A vastly underappreciated artistic and narrative medium, comics have long been a passion of mine. Many people tend to dismiss comics as lowbrow and juvenile, but in fact comics are a complicated format that can express ideas, create characters, address issues, and tell stories in ways unmatched by other forms, such as prose and film. Because comics are both textual and visual ("words and pictures," as Pekar points out above), they can explore the rich ground upon which these two means of expression collide.
In February of 2008, I was asked to be a guest on WS Radio's weekly show, "Comic Book Talk Radio." Jeff Miner, the host of the show, is a huge fan of comics, and his topic for that particular show was "Are Comics Literature?" You can hear the interview by visiting www.wsradio.com and finding the February 7, 2008, episode of "Comic Book Talk Radio," or you can simply click on the link below:
In my classes I always use at least some comic book material, be it a complete work or an excerpt. Students are always amazed and surprised by this material, because its content goes against previously held notions about comics. What I've tried to do on this page and the links below is to list some of my favorite titles with brief descriptions. Be sure to visit the Palomar College Library to find these titles; the list of comic books & graphic novels housed at our library is RIGHT HERE--check it out!
Here are two outstanding books from that collection:
Will Eisner, Comics and Sequential Art. This book is, bar none, the best discussion of how comic book visuals create meaning. The late Eisner was a pioneer of comic book art, and in this book he covers such topics as imagery, timing, panel size and shape, layout, and a host of other visual elements that are unique to this very sophisticated medium.
Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics. This book is a must-have reference for anyone interested in the medium of comics. McCloud's brilliance is that he uses the comic format to explain it; that is, Understanding Comics is a graphic novel that explicates and deconstructs its very own format. It also gives lucid coverage to this very complex storytelling form.
Follow the links below for specific comic book titles that are worth checking out