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Most people are familiar with comic books and comic strips. The comic strip is usually found in daily newspapers. It is made up of three or four picture panels telling a story with one or more characters. Some comic strips tell a different incident every day. In other comic strips the story continues from day to day until it is finished, and then a new story begins with the same main characters. Comic books are extensions of comic strips into magazines. Each magazine is about one set of characters, and the pictures tell a complete story. Generally comic books are printed in color. The words are prined in balloons over a speaker’s head to indicate the person speaking. A few sentences may be used to bridge a gap in a story, but most of the plot is carried by direct conversation and by action in the pictures. Comic book covers are made of glossy paper, and there are generally the same number of pages- usually 32 - in each book in a particular series. More than one story is included in each issue, and there is usually some advertising. Comic books are published regularly, that is to say, every month, every 2 months, or once a year. Because of their regular publication, they are often called comic magazines. Approximately 200 different titles are published. The exact number varies from month to month. Some people estimate that close to 500,000,000 copies of comic books are sold each year. Comic strips are not all-humorous stories. The Comics Magazine Association of American lists these types of comic books: adventure, animal, biography, detective, fantasy, mystery, history, humor, military, religion, romance, satire, science-fiction, age, "kiddie", and western. Some types, such as adventure and humor, sell better, so there are more of them. However, the popularity of comic books has led many kinds of groups to use them to tell a story. There are comic strips in some Sunday school papers, the army uses the comic-strip technique in training soldiers, and many companies use comic books to tell their story behind a product or the history of their company. Comic strips began in newspapers as early as the 1870’s. Comic books similar to those published today first appeared in the 1930’s and were collections of comic strips previously printed. The next step in comic book history was the writing of stories for comic book use alone, using a single set of characters in two or three plots. The development of animated cartoon movies led to comic books about the same characters, such as Mickey Mouse. Sometimes a comic book retells a plot from a movie or a popular old book, in at least one case-Superman-the comic strip and comic book character led to television and movie versions. Television shows that are popular with young people are often made the subject of comic books because the publishers know they will quickly find buyers. The comic-book form is sometimes used to teach as well as entertain. Comic books are used to help explain complicated subjects. They are also useful tools to civil organizations in public information campaigns. A reference list of free and inexpensive materials will include many comic books such as those published by General Electric, Goodrich Company, or Swift and Company. Such material often contains valuable information. However, it is wise to keep in mind the source of the material if it is to be used in arguments. For instance, material from the American Railway Association will not tell about similar services performed by the national trucking industry. Telling a story through pictures will probably continue to be popular for some time to come. However, comic books have changed a great deal since they first began. Other changes will very likely come in the future.

Which kind of comic books in the most popular