Comics

"All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated." — Comics Code, 1954

• Tween Awakening

  This unbearably lovely and trenchant graphic novel is also a call-to-arms.

  A.K. SummersJan 5, 2016

  • Comics

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  Penciling Discomfort: Sam Alden’s “New Construction”

  There is a kind of subtle violence in Alden's gutted illustrations.

  Nick Francis PotterJan 2, 2016

  • Comics

• The Unapologetic Pursuit of Pleasure

  Rancourt's undertakings require the kind of bravura that emerges from a heroically unapologetic pursuit of pleasure.

  Tahneer OksmanDec 12, 2015

  • Comics

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  Absent Figures in the Frame

  No reader should expect a happy ending in Tomine’s fiction.

  Min Hyoung SongNov 7, 2015

  • Comics

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  A Legacy of Horror

  Aside from a few decades of overzealous censorship, horror has been a consistently popular genre in American comic books.

  William BradleyOct 31, 2015

  • Comics

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  The Power of Knightmares

  Remove the fantastic superhero elements and the high-concept action scenes, and what is left with The Dark Knight Trilogy is a surprisingly complex exploration of the nature of war, justice, and authority in the postmodern era — an extended allegory of America and American leadership during the War on Terror.

  George BallasSep 8, 2015

  • Comics

• Superbeings Who Walk the Boundaries

  Jama-Everett upends the cultural assumptions common to many familiar superhero stories.

  Michael BerrySep 5, 2015

  • Comics

  • SF

• Crisis on Earth-33!

  Our beloved superheroes know that we exist, and they are really, really mad at us for what we have done to them.

  William BradleyAug 18, 2015

  • Comics

• Selling Out the Newspaper Comic Strip

  The comic strip and its evolution and devolution.

  Luke EpplinAug 15, 2015

  • Comics

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  An Aesthetic of Expansiveness: Drawn and Quarterly at 25 Years

  Drawn & Quarterly publishes a who’s who of the contemporary comics world.

  Tahneer OksmanJul 23, 2015

  • Comics

• In a Sea of Books, In a Majestic Mundane

  As equal but different mediums, graphic novels and traditional literature can now tackle the same fundamental subjects in tandem.

  Marcus ClaytonJun 13, 2015

  • Comics

  • Noir

• Stitching Out a Life in Graphic Memoir

  With "Baddawi," Leila Abdelrazaq joins women cartoonists engaged in life writing. Not just Satrapi, but Alison Bechdel, Lynda Barry, and Phoebe Gloeckner.

  Alex ManglesJun 8, 2015

  • Comics

  • Memoir & Essay