This is a broad category of publications that is seen as more realistic than the one about people in bright outfits fighting crime. However, comic books of this type don’t have to be realistic in the least. What makes them different is that their stories are crafted for an audience that wants more literary, cerebral stimulation in their reading. Some of them are fictional stories about real people and events. Others are about history and are even educational. But they can be almost about anything. Many of the more critically acclaimed comic books come from this genre. They exist outside the mainstream, but they add significant diversity to the medium with publications like Strangers In Paradise, American Splendor, Sandman, Ghost World, and countless others.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for comic book. It can be interpreted as picture book, motionless picture entertainment, or random pictures. To Westerners, manga are Japanese comic books that have been translated into English. In Japan, manga is incredibly popular, and this style of comic book is very visible in other countries as well. Some stories are produced in the manga style by people who aren’t Japanese.
Fantasy
These involve sword and sorcery, fantastic creatures, and mythological figures. Conan the Barbarian could be the most well-known star of a fantasy comic book, but there are others. Some of the more popular stories are comic book versions of successful fantasy novels.
Science Fiction
This self-explanatory category features wild technology, futuristic stories, and cosmic tales. Like the fantasy genre, some science-fiction comic books are versions of characters featured in science-fiction books, movies, and other media.
Most comic books could actually belong to this category, but many of them are so concentrated in specific areas that they have outgrown it and become categories of their own. For example, most superhero comics fall into the science fiction realm because they involve people with special powers and weapons created by technological phenomena. But because superhero comics are so numerous and popular on their own, they are their own category.