Graphic Novels: From Sailor Moon to Spiderman

Prepared by Bonnie Kunzel, Youth Services Consultant
New Jersey State Library

RESOURCES

Pellowski, Michael M. The Art of Making Comic Books . Lerner Pubs., 1995. 0-882-59672-5.

Lavishly illustrated work that discusses the history of comic books and the elements that have made certain comics so successful.

Robbins, Trina. From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women's Comics from Teens to Zines . Chronicle Books, 1999. 0-8118-2199-4.

Entertaining, nostalgic, eye-opening account of girl characters, their effect on the comic book world and how they've been affected by it.

Rothschild, D. Aviva. Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics . Libraries Unlimited, 1995. 1-56308-086-9.

Annotated guide that describes and evaluates more than 400 comics and graphic novels from all over the world. It discusses important features of each work, including the quality of the graphics, characterizations, dialogue, and the appropriate audience.

Sabin, Roger. Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels . Praidon Press, 1996. 0-714-83008-9.

Near-definitive history of comics, from mainstream superheroes to underground work, Japanese manga, alternative comics, and the European tradition, with 600 illus.

Sassienie, Paul. The Comic Book . Chartwell Books, 1994. 1-55521-999-3.

Covers the history of comic books, comic culture, collecting, how to form and maintain a collection, the grading and assessment of value, a trivia quiz about comics, a glossary of comic book terms, and indexes of creators and comic titles and publishers.

Schoat, Frederick L. Dreamland Japan : Writings on Modern Manga . Stone Bridge , 1996. 1-880-65623-X.

Describes contemporary Japanese comics with illustrations, a guide to publishers, magazines with translated Japanese manga and reviews, and internet newsgroups.

Weiner, Steve. The 101 Best Graphic Novels . NBM, 2001.

It lists over 150 graphic novels and breaks them down into age categories. There is a special edition with a library collection development supplement that is quite useful.