Skip to Main Content UACCM logo

Comics (& Graphic Novels)

This guide highlights comics (and graphic novels) in the E. Allen Gordon Library collection.

Introduction: "What is a Comic?"

"Comics", as defined by Wikipedia, "are a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information." In the context of this libguide, a comic is a story told through a series of images, often accompanied by dialogue and/or narration. When a reader is truly immersed in a comic, those images can represent the passage of time, actions taken, or dramatic focus.

If you think that definition sounds kind of broad, you'd be correct! While it's hard to pin down exactly what comics are, there's no denying the role that this kind of storytelling has in pop-culture. From the implacable Superman to the gruesome horrors of the Walking Dead, the characters and stories that originated in comics are with us to this very day.

Please note that while they are also considered comics, "manga" and its offshoots will not be covered here. There are several reasons for this, but perhaps the most crucial is that our manga collection is big enough to get its own libguide. If you would like to learn more about what Japanese comics have to offer, please visit uaccm.libguides.com/manga.

Frequently Asked Questions

"Comics" and "Graphic Novels" are similar mediums, so much so that publishers will sometimes change what they call a particular work based on how they want to market it. As a general rule of thumb, comics are usually published in standalone issues (like chapters), while graphic novels are usually published as a complete story. A few examples that blur the lines include:

  • The DC Compact Comics series
    • Though these volumes are part of the DC Compact Comics series (which you'd think would settle the issue), some store listings also describe these as graphic novels, despite them originally being published in standalone issues. Do graphic novels sound more attractive to the average consumer than comics? Who knows?
  • Lore Olympus
    • This series first began as a "webtoon", a kind of digital, vertically-oriented comic that originated in South Korea. Check the sleeve, however, and you'll find that the physical version is referred to as a graphic novel. To their credit though, some drastic formatting changes had to be made to cram it into a physical book.
  • The Walking Dead series
    • Though the series originally consisted of 193 separate issues, later publications began to bundle those issues together in sets of 6, 12, 24, or 48 based on the edition. Some editions don't even delineate between one issue and the other, making the whole volume feel like one cohesive story. Nevertheless, this series is still referred to as a comic.

With the sheer amount of reading that some students have to do, it's easy to wonder why anyone would want to add to it. However, reading comics actually has a lot of benefits... some of which you can't get anywhere else. These are some of the reasons why you should add a comic or two to your college experience:

  • Exposure to Different Cultures & Ideas
    • College is, ultimately, about broadening your horizons, and encountering ideas and concepts that you never knew before. One of the nice things about comics is that their creators originate from all over the world, sharing the stories and values that they cherish in story form.
  • Light Reading
    • Nurturing a love for reading can have consequences that extend far beyond college. However, with all of the textbooks and classical literature that students have to read, it's easy to forget how fun reading can be. With gripping stories told through limited dialogue, comics can be a nice refresher between reading assignments.