In the wide world of The Lexicon of Comicana, we find a diversity of aspects and approaches that invite us to explore and understand further. From its impact on contemporary society to its relevance in history, The Lexicon of Comicana has been the subject of numerous debates and reflections. In this article, we will delve into the different facets of The Lexicon of Comicana, highlighting its importance and influence in different fields. Through a detailed analysis, we will explore the implications and consequences linked to The Lexicon of Comicana, with the aim of providing a complete and enriching vision of this fascinating topic.
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Author | Mort Walker |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Reference |
Publisher | iUniverse (2000) |
Publication date | 1980, 2000 |
Media type | |
Pages | 108 |
ISBN | 0-595-08902-X |
The Lexicon of Comicana is a 1980 book by the American cartoonist Mort Walker. It was intended as a tongue-in-cheek look at the devices used by comics cartoonists. In it, Walker invented an international set of symbols called symbolia after researching cartoons around the world (described by the term comicana). In 1964, Walker had written an article called "Let's Get Down to Grawlixes", a satirical piece for the National Cartoonists Society. He used terms such as grawlixes for his own amusement, but they soon began to catch on and acquired an unexpected validity. The Lexicon was written in response to this.
The names he invented for them sometimes appear in dictionaries, and serve as convenient terminology occasionally used by cartoonists and critics. A 2001 gallery showing of comic- and street-influenced art in San Francisco, for example, was called "Plewds! Squeans! and Spurls!"
Additional symbolia terms include whiteope, sphericasia, that-a-tron, spurls, oculama, crottles, maledicta balloons, farkles, doozex, staggeratron, boozex, digitrons, nittles, waftaroms, and jarns.
Comics scholar Maggie Thompson has noted that these symbols were originally described and named by Charles D. Rice in the 1950s; Thompson further observed that, although Walker did cite his sources ("Charlie Rice of This Week magazine") in his 1975 book Backstage at the Strips, "many (...) assumed was joke about an imaginary scholarly attribution."