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Comics & Graphic Novels: Introduction

About this guide

Begin your scholarly research or casually learn more about your favorite comic book characters, series, and creators with our Comics & Graphic Novels research guide. This guide includes recommended books, academic databases, creator interviews, publisher listings and more.

*Image from Action Comics #1, by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel

What is a comic book or graphic novel?

A comic book is a collection of sequential images and text, telling a story or several stories, while a graphic novel is a book composed of comic art and narration that typically tells a single story.

About Our Collection

You can find comic books and graphic novels in the HWC Library's Graphic Novel collection. These books are located on the shelves across from the circulation desk (the front desk) regardless of subject / topic or call number. 

To browse our e-book collection for comic books or graphic novels, just visit the EBSCO eBook Collection. A search for the keyword phrase "graphic novel" or "comic book" will pull up ebooks that are graphic novels or comic books, as well as ebooks about (scholarly research and criticism, biographies and histories, etc.) graphic novels and comic books.

Reference Summary

Encyclopedia Britannica entries for: