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| Comiclopedia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Comiclopedia |
| Type | Online encyclopedia |
| Owner | Lambiek |
| Author | Kees Kousemaker (founder) |
| Launch date | 1999 |
Comiclopedia
Comiclopedia is an online encyclopedic compendium of comic artists and their works compiled by the Dutch comics store and gallery Lambiek. It provides illustrated biographical entries on cartoonists and comic-strip authors ranging from early 20th-century creators to contemporary graphic-novelists, serving readers interested in Morris, Hergé, Osamu Tezuka, Will Eisner and lesser-known practitioners across Europe, the Americas and Asia. The resource is frequently cited in conjunction with exhibitions at institutions such as Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, trade fairs like the Angoulême International Comics Festival, and scholarly discussions referencing figures such as Scott McCloud and Art Spiegelman.
Comiclopedia functions as a curated online catalog of biographies, bibliographies, and visual samples concentrating on comic artists and illustrators linked to publishers, galleries, and cultural events. Entries reference creators associated with syndicates like King Features Syndicate and publishers such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Tintin magazine, Métal Hurlant, and Shueisha, while situating artists alongside movements and periods represented by institutions including MoMA, British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and festivals like Comic-Con International and Small Press Expo. The platform highlights creators from the Golden Age, Silver Age, European album tradition, manga, bande dessinée, and underground comix traditions, connecting names such as Jack Kirby, Moebius, Naoki Urasawa, R. Crumb, and Claire Bretécher.
Comiclopedia originated as a project of Lambiek, founded by Kees Kousemaker, evolving from the physical gallery and comic store established in Amsterdam into a digital archive launched in the late 1990s. Its development parallels the rise of web-based reference projects alongside contemporaries and influences like Encyclopædia Britannica (online initiatives), the digitization efforts of Library of Congress, and academic indexing undertaken by university presses and museum archives. Over time the database expanded through contributions, acquisitions of illustrated material, and editorial work, reflecting intersections with exhibitions at venues such as Centre Pompidou and retrospectives dedicated to artists like Hugo Pratt, Francis Masse, and Osamu Tezuka.
The site’s entries combine biographical text, selected bibliographies, and sample artwork, often illustrating careers linked to magazines and publishers including The New Yorker, MAD (magazine), Spirou (magazine), Weekly Shōnen Jump, and small presses like Fantagraphics Books and Drawn & Quarterly. Readers encounter profiles of internationally known figures—Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Hergé, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Erik Larsen, André Franquin—as well as regional and historical practitioners such as Tove Jansson, Lynda Barry, Posy Simmonds, Hergé, Georges Remi, and Hal Foster. Features include cross-referencing by nationality, period, and publishing credits that link to relevant institutions and events such as Angoulême International Comics Festival, Eisner Awards, and archival collections at Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Editorial stewardship remains tied to Lambiek personnel and volunteers who curate, edit, and illustrate entries, drawing upon primary sources, exhibition catalogs, and collections held at institutions like Rijksmuseum, National Library of Australia, and university special collections. The contributor network includes comic historians, gallery curators, and scholars who have worked on monographs about figures such as Will Eisner, Osamu Tezuka, Jean Giraud, Goscinny, and Uderzo. Entries are regularly updated to reflect new publications, reprints, and retrospectives announced by publishers like Fantagraphics Books, Pantheon Books, and Kodansha.
The platform is cited by researchers, librarians, curators, and festival programmers for its breadth and accessible illustrations, influencing exhibition planning at venues like Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Victoria and Albert Museum, and festivals including Angoulême International Comics Festival and San Diego Comic-Con. Scholars referencing developments in sequential art and graphic narrative—drawing upon theorists and practitioners such as Scott McCloud, Will Eisner, Art Spiegelman, and Chris Ware—often use the site as a quick reference for biographical facts and publication histories. Its role complements academic bibliographies and museum catalogs while helping to raise awareness of lesser-documented creators from regions represented by publishers like Editora Abril and Tokyopop.
Hosted by Lambiek, the site is a lightweight HTML-based resource optimized for broad compatibility with browsers and archival access, mirroring early web archival practices similar to those of Project Gutenberg and institutional digital collections. Content is organized for keyword search, alphabetical browsing, and thematic discovery, enabling users to navigate entries tied to publishers, exhibitions, and awards such as Eisner Awards and Angoulême International Comics Festival. The platform’s archival approach supports researchers consulting physical and digital collections at institutions like British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and university libraries.
Category:Online encyclopedias