comics | Library Blog - Indiana University East

comics

Exploring the History of Comics

comics, graphic novels April 22, 2024 Library Resources, Matt Dilworth mdilwort

Comics, whether in strip or book form, have long been a mainstay of childhood and young adult reading. The unique style of storytelling through sequential art, usually mixed with text, can facilitate any genre or idea, with an unlimited ‘special effects budget’ that would be unwieldy in any other medium. Over the decades, they have grown from being a purely child-oriented type of entertainment to one that also caters to adults, with more literary stories including ‘graphic novels’. Two days relevant to comics are coming up – Free Comic Book Day is on Saturday May 4th, where people can get a variety of free comic books. Locally, Comic Relief Comics, located at 411 N. 8th Street, Unit#104 in the Depot … Continued

Nonfiction graphic novels

banned books week, comics, graphic novels, KT Lowe December 11, 2023 books mdilwort

Graphic novels can be thought of as illustrated long-form stories, and can cover a variety of subjects. From tales of postmodern antiheroes to renditions of popular fiction, graphic novels have been both celebrated and derided. The IU East Campus Library has developed a collection of graphic novels for both research and reading enjoyment, including a strong selection of nonfiction offerings. Below is a description of just a few of the library’s titles. Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe More than a coming out story, Kobabe’s book is an odyssey of gender fluidity. Kobabe, who uses e/er/eir pronouns, uses eir life as a focal point for understanding gender and sexuality from bodily, emotional and relational perspectives. The loosely drawn, invitingly illustrated book is … Continued

Celebrating Comics and More: Will Eisner Week

comics, graphic novels March 21, 2022 Library Resources, Matt Dilworth mdilwort

Among those who have shaped the field of comics, few people were as influential as Will Eisner. Born in 1917, he got his start drawing pulp illustrations and comic strips, and created Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and The Spirit at the beginning of the rise of the superhero/adventurer comics trend. During World War II, he created cartoons for the military journal Army Motors, (most prominently featuring Joe Dope), in which he used his knack for writing for G.I.s in terms they could understand to transform the comics genre into a genuine teaching tool. After the war, Eisner continued to create more comics with lasting meaning and educational relevance, popularizing the idea of a ‘graphic novel’ for adults, with work … Continued

All In Color For Free

comics, e-books, graphic novels June 22, 2020 Library Resources, Matt Dilworth mdilwort

While comics today are often primarily associated with the superhero stories that provide fodder for blockbuster movies, they are and have been a much more diverse body of literature, and one worthy of study. A mainstay of childhood and young adult reading, comics have incorporated many genres, including action, humor, romance, crime, horror, drama, science fiction, and fantasy. There is also a strong subversive movement, largely aimed at adults, of ‘underground’ work that uses the medium in innovative ways. A database dedicated to this art form, Underground and Independent Comics focuses on those outside the mainstream, from the lurid 1950s horror and crime comics which prompted the restrictive Comics Code to cheekily irreverent like R. Crumb’s Zap Comix to much more … Continued

Tales from the Comics Database: A Brief Look at EC Comics

censorship, comics, KT Lowe March 4, 2019 Library Resources mdilwort

“It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No! It’s Superman!” While Superman is among the very first successful comic book characters, period, and the earliest comic book superhero, many important comics came in his wake. A market whose art and ideas were dominated by immigrants and their children, women and religious minorities, comic books were conceived by and for an audience left out of what might be termed “high culture.” The success of Superman, and other comic titles like New Fun, All-American Comics and others, led to a thriving comic market, where up to 15 million comic books were purchased by Americans every single week by 1941. Indiana University East boasts a large digital database of comic books, the Underground and … Continued