The Lingo

When I jumped into comics I didn't know much at all when it came to comic books. I didn't even know what day new comics came out or how often (Wednesday by the way). I didn't realize I needed to learn new vocabulary words either, but I guess like everything else, the comic book world has its own lingo. Some things were pretty easy to figure out but a few I had to look up and experience for myself to understand better. Here are only a  few comic book terms that might be good to understand and my experience with them:

Ages
There are different "ages" of comics, this refers to the years in which the comic was published or the time frame of their publication. Here are the different ages:
- Golden Age: 1938-1950
- Silver Age: 1956-1970
- Bronze Age: 1970-1985
- Modern Age: 1985-Present 

Golden Age Comic

Silver Age Comic

Bronze Age Comic

Modern Age Comic

Back Issue
Back issues refer to comic issue that proceed the current issue. Ex: If you are reading Batman #20, issues 1-19 would be considered back issues. Simple enough. 

When I started getting into comics, I wanted to get some back issues because i didn't know where to start and I felt like I needed something to start a collection with. So, I bought some old Avenger comics of eBay to satisfy me for a while. I found a good deal on some really old Avenger titles in the process. My oldest ones, which are Silver Age comics, are Avengers #26 & #27. They are complete books but not in good shape though. I'm proud of them none the less.

Crossover

In its simplest form, a crossover refers to a character crossing over into another character's title (Ex. Superman crossing over into a Batman issue). Usually a crossover refers to a main story or event crossing over in to multiple titles. In some cases, you may have multiple characters crossing over into multiple titles as the story progresses.

When I started reading my back issues of The Avengers, I came across my first crossover. The story was called "Bloodties" and is a crossover between The Avengers and X-Men. It is a five part story and I only had the first and last ones which are Avengers #368 and  #369. It was rather confusing for a new comic book reader but, after doing some research, I figured out what I needed to complete the story. It included: Avengers #368, X-Men #26, West Coast Avengers #101, Uncanny X-Men #307 and Avengers #369. This was a fun read for me and I really learned a lot with this crossover. 

Continuity
Although this is probably used in other areas besides comic books, you hear the word "Continuity" a lot when it comes to comics. Continuity refers to things taking place within the same universe or story space. If something is "out of continuity", it means it conflicts with stories or things mentioned before. If you don't want to make comic book readers mad, STAY IN CONTINUITY!

Retcon
Retcon is short for "retroactive continuity". This is a creative way, if done correctly, for a writer to alter or change former facts or events. It can also be used to add things to past stories to help with the current one. They would be writing facts in retroactively as if it were there the whole time. A lot of times this is done to bring back dead characters but it can be done with anything, even a character's origin.

One of the best know Retcons, and very controversial, is the Jean Gray and Phoenix Force. Years after Jean Gray died from the events of the Phoenix Saga, Marvel wanted to bring her back but didn't want her responsible for all the killing and destruction from the Phoenix. So they wrote a Retcon as if she was trapped in a cocoon in the bottom of the ocean and the Phoenix only took on her image and personality.  

I think that the "Phoenix Saga", as it's referred to now a days, is one of the most interesting stories I haven't read. I'd like to one day read these for myself instead of reading about it. 

Event

An "event" is used to describe a large story line that usually involves crossovers with multiple titles and characters. For instance, a Batman "event" will involve the bat family and it's characters. The most recent Batman event was "Death of the Family" where the Joker comes back to terrorize the bat family. The titles that were involved in this event were:   Batman, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Catwoman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Suicide Squad, and Teen Titans. (Yes, there are A LOT of Batman titles)

Some events are set up so you don't have to read all the issues in the crossover to understand the story. For me, I only read the Batman and Nightwing titles. I really enjoyed this event too. This was my first time I read a Joker story and thought that Scott Snyder did a great job. One thing I learned is that The Joker is one crazy messed up dude and that's why we love him as a villain. 

Crisis
In the comic book world, the word "crisis" is used to describe a giant, franchise-shaking comics event. This usually involves the whole comic "universe" and will reshape everything in it. These stories usually have great consequences and sometimes, if not usually, involves comic book character death. Some of the best known crises are: DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, or Marvel's Secret Invasion, House of M, Civil War and Avengers vs. X-Men. I've only read a few of these and I'm currently reading House of M. When you read a crisis story line you need to keep in mind that things will change for the whole universe after that event.

There are many more comic terms or words that I could share but I thought these are some good ones to start with. There are still a lot of things I need to know and figure out in the comic book world but I don't think it would be near as fun if I knew everything. 

What are some of your experiences with these terms? Tell me what you think. Leave a comment and share your thoughts.