Many people love reading comics. Whether they are read in a newspaper or in the form of a graphic novel, comics are very entertaining. And they have had a very long history, believe it or not.

While comics in America started in the 19th century, the history of comics overall dates back to at least 700 BC. Ancient Indian showmen narrated stories that were simultaneously presented in painted pictures. This ancient tradition also paved the way for shadow puppetry, which ultimately paved the way for film. Another early example dates back to 110 AD, on Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy. The column is about 98 feet tall -- 115 feet if its large pedestal is included. The column contains 155 scenes winding 25 times from the base to the capital. The scenes depict the Dacian Wars, which took place from 101-102 AD and from 105-106 AD. Other early examples of sequential art can be found in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Greek friezes, medieval tapestries, and illustrated Christan manuscripts. It would take many centuries and the invention of modern printing techniques to shape these sequential arts into the way they are today.

From 1732-1734, English artist William Hogarth produced a series of eight paintings called A Rake's Progress. It is about a man who ends up in prison as a consequence of wasting his money on numerous things. The series was engraved in 1734 and published in print form in 1735. This and other works of sequential art would eventually evolve into what is known as a “comic strip” by the 19th century.

The idea of comic strips began to take shape in the 19th century. Among these ideas is The Glasgow Looking Glass, which is regarded as the earliest comics magazine. It was published by Glasgow lithographic printer John Watson from June 11, 1825 to April 3, 1826, and illustrated by William Heath. It featured common comic qualities such as speech balloons and cliffhangers. The name was changed to The Northern Looking Glass in the fifth issue.

The 20th century saw the creation of many popular comic strip characters, such as Tintin in 1929, Garfield in 1978, and Calvin and Hobbes in 1985. It also saw the creation of popular comic book series such as Detective Comics in 1937 and Action Comics in 1938. Some of these comics are still being published today, and with the introduction of webcomics in the mid 1980s, they have given people something new to read in the newspaper.