Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narratives (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780313363306)

This text examines comics, graphic novels, and manga with a broad, international scope that reveals their conceptual origins in antiquity.

Graphic narrative art is a fascinating phenomenon that emerged centuries ago with the expansion of literacy and the publication industry. The earliest example of a repeating comic character dates back to the late 1700s. By following the growth of print technology in Europe and Asia, it is possible to understand how and why artists across cultures developed different strategies for telling stories with pictures.

This book is much more than a history of graphic narrative across the globe. It examines broader conceptual developments that preceded the origins of comics and graphic novels; how those ideas have evolved over the last century and a half; how literacy, print technology, and developments in narrative art are interrelated; and the way graphic narratives communicate culturally significant stories. The work of artists such as William Hogarth, J. J. Grandville, Willhem Busch, Frans Masereel, Max Ernst, Saul Steinberg, Henry Darger, and Larry Gonick are discussed or depicted.

Author: Robert Petersen
ISBN-10: 0313363307
ISBN-13: 9780313363306
Publisher: Praeger
Language: English
Published: 11/18/2010
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2011
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2011 pg. 228