The Graphic Novel

This book is an excellent general introduction to the field of graphic novels for someone who is relatively new to them, but it is not as in-depth or specific as the writing in more established publications such as The International Journal of Comic Art, edited by John Lent.

For example, the three introductory chapters look at the history of graphic novels with three different emphases: crime; super-heroes; and horror. We are therefore given summaries of the 1950s with Fredric Wertham and the introduction of the Comics Code Authority, and a walk through the golden and silver ages of comics,...