Comicsverse
| Synonyms: | comics verse, comics!verse, comic verse, comic!verse |
| See also: | Movieverse, Showverse, Bookverse, anime, novelization, adaptation, tie-in |
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Comicsverse as a term refers to the comics or graphic novels (often in the DC Comics or Marvel Comics superhero genre where the comics are the original source material) in fandoms which have canon in multiple media such as comics and films and/or TV series, etc.
The term is often used by the fanfiction community to mark stories which are based explicitly and exclusively on the comic versions. Some fanworks will mention (usually in their header or author's notes) that they are set in a hybrid of the comicsverse and movieverse (or TV series).
"Comics-First" Canons
Fandoms with comicsverse canon as well as canon from later adaptations in other media (such as film and TV) include DC Comics and Marvel Comics superhero comics such as Batman, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, as well as non-DC/Marvel titles like Hellboy, etc.
"Comics Later" (tie-in comics) Canons
Some canons which are primarily TV or movie-based will have supplementary canon in the form of comics; generally these are known as tie-in comics and are only published after the original canon becomes popular, with an established fanbase.
Dark Horse Comics is a comics company known for publishing many of these licensed adaptations. The Xena: Warrior Princess, Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly comics were all published by Dark Horse, as well as the numerous official Star Wars comics series.[1]
Generally, these types of comics are not treated by the creators as separate 'verses, but as additions to the main canon universe. For instance, Serenity: Those Left Behind is a missing scene-type comic that explains what happens between the Firefly tv series and the movie Serenity, but does not contradict anything stated in canon. Some fans of canons like this use 'comics canon' in their stories, while others do not consider things to be automatically canon just because they happened in the comics.[2]
References
- ^ Wikipedia, List of Dark Horse Comics publications. Last accessed December 18, 2011.
- ^ For example, certain fans of Firefly/Serenity deciding that Shepherd Book's backstory in tie-in comic Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale was not canon as it did not fit with their headcanon backstory for him.