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Anthologies

Barrier, Michael and Williams, Martin eds. A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, 336 p.

A collection of reprints from the history of comics, from Superman and Little Lulu to the lesser known Scribbly, are presented with short introductions, plus a bibliography.

Estren, Mark James. A History of Underground Comics. Berkeley, CA.: Ronin Publishing, 1986, 319 p.

This reissue of a 1974 edition is arranged impressionistically rather than for scholars, with historical and bibliographic information on underground comix.

Gifford, Denis. The International Book of Comics. New York: Crescent Books, 1984, 256 p.

A carefully inventoried collection of comic book covers from around the world are presented in color and black and white, with a historical overview and index.

Hirsh, Michael and Loubert, Patrick. The Great Canadian Comic Books. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: P. Martin Associates, 1971, 264 p.

Genre comics dating from the days of WWII, from the publishing house of Cyril Vaughan Bell, are introduced and annotated.

Lee, Stan. Bring on the Bad Guys. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976, 253 p.

Stories involving the villains of classic Marvel comics, like the Red Skull, are introduced with some information on their origins.

. Origins of Marvel Comics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974, 254 p.

Comic book covers are reprinted, with original stories starring the Hulk, Spiderman and more, introduced by editor Lee.

. Son of Origins of Marvel Comics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975, 249 p.

A companion book to Origins is devoted to the likes of the X-Men and Silver Surfer.

O'Neil, Dennis ed. Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes. New York: Warner Books, 1976, 239 p.

Debut comic book sequences for ten of the most popular DC Comics characters, including Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman, are introduced by artist Carmine Infantino.

Schodt, Frederik L. Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha International, 1983, 260 p.

A bibliography, index and translated sequences illustrate an industry with its own character and history.

Scott, Naomi ed. Heart Throbs, the Best of DC Romance Comics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979, 256 p.

A series of the publishing house's stories is reprinted, with a separate credits index.

Superman from the Thirties to the Seventies. New York: Crown Publishers, 1971, 386 p.

A sourcebook for original publication information on 28 Superman adventures, reprinted in color and black and white; introduced by a history of mass media representations of this enduring character.

Uslan, Michael ed. Mysteries in Space, the Best of DC Science-Fiction Comics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980, 251 p.

Science fiction comics dating between 1951 and 1964 are reprinted, with a bibliography of all DC comics in the same genre.

Secondary Sources

Abbot, Lawrence L. "Comic Art: Characteristics and Potentialities of a Narrative Medium." Journal of Popular Culture 19, No. 4 (Spring 1986): 155-176.

An analysis of the interaction of text and picture in sequential art in terms of perceptual psychology.

Adams, Kenneth Alan and Lester Hill, Jr. "Protest and Rebellion: Fantasy Themes In Japanese Comics." Journal of Popular Culture 25, No. 1 (Summer 1991): 99-127.

Certain recurrent themes in manga are interpreted according to the Freudian psychology of psychosexual developmental stages.

Bailey, Bruce. "An Inquiry into Comic Books." Journal of Popular Culture X, No. 1 (Summer 1976): 245-248.

The effects of the Comics Code Authority on romance comics is shown to have resulted in less severe censorship of their most typical storylines.

Barker, Martin. Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics. New York: Manchester University Press, 1989, 320 p.

An inquiry into the trustworthiness of sociological studies, particularly of mass media and their effects on adult and child consumers.

Brent, Ruth S. "Nonverbal Design Language in Comics." Journal of American Culture 14, No. 1 (Spring 1991): 57-61.

A study of the use of visual symbols in Calvin and Hobbes and Batman cartoons, that invokes the ethnography of Victor Turner.

Butler Flora, Cornelia. "Roasting Donald Duck: Alternative Comics and Photonovels in Latin America." Journal of Popular Culture 18, No. 1 (Summer 1984): 163-183.

Examples of graphic novels published outside the mainstream press coincide with social protest movements in various South American countries like Peru, Chile and Ecuador.

Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press, 1990, 158 p.

The author's trademark cinematic approach to writing, laying out and decorating the comic book page is set out step-by-step.

Gifford, Denis. "The Evolution of the British Comic." History Today XXI, No. 5, (May 1971): 349-358.

A history of the earliest British cartoons, 1821-1897, from simple broadsides and caricature magazines to the first comic hero Ally Sloper and his popular series.

Havig, Alan. "Richard F. Outcault's 'Poor Lil' Mose': Variations on the Black Stereotype in American Comic Art." Journal of American Culture 11, No. 1 (Spring 1988): 33-41.

The author argues that in Outcault's famous Yellow Kid, Buster Brown and Poor Lil' Mose cartoons, a contradictory portrayal of blacks seems to be the norm.

Hinds Jr., Harold E. and Charles M. Tatum. Not Just For Children: The Mexican Comic Book in the Late 1960s and 1970s. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1992, 264 P.

A detailed study of the most popular Mexican cartoons of the day, including Kaliman, Chanoc and Los supermachos.

Kempkes, Wolfgang. International Bibliography of Comics Literature, 2nd. ed., rev. Munich, Germany: Verlag Dokumentation, 1974, 293 p.

Studies of comics which fall under five major chronological categories are listed according to their areas of concern: commerce, psychology, education, and more.

Lanyi, Ronald Levitt. "Comic Books and Authority: An Interview with 'Stainless Steve' Englehart." Journal of Popular Culture 18, No. 2 (Fall 1984): 139-148.

The comic book writer talks about his tempestuous career with the publishing houses of Marvel and DC.

Marvel, Bill. "Comics for the Underground." In The Arts Explosion, edited by Clifford A. Ridley, pp. 152-161. Princeton, NJ: Dow Jones Books, 1969.

This essay on comix focuses almost exclusively on Robert Crumb.

McConnell, Frank. "Frames in Search of a Genre." In Intersections of Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by George E. Slusser and Eric S. Rabkin, pp. 119-130. Carbondale IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1987.

This essay breaks down all storytelling into two groups: jokes and shaggy-dog yarns, categories then applied to everything from Homer to Garfield.

McLuhan, Marshall. "Comics: Mad Vestibule to TV." In Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, pp. 164-169. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964.

To the author, Mad magazine is a mass culture hybrid that shows the effects of the print medium's new rival, television.

Perebinossoff, Philippe. "What Does a Kiss Mean? The Love Comic Formula and the Creation of the Ideal Teenage Girl." Journal of Popular Culture VIII, No. 4 (Spring 1975): 825-835.

An outline of the chaste melodramas in romance comics and how they enforce the norm of the nuclear family unit.

Richler, Mordecai. "The Great Comic Book Heroes." Encounter XXVIII, No. 5 (May 1967): 46-48, 50-53.

A tongue-in-cheek look back at Fredric Wertham's scare tactics, and an overview of broadly satirical cartoon parodies of the late 1960s.

Scobie, Alex. "Comics and Folkliterature." Fabula 21, No. 1 & 2 (1980): 70-81.

The author compares cartoonists to old folklorists who made their living as storytellers, and claims that the group efforts of comic artists result in an anonymity much like that of the unnamed originators of folk tales.

Scott, Randall W. Comic Books and Strips: An Information Sourcebook. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1988, 152 p.

A list of books, periodicals and library collections which either anthologize cartoons, reprint them or offer critical analysis.

Silbermann, Alphons and H.-D. Dyroff. Comics and Visual Culture: Research Studies from Ten Countries. New York: KG Saur, 1986, 264 p.

Comic strips, books and films are discussed within national contexts, with essays devoted to Kenyan mass media, production and consumption in India, kid's comics in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.

Smoodin, Eric. "Cartoon and Comic Classicism: High-Art Histories of Lowbrow Culture." American Literary History 4, No. 1 (Spring 1992): 129-140.

The author lists the innovations and shortcomings of serious analyses of comics as culture, within a review of three books on comic art published between 1989 and 1990.

Thompson, Don and Dick Lupoff. The Comic-Book Book. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1973, 360 p.

An overview in which the editors train a spotlight on lesser known talents in the comics industry.

Tucker, Ken. "Cats, Mice and History—The Avant-Garde of the Comic Strip." The New York Times Book Review (May 26, 1985): 3.

To the author, Spiegelman's Maus is a post-counter-culture example of avant-garde cartoonery, that takes the shape of a popular narrative form and format, but drives home a psychohistorical political commentary.

Multimedia

Mann, Ron. Comic Book Confidential, anthology CD-ROM, New York: The Voyager Company, 1994.

Mann's documentary film of the same name is included, along with supplementary artist biographies and bibliographies, and 120 pages of art dating from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus, anthology CD-ROM, New York: The Voyager Company, 1994.

Spiegelman's book Maus is reproduced page by page, with multimedia annotations including preliminary sketches, alternate drafts, historical documentation, and interviews with Spiegelman and his father.

Vallejo, Alejandro. The History of the Comics, television documentary miniseries, Spain: Euskal Pictures International, S.A., 1990.

Comic art from the days of teacher and cartoonist Rudolphe Topffer (ca. 1850) to European graphic artists of the 1980s is assessed in this four-part series, with an English soundtrack and subtitles.

Zur, Patricia. Spiegelman, documentary short, New York: WNYC-TV, 1994.

A thirty-minute interview with Art Spiegelman focuses on his work ethic, thoughts on the critical reception of comic art, and Maus.

Zwigoff, Terry. Crumb, documentary feature, US: Sony Classics, 1995.

A full-length biography, filmed by a close friend, includes interviews with family members and other intimates of Robert Crumb, as well as the artist himself.

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Adult Comics And Graphic Novels

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