Graphic Possibilities: A Comics Research Guide: Other Resources

Jump to

• Collections in Libraries
• Collections Online
• Comic Art Awards
• Comics Press Online (News, Reviews, Criticism)
• Documentaries
• Interviews
• MSU Comics Forum
• Organizations
• Primary Sources
• Reference Sources in Print
• Reference Sources Online

Links to MSU library holdings

• A link indicating the physical format of material (Print, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.) will lead you to the MSU library catalog, with the call number and location of the item.
• An Online link will lead you to an e-resource licensed for MSU users. MSUnet ID and password are required for access.

Links to articles

• Article titles are linked to an open access journal if available, or to a database licensed for MSU users. MSUnet ID and password are required for access to the latter.

See the information on Accessing Materials on the Welcome page if you have questions about what materials are available to you.

Library of Congress, Serial and Government Publications Division (Washington DC, USA)

The Library of Congress holds more than 5000 comics titles, with a strong focus on U.S. titles from the 1950s forward. Acquisition of comic books is exclusively through copyright deposit from comics publishers.

♦ Michigan State University, Special Collections, Comic Art (East Lansing Michigan, USA)

The MSU Libraries' Special Collections unit holds more than 300,000 comics titles from all over the world, dating back to the earliest examples of the genre. The collection also offers vertical files, proof sheets from King Features Syndicate, editorial files from Claypool Comics and Eclipse Comics, collectibles and more. The collection is fully cataloged. Contact Randy Scott, the Comic Art curator, for more information.

Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (Columbus, Ohio, USA)

The Billy Ireland collection has a strong focus on collecting original cartoon artwork, with more than 300,000 examples.

Free Online Collections

Comic Book Plus: An extensive collection of free downloadable files of comic books now in the public domain. An excellent opportunity to read a wide variety of early comics.

Digital Comic Museum: A site for downloading free public domain Golden Age Comics. All files here have been researched by our staff and users to make sure they are copyright free and in the public domain. (You must create a free account.)

Digitized comics from MSU's collection

• Critical Comics: Pre-1923 titles selected and analyzed by students in AL/DH 340 Digital Humanities Seminar in Spring 2017 and Spring 2018.
• Digital & Multimedia Center: Selected 19th century titles, plus examples from MSU's holdings of the midcentury Real Heroes and True Comics.
• Graphic Narratives Collection: Pre-1923 titles chosen by members of the Graphic Narratives Network, an MSU scholarly collective, in 2017.

Licensed Online Collections

Underground and Independent Comics from Alexander Street. More than 600 titles represented.

The Eisner Awards

• Given annually at Comic-Con International in San Diego

The Harvey Awards

• Nominated and selected by comic book professionals.

The Ignatz Awards

• Selected by a panel of five cartoonists and awarded at Small Press Expo

The Glyph Awards

• The best in comics made by, for, and about people of color

The Comics Journal

The Comics Reporter

The Middle Spaces

Comic Book Confidential. Produced and directed by Ron Mann. Sphinx Productions. Originally produced in 1988. DVD | Blu-Ray.

Ethnic Notions. Produced, written, and directed by Marlon T. Riggs. Signifyin' Works. Originally produced in 1987. DVD | Online (Alexander Street) | Online (Infobase)

Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle. Produced by Michael Kantor and Sally Rosenthal. Ghost Light Films, Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2013. DVD | Blu-Ray | Episode 1 Online | Episode 2 Online | Episode 3 Online | Companion volume.

White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books. Directed by Jonathan Gayles. Originally produced in 2011. DVD | Online (Black Studies in Video) | Online (Infobase)

Why are there multiple online links? We occasionally have access to the same material in more than one licensed collection. The extra links are given in case one platform has a temporary interruption of service.

Ernie Colón

• "The Ernie Colón Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 285 (October 2007)

Darwin Cooke

• "The Darwin Cooke Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 285 (October 2007)

Eduardo del Rio

• "An Interview with the Father of Mexico's Graphic Documentary: Who's This Rius?" The Comics Journal, no 137 (September 1990)

Jonathan Gayles

• “Black Masculinity in Comic Books: An Interview with Jonathan Gayles.” Black Perspectives: The Blog of African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), March 29, 2017

Carmine Infantino

• "The Carmine Infantino Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 191 (November 1996)

John Jennings

• “The Soul of Black Comics: An Interview with John Jennings.” Black Perspectives: The Blog of African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), October 14, 2017. 

Gil Kane

• Kane, Gil, and Gary Groth, ed. Sparring with Gil Kane: Debating the History and Aesthetics of Comics. Fantagraphics, 2018. Not currently owned by MSU; purchase requested April 2020.

Jenette Kahn

• "Stan Lee & Jenette Kahn at Temple University." The Comics Journal, no. 47 (July 1979)

Megan Kelson

• "The Megan Kelso Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 216 (October 1999)

Jack Kirby

• "Jack Kirby Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 134 (February 1990)

Stan Lee

• "A Stan Lee Interview from 1968." The Comics Journal, no. 185 (October 1995)
• "Hello, Culture Lovers! Stan the Man Raps with Marvel Maniacs at James Madison University." The Comics Journal, no. 42 (October 1978)
• "Stan Lee & Jenette Kahn at Temple University." The Comics Journal, no. 47 (July 1979)

Spain Rodriguez

• "The Spain Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 204 (May 1998) and no. 206 (August 1998).

John Severin

• "The John Severin Interview, Parts I and II." The Comics Journal, no. 215 (August 1999) and no. 216 (October 1999).

Marie Severin

• "An Interview with Marie Severin." The Comics Journal Library: Volume 10, The EC Artists, Part II. Fantagraphics, 2016.

Jeff Smith

• "The Jeff Smith Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 173 (December 1994).

Yoshihiro Tatsumi

• "Yoshihiro Tatsumi Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 281 (February 2007)

Qiana Whitted

• “Race, Shock, and Social Protest: An Interview with Qiana Whitted.” Black Perspectives: The Blog of African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), April 10, 2019. 

Barry Windsor-Smith

• "The Barry Windsor-Smith Interview." The Comics Journal, no. 190 (September 1996).

The Michigan State University Comics Forum is a multi-day, annual event for scholars, creators and fans of the comics medium.  Events include keynote addresses from an award-winning creator and scholar in the field, an artist alley, academic panel discussions, exhibition of comic art, comic book discussion groups and more.

Keynote speeches are available on YouTube:

• Emil Harris
• Charles Hatfield
• Lucy Knisley
• Seth
• Nick Sousanis
• James Sturm

National

American Library Association, Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table. "Dedicated to supporting library staff in all aspects of engaging with graphic novels and comics, including collection development, programming, and advocacy."

• Webinar: "Libraries, Comics, and Superheroes of Color: Strengthening Our Reading Communities" (September 2019)

Local

Graphic Narratives Network, Michigan State University. A collaborative research initiative at MSU. Members work together on topics related to graphic narration in its various forms: comics, graphic novels, photo-essays, animation, and film.

Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency

https://www.wnyc.org/story/215964-senate-subcommittee-juvenile-delinquency/

Scores of reference books on comic art have been published. Unfortunately, they are less likely to have online editions than monographs.

Selected notable reference works on comics

• Horn, Maurice. The World Encyclopedia of Comics, revised and updated. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1999. Print edition.
• Goulart, Ron. The Encyclopedia of American Comics. New York: Facts on File, 1990. Print edition.
• Levitz, Paul. 75 years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking. Köln: Taschen, 2010. Print edition.
• Misiroglu, Gina. The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes, second edition. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 2012. Print edition.
• Misiroglu, Gina, and Michael Eury, eds. The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 2006. Print edition.

Find addition reference works on comics

• To find additional reference works, search MSU library catalog.
• Explore results for the search "comic books" and (dictionaries or encyclopedias), limited to items in Special Collections.

Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide

• Citing individual comic books can pose some unusual challenges. This site attempts to establish some standard practices for scholars. It is built primarily around MLA citation style, but its practices can be adapted for the Chicago style preferred by the Rollins history department.

The Comic Book Database: Site on hiatus as of April 2020.

• A database of the publication information for comic books including writers, artists, and other creators by individual issue or story. Volunteers register to contribute data.

Comichron: A Resource for Comics Research

• A large collection of comic book and graphic novel sales figures online, from 1960 onwards.

Comics Timeline: The History of the Funnies in America

• Provided by InfoPlease.com

The Grand Comics Database

• A database of images and publication information for comic book series, built by volunteers. Probably the most comprehensive collection of comic book cover images available.

The Newsstand

• This feature on Mike's Amazing World of Comics allows you to view the covers of comics from many publishers, filtered by the month they were sold or a specific cover date. (These are not the same thing; for many years, cover dates were deliberately later than the on-sale date so that retailers would keep them on the racks longer.) Includes American comic books from 1934 until a few months ago.