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In the field of comic books, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined before production, and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues. [1] [2] [3] The term is often used interchangeably with miniseries (mini-series) and maxiseries (maxi-series), usually depending on the length and number of issues. [1] [3] In Dark Horse Comics' definition of a limited series, "this term primarily applies to a connected series of individual comic books. A limited series refers to a comic book series with a clear beginning, middle and end". [4] Dark Horse Comics and DC Comics refer to limited series of two to eleven issues as miniseries and series of twelve issues or more as maxiseries, but other publishers alternate terms.
A limited series can "vary widely in length, but often run from three to ten issues. They can usually be distinguished from ongoing series by having both the current issue number and total issue number on the cover and/or in the indicia". [2] The limited series has a single story to tell. It follows the standard plot set-up of beginning, middle and end. [3] Usually, all plot points are covered by the end of the series. There have been limited series done in an anthology format, but only a few of these have been produced.
Limited series are often done by a single creative team, but in cases where there are changes, it is usually the writer who remains constant throughout the run, while the artist(s) may change. The number of issues is usually determined by some combination of the writer's plotting and editorial mandate.
In 1979, in the process of recovering from the DC Implosion, publisher DC Comics experimented with a new format in the World of Krypton "miniseries", [5] as DC termed such short-run works. The new format allowed the company to tell stories that may not have fit into an ongoing series and to showcase characters in a short story without the risk and obligations of an ongoing monthly. In 1980, DC followed World of Krypton with the three-issue series The Untold Legend of the Batman , by Len Wein, John Byrne, and Jim Aparo. DC produced three more limited series in 1981, featuring another Krypton series, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the Green Lantern Corps.
With the success of the miniseries format, DC followed by experimenting with longer stories and concepts outside their universe of superheroes. Debuting in 1982, Camelot 3000 was the first limited series to run to 12 issues. DC coined the term "maxiseries" as a promotional description for this. [6]
It did not take long for other publishers to begin using the limited series format. In 1982, Marvel Comics published its first limited series, Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions , [7] followed shortly thereafter by miniseries' featuring the X-Men's Wolverine and the Avengers' Hercules, and then The Vision and the Scarlet Witch . At first, Marvel used the limited series format to feature popular characters from team titles and put them in solo adventures. Contest of Champions brought forth the idea of a major event affecting the Marvel Universe; crossovers were introduced in limited series form before the concept of multi-title crossovers was even conceived. This would be taken further with the 12-issue Secret Wars saga in 1984 and by DC's saga Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985-1986.
DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937.
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born American writer and artist of superhero comics. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on many major superheroes; with noted work on Marvel Comics's X-Men and Fantastic Four. Byrne also facilitated the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics's Superman franchise with the limited series The Man of Steel, the first issue of which featured the comics' first variant cover.
George Pérez was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling Fantastic Four and The Avengers for Marvel Comics. In the 1980s he penciled The New Teen Titans, which became one of DC Comics' top-selling series. He penciled DC's landmark limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, followed by relaunching Wonder Woman as both writer and penciller for the rebooted series. In the meantime, he worked on other comics published by Marvel, DC, and other companies into the 2010s. He was known for his detailed and realistic rendering, and his facility with complex crowd scenes.
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.
Gary Frank is a British comics artist, notable for pencilling on Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, both written by J. Michael Straczynski. He has also worked with author Peter David on The Incredible Hulk and Supergirl. He had a creator-owned series, Kin, which he wrote himself, published by Top Cow Productions in 2000.
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and artist.
Nelson Alexander Ross is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries Marvels, on which he collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics. He has since done a variety of projects for both Marvel and DC Comics, such as the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come, which he also cowrote. Since then he has done covers and character designs for Busiek's series Astro City, and various projects for Dynamite Entertainment. His feature film work includes concept and narrative art for Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), and DVD packaging art for the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable (2000). He has done covers for TV Guide, promotional artwork for the Academy Awards, posters and packaging design for video games, and his renditions of superheroes have been merchandised as action figures.
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles The Flash, Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright as well as his work on Captain America, Fantastic Four and Daredevil for Marvel. Other comics publishers he has done work for include Fantagraphics, Event, Top Cow, Dynamite, and Archie Comics.
The Modern Age of Comic Books is a period in the history of American superhero comic books which began in the mid-1980s and continues through the present day. During approximately the first 15 years of this period, many comic book characters were redesigned, creators gained prominence in the industry, independent comics flourished, and larger publishing houses became more commercialized.
James Dale Robinson is a British writer of American comic books and screenplays best known for co-creating the character of Starman with Tony Harris and reviving the Justice Society of America in the late 1990s. His other notable works include the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the multi-year crossover storyline "Superman: New Krypton".
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually presenting either a complete miniseries, a story arc from a single title, or a series of stories with an arc or common theme.
Jeremiah Joseph Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.
The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of American superhero comic books, usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books and is followed by the Modern Age of Comic Books.
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Steven Grant is an American comic book writer best known for his 1985–1986 Marvel Comics mini-series The Punisher with artist Mike Zeck and for his creator-owned character Whisper.
Paul Kupperberg is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for DC Comics and executive editor of Weekly World News, as well as a writer of novels, comic books, and newspaper strips.
In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series, a one shot, a graphic novel, or a trade paperback, but a series of graphic novels may be considered ongoing as well. The term may also informally refer to a current or incomplete limited series with a predetermined number of issues.
World of Krypton is an American three-issue comic book limited series written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Howard Chaykin. It was the comics industry's first Limited series, which addressed DC's problem of newly launched ongoing series too often fizzling out within 10 issues. World of Krypton was published by DC Comics from July to September 1979.
The worldwide success of Superman: The Movie motivated [DC] to publish more Superman-related titles. With that, editor E. Nelson Bridwell oversaw a project that evolved into comics' first official limited series - World of Krypton...Featuring out-of-this-world artwork from Howard Chaykin, [Paul] Kupperberg's three-issue limited series explored Superman's homeworld.
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