Graphic Novels and Comics

Once perceived as low-brow entertainment for children and adolescents, comic books and graphic novels have achieved widespread recognition in recent years as valuable artistic media. This book explores the origins, development, and future of these vibrant and increasingly respected modes of expression.

This book examines the specific language of the comics medium; the history and pioneers of the form; recent masterpieces from Art Spiegelman's Maus to Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan; the impact of Japanese manga and European albums translated into English; how artists have overcome prejudices towards the genre; and the ambitious range of themes and issues artists are addressing, including childhood, war and survival, politics, the future, sexuality, and the supernatural.

Boys aren't the only ones who read comics--girls do too! From Betty and Veronica to Slutburger and Art Babe, Girls to Grrrlz explores the amazing but true history of girl comics. Pop culture fans will delight in author Trina Robbinss chronological commentary (with attitude) on the authors, artists, trends, and sassy, brassy characters featured in comic books for the last half-century. Meet the bubble-headed bombshells of the '40s, the lovelorn ladies of the '50s, the wimmin libbers of the '70s, and the grrrowling grrrlz of today. Her commentary is paired with a ton of rare comic book art pulled from the best girl comics published since World War II. Bridging the gap between Ms. and Sassy, between Miss America and Naomi Wolf, From Girls to Grrrlz reminds us how comic book characters humorously--and critically--reflect our changing culture.

A comprehensive history of women cartoonists from 1896 to the 21st century.t takes an in-depth look at the creative and professional progress of womenn cartooning from the early years of the 20th century to the time ofublication.;Each chapter contains colour illustrations from some of the bestemale cartoonists of the 20th century. The volume showcases work byartoonists such as Grace Drayton, creator of the "Campbell Kids", Rose'Neill, designer of "The Kewpies", and Alison Bechdel, Melinda Gebbe, Carolay, Lee Mars, Lynda Barry and Trina Robbins herself.

"Magnificent! The best how-to manual ever published." -- Kevin Kelly, Cool Tools Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture in 1993 with Understanding Comics, a massive comic book about comics, linking the medium to such diverse fields as media theory, movie criticism, and web design. In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today. Now, in Making Comics, McCloud focuses his analysis on the art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand-in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way. Both comic book devotees and the uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once-underappreciated art form.

A complete guide to the business of self-publishing comic books, aimed at entrepreneurial artists and writers.

Some of the most acclaimed books of the twenty-first century are autobiographical comics by women. Aline Kominsky-Crumb is a pioneer of the autobiographical form, showing women's everyday lives, especially through the lens of the body. Phoebe Gloeckner places teenage sexuality at the center of her work, while Lynda Barry uses collage and the empty spaces between frames to capture the process of memory. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis experiments with visual witness to frame her personal and historical narrative, and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home meticulously incorporates family documents by hand to re-present the author's past. These five cartoonists move the art of autobiography and graphic storytelling in new directions, particularly through the depiction of sex, gender, and lived experience. Hillary L. Chute explores their verbal and visual techniques, which have transformed autobiographical narrative and contemporary comics. Through the interplay of words and images, and the counterpoint of presence and absence, they express difficult, even traumatic stories while engaging with the workings of memory. Intertwining aesthetics and politics, these women both rewrite and redesign the parameters of acceptable discourse.

Suddenly, comics are everywhere: a newly matured art form, filling bookshelves with brilliant, innovative work and shaping the ideas and images of the rest of contemporary culture. InReading Comics, critic Douglas Wolk shows us why this is and how it came to be. Wolk illuminates the most dazzling creators of modern comics-from Alan Moore to Alison Bechdel to Dave Sim to Chris Ware-and introduces a critical theory that explains where each fits into the pantheon of art.Reading Comics is accessible to the hardcore fan and the curious newcomer; it is the first book for people who want to know not just what comics are worth reading, but also the ways to think and talk and argue about them.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 "...a tour de force of the world of comics, from high-minded graphic novels to Superman..." New York Times The massive impact that comics have had on our culture becomes more and more clear every day, from the critically acclaimed musical Fun Home, based on Alison Bechdel's groundbreaking comic, to the dozens of superhero films hitting cinemas every year. What is it that makes comics so special? What can this unique art form do that others can't? In Why Comics?, comics scholar Hillary Chute reveals the history of comics, underground comics (or comix), and graphic novels, through deep thematic analysis, and fascinating portraits of the fearless men and women behind them. As Scott McCloud revealed the methods behind comics and the way they worked in his classic Understanding Comics, Chute will reveal the themes that Comics handle best, and how the form is uniquely equipped to explore them. The topics Why Comics? include: * Why Disaster: with such major works focusing on disasters, from Art Spiegelman's work, which covers the Holocaust and 9/11 to Keiji Nakazawa's work covering Heroshima, comics find themselves uniquely suited to convey the scale and disorientation of disaster. * Why Suburbs: through the work of Chris Ware and Charles Burns, Chute reveals the fascinating ways that Comics illustrate the quiet joys and struggles of suburban existence. * Why Punk: With an emphasis on DIY aesthetics and rebelling against what came before, the Punk movement would prove to be a fertile ground for some of the most significant modern cartoonists, creating a truly democratic art form. Chute has created an indispensable guide to comics for those new to the genre, or those who want to understand more about what lies behind their favorite works.

Comics, Comix & Graphic Novelsis the first ever fully documented study to explore the graphic qualities of the comic book, and the development of the genre into a sophisticated and culturally revealing popular art form. This book traces the history of the comic from early cartoon-like woodcuts through to the graphic strips of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Organized thematically it explores the various genres of the comic book - including humour, adventure, girls' comics, underground and alternative. The fascinating careers of the creators of the best-known characters - from Supermanand Tintinto Tank Girl- are revealed in depth, as are the stories behind the much-loved comics such as Beanoand The Incredible Hulk. The most recent artists are also illustrated and discussed, including Harvey Kurtzman (Mad), Chris Donald (Viz), Art Spiegelman (Maus)and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira).

Featuring essays by, and interviews with, more than sixty professionals, educators, and critics, the book provides an in-depth view of the art, business, and history of comics art. Readers will learn about a wide variety of genres, from editorial cartoons, political comics, and comic strips to graphic novels, superhero sagas, and alternative comics. Other featured topics include: The role of comic art in related fields such as animation, design, and illustration Lesson plans by top teachers Essays on how to thrive and grow as a creative comic artist. And much more! Contributors include: Jessica Abel, Ho Che Anderson, Tony Auth, Bart Beaty, Monte Beauchamp, Colin Berry, Nicholas Blechman, Peter Blegvad, Steve Brodner, Paul Buhle, Kim Deitch, Will Eisner, Robert Fiore, Rick Geary, Bill Griffith, R.C. Harvey, David Heatley, Todd Hignite, Nicole Hollander, Dan James, Chip Kidd, Paul Krassner, Tim Kreider, Rich Kreiner, Joe Kubert, Peter Kuper, Heidi MacDonald, David Mack, Stan Mack, Matt Madden, Bob Mankoff, Barbara McClintock, Scott McCloud, Dave McKean, Rick Meyerowitz, Dan Nadel, Mark Newgarden, Dennis O'Neil, Gary Panter, Joel Priddy, Bill Randall, David Rees, Eric Reynolds, Leonard Rifas, Trina Robbins, Roger Sabin, David Sandlin, Ben Sargent, Marjane Satrapi, Arlen Schumer, Bill Sienkiewicz, Elwood Smith, Art Spiegelman, Tom Spurgeon, Mark Alan Stamaty,Ted Stearn, Jim Steranko, Barron Storey, James Sturm, Ward Sutton, Gunnar Swanson, Teal Triggs, Robert Williams, Chris Ware, and Craig Yoe.