Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narratives: A History of Graphic Narratives

Robert Petersen

Nov 2010 · ABC-CLIO

About this ebook

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.

Includes numerous illustrations of British satirical prints, Japanese woodblock prints, and the art of prominent illustrators

Includes a chapter on the latest developments in digital comics

Ratings and reviews

I don't know why you ask me to rate something I haven't played?

it was a book not a comic

About the author

Robert S. Petersen is associate professor of art at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL.