1895/1986 marked the birth of the comic strip. This view is not shared by all researchers. It depends on the media characteristics that are considered essential for the comic - e.g. the use of speech bubbles and panels or the serialised mass character of the medium. Another part of the controversy surrounding the beginnings of the comic is the question of its precursors. So when is a text-image sequence still a precursor, when is it already a comic? How far back can we even talk about precursors? All the way back to the cave paintings, the Bayeux Tapestry or the German Moritatensänger?

You can find out about the individual phases and aspects of comic history using the legend on the right or left.