Skip to Main Content

Comics & Graphic Novels: Welcome

Welcome!

Panel from Understanding Comics. Character says "Okay, how does this sound?" and holds up a card that says "Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence." This guide will help you find and research comics.

 

Please feel free to ask for help if you need it (especially because I really love comics). My contact information is to the right and on the Help tab.

 

 

 

 


Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (New York: William Morrow, 1994), 9.

*comics...?

I define comics as a medium of art/storytelling composed of sequential images and text. When I'm talking about anything in this medium, no matter the format, I usually just say "comics." Many people automatically call comics that are in the format of a book "graphic novels." While I think this label should be applied very purposefully and not used as a catch-all, so many people use that phrase to talk about comics-in-book-format, I included this in the guide title in order to point them in the right direction.

Perhaps it's shameless plug, but a book I co-edited has a great glossary (this is probably biased statement) on pages 365-366 that covers many comics format terms, if you care. Two chapters also mention how language affects how comics are seen in relation to libraries: one on pages 35-44 and 199-217.

Ask a Librarian

Profile Photo
Carney Library Reference Librarians
Please enable JavaScript to see this chat box.
Contact:
Email us any time!

Call us: 508-999-8678
Text us: 508-507-2275