The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at the Trope Launch Pad.
Find a Trope:
openArtwork quality declines, but story gets better? Print Comic
Do we have this one?
Similar to Seasonal Rot, except applying to artwork in a comic book, not the storyline?
Basically... a comic book (maybe a DC Comics New 52 one as an example) gets better on each new issue, but the artwork declines in quality each new issue that comes out.
Checking before I make any new trope at TLP.
openSkinny, pointy and annoying Print Comic
A typical supervillain bodytype. Thin, tall, long nose, fidgety, shrill voice, Evil Laugh, constantly teasing the hero with Incredibly Lame Puns and catchphrases, has an obnoxious theme and an inflated ego. Mentioned in a Venture Brothers commentary.
openParody trope for work Print Comic
Is there a trope for where a parody goes so far as to look like the original aesthetically (I don't think Original Flavor fits, as that's a story trope) that people are fooled into thinking it's the real thing?
I wasn't sure if it was Affectionate Parody, Indecisive Parody or Satire/Parody/Pastiche.
The reason I ask is, I saw on Issuu a few years ago, a now-deleted Top Gear magazine PDF flipbook. parody with Jeremy Clarkson and co. as Photoshopped art on the cover, and it looked like the real thing (although the name was obviously a Parody Names).
openblack and white then re edited colored Print Comic
Some comics are black and white for budget reasons (or maybe the artists changed their mind later). Or maybe most pages are black and white, and only a few are colored. Later (quite possibly because these comics sold well) they are remade, with every page being colored.
I suppose this should be mentioned in relevant work pages; not sure how to phrase this or if this is a known trope.
(I am also interested in that part about some comics being mostly black and white, with a few colored pages).
open"This is so awesome!" Print Comic
This is a trope that I've seen mostly in comic books but I'm sure appears elsewhere too. It's the specific kind of kinda Lampshade Hanging where a character is in a weird and cool situation and acknowledges how freaky awesome it is. Like in an Iron Man story where he fought ninjas on the beach at night, and mentioned how "I've decided to enjoy this. It's a moonlight ninja fight beach party!"
openmanga localization : left-right flip Print Comic
That would be a Localization Tropes. Not sure if it happened in other countries, but when manga were first imported to France (in the 80s for instance), they were adapted so as to read left to right. Most pages would be flipped using a mirror-like technique, with two funny implications:
- Right-handed characters would become left-handed in the adaptation.
- Some fun gags happened when the text said right hand while the art showed a left hand.
Since I don't know if other countries did that as well, and we no longer do that in France, maybe this is trivia and not a trope.
Edit: A google search says this is not unique to France : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga_outside_Japan#Flipping
openFictional nations aren't shown on a map Print Comic
As you might have noticed, when comics and movies take place in fictional countries, we usually don't get to see on a map exactly where in the Arab world Qurac is to be found, or where in Eastern Europe Ruritania is located. Do we have a trope for this?
Edited by MichaelKatsuroopenMarketing mistake Print Comic
Spider-Geddon first released a teaser poster that featured Spider-Woman from the Ultimate Marvel universe (see here
, it's the one with brown hair, up and left). Apparently it was a mistake, because later releases (like the one currently in use) replaced her with another, unrelated, Spider-Woman. Which is the trope or trivia for this?
The page currently lists it at "What Could Have Been", but it may be the incorrect one, because so far there is no evidence that they actually intended to use Ultimate Spider Woman and then changed their minds. It seems more likely that they simply gave a list of characters to the artist, and were not clear on which Spider-Woman they wanted him to include.
Edited by GrigorIIopenSuperhero identities that play off their superhero name Print Comic
For example, Doctor Strange is a cool name right? When they needed to give him a real name and identity, they made him Stephen Strange, strange huh?
Or Doctor Doom which is also cool. When he also needed a life out of supervilliany, they made him Victor Von Doom. Again, weird?
Is this a trope? What's its name?
Edited by CaptainJJCopenB-Team are main protagonists Print Comic
Is there a trope for where a B-Team or more obscure characters are the protagonists of a Spin-Off (for example, a work featuring less well-known DC Comics characters instead of Batman, Superman, The Flash) as a type of Spin-Off, or am i wrong?
openComic books timeline and continuity tropes? Print Comic
If anyone could help, I'd appreciate it.
Would Marvel Legacy count as a Retool if not a Continuity Reboot, or as an Alternate Continuity to the other Marvel comics being published currently?
Similarly, is America (2017) a Standalone Episode, Alternate Continuity, Schrödinger's Canon, Loose Canon due to the nature of its Story Arc or Champions (2016).
Could Inhumans qualify as being part of The 'Verse or as an Alternate Continuity?
Also, where canonically does Ms Marvel 2014 fit in - main continuity Marvel, an Alternate Continuity, or Schrödinger's Canon. Same for West Coast Avengers (2018).
Checking before I make any major edits.
Edited by Merseyuser1openProtagonist Defeats Bad Guy to Show Strength Print Comic
Is there a trope where a "powerful" bad guy is introduced solely to get beaten and highlight the power of someone else? Some bit part bad guy is introduced but he is quickly beaten. I vaguely remember in the Spiderman (?) comics that there was a powerful wrestler introduced, but Spiderman defeated him to show how powerful Spiderman really was.
openAlternate self trope? Print Comic
Is there a trope for this situation:
In a Webcomic where the setting is the future, way more than 20MinutesIntotheFuture, the boss of a MegaCorp wants to hire Bob, but Bob is working for the rival and his contract doesn't allow him to work for anyone else. Bob turns down the offer, staying loyal to his employer.
Not wanting to give up, the boss decides to hire Bob's Alternate Self from an Alternate Universe who has similar skills to the main universe's Bob.
Unfortunately, within the main universe, people get confused as to how Bob can be in two places at once.
Edited by Merseyuser1openUnnecessary Display of Superpowers Print Comic
Is there a trope for superheroes (and villains) "wasting" their powers when they don't need to, just so the reader won't forget they have it? Reed Richards stretching when he's in his lab, Wolverine popping his claws during a meeting, Spiderman clinging to walls when someone goes to see him...
openAction exclamation Print Comic
Does anyone know if there’s a trope related to characters describing what’s happening in front of them? This seems really common in comics from the 1950’s - 1980’s especially. A hero is thrown across the room with magic and yells “He threw me across the room using magic!”
openThe standard criminal character design Print Comic
Do we have a trope for the kind of small-time criminal that has a flatcap, carries a gun or a blackjack (or both), and almost always works as a robber or burglar or other kind of small-time crime done for money? That is, he won't arrange plots to conquer the world or even work for the kind of people who do so (since would-be conquerors usually prefer uniformed mooks or Faceless Mooks). In short, he's a "regular criminal." Very frequently seen in Tintin, Suske en Wiske and other comics like that. See Tap on the Head for an image of the character design I mean.
Edited by JamesJamesopenBetter adaptation Character Print Comic
Easy, is a case of Depending on the Writer YMMV when a character of certain comic is considered to be better done in another comic. In this case, I want to use, how characters like Squirrel Girl, Miles Morales' Spider-Man, and the new Doom are considered to be more likeable in the Gwenpool comic than in the ones they're from.

The comic "Mr and Ms X" is starred by Rogue and Gambit, a beloved X-Men battle couple... and (in the first issues) also Deadpool, who was basically forced into the plot.
Meaning, there is a duo that works well, but they added an unneeded third guy into the mix, just because he's popular.
Edited by GrigorII