hawaii that was attacked by Japan in 1941.
penciling: to create an original comic first in pencil.
pharaoh: the title for ancient Egyptian kings or rulers.
pictographic: a picture of a word or idea.
pitch: to present an idea.
political cartoon: a comical or critical depiction of a political figure or event.
predecessor: someone or something that came before others.
premise: the main idea of a story.
preserve: to keep something from rotting.
printing press: a machine that presses inked type onto paper.
process: an activity that takes several steps to complete.
propaganda: ideas or statements that are sometimes exaggerated or even false. They are spread to help a cause, political leader, or government.
psychologist: a person who studies the mind and behavior.
Pulitzer Prize: a group of prizes awarded annually for work done in journalism, fiction, and non-fiction, as well as for photojournalism.
pull list: a list of comics that your local comic bookstore will order and set aside for you.
pulp magazine: a cheap fiction magazine published between 1896 and the 1950s.
punch line: the sentence, statement, or phrase that makes the point, as in a joke.
race: a group of people with the same skin color and other physical features.
rarebit: a type of soft cheese which is famous for giving indigestion.
Renaissance: a period of time in Europe after the Middle Ages, from the 1300s to the 1600s.
representation: showing things in pictures or other forms of art.
revolutionary: someone committed to fighting a ruler or political system.
ritual: something done as part of a religion.
romance comic: a comic about characters who are trying to find love.
Rosetta Stone: a stone tablet written in 196 BCE telling the same decree using hieroglyphics, Egyptian Demotic script, and ancient Greek. The stone was fully translated in 1822, leading specialists to understand hieroglyphics better in the nineteenth century.
saint: a Catholic Christian who has performed miracles as confirmed by the pope.
sarcophagus: a large, stone box containing an Egyptian king’s coffin and mummy.
science fiction: stories that deal with the influence of real or imagined science.
screen print: to make a color print of an image with special ink pressed through screens.
scribe: a person who copies writings by hand.
sequence: the order in which something happens.
serial: occurring in a series.
serialize: to create a series of stories.
sidekick: a character who supports the main character.
Silver Age: the era of comics between the introduction of the Comics Code in 1956 and the late 1970s.
smock: a cloth worn over clothing to protect it from stains.
spiritual: religious, relating to the soul or spirit.
splash page: large pages of comic action with no panels.
standardized: a set way of doing something.
stylize: to draw comics in a specific way.
suspense: a feeling or state of nervousness or excitement caused by wondering what will happen.
symbol: a physical representation of a thing or idea.
syndication: when the rights to print or broadcast a creative work are sold.
tapestry: a colorful, woven fabric that hangs on a wall. It often shows a scene.
technology: scientific or mechanical tools, methods, and systems used to solve a problem or do work.
thought cloud: a shape similar to a word balloon that encloses a character’s thought.
tint: a shade or variety of color.
tomb: a room or place where a dead person is buried.
tribe: a large group of people with common ancestors and customs.
vigilante: a person who takes the law into his or her own hands.
villain: a character who opposes the hero and does bad things.
Wacom tablet: a device that allows an artist to draw life-like lines right onto a computer.
webcomic: a comic made to be read on web browsers.
woodcut: a way of printing by carving an image on a piece of wood before adding ink and printing the image onto paper.
word balloon: a rounded outline with a point toward a character that encloses the character’s speech.
xerography: a way of making a copy using light-sensitive chemicals and paper.
zine: a self-published magazine, usually produced using photocopiers.
zinester: a person who makes zines.