A story that develops in the course of several editions.

Comics that are made for viewing on the Internet. This could be in a comic strip format or as an on-going narrative.

In comics, this is the official storyline that is known and accepted by the community of artists and fans.

Japanese word for comic. The term is used to describe all Japanese and other Asian comics in general. It is normally black and white, and you read it backwards, as the Japanese do.

Special edition with hard covers and normally high-quality paper.

This is a character who is an antithesis of the classical hero. They get in trouble, they get sick, and they often don’t get happy endings.

This is a mega crossover story. Plots normally involve wars, alien invasions, heroes fighting other heroes, death (and return) of important characters, and so on. The outcome of the storyline often affects on-going titles for months and sometimes years to come.

This is a more serious comic book. It’s normally bigger and has better graphic treatment.

This is the “assistant” of the main hero in a comic book. He or she is normally younger and has the main hero as a sort of mentor.

This is when story elements of two or more comic books come together to create one storyline across multiple titles.