This cutting-edge handbook brings together an international roster of scholars to examine many facets of comics and graphic novels. Contributor essays provide authoritative, up-to-date overviewsof the major topics and questions within comic studies, offering readers a truly global approach to understanding the field.

Essays examine:

the history of the temporal, geographical, and formal development of comics, including topics like art comics, manga, comix, and the comics code;

issues such as authorship, ethics, adaptation, and translating comics;

connections between comics and other artistic media (drawing, caricature, film) as well as the linkages between comics and other academic fields like linguistics and philosophy;

new perspectives on comics genres, from funny animal comics to war comics to romance comics and beyond.

The Routledge Companion to Comics expertly organizes representative work from a range of disciplines, including media and cultural studies, literature, philosophy, and linguistics. More than an introduction to the study of comics, this book will serve as a crucial reference for anyone interested in pursuing research in the area, guiding students, scholars, and comics fans alike.

Frank Bramlett, Roy T Cook, Aaron, Meskin

Introduction, AaronMeskin, Roy TCook, FrankBramlett; Part 1 History and Traditions; Chapter 1 Origins of Early Comics and Proto-Comics, M. ThomasInge; Chapter 2 Newspaper Strips, PascalLefèvre; Chapter 3 The Comics Code, Amy KisteNyberg; Chapter 4 Underground and Alternative Comics, Roy TCook; Chapter 5 British Comics, ChrisMurray; Chapter 6 French and Belgian Comics, MarkMcKinney; Chapter 7 Canadian Comics, Brenna ClarkeGray; Chapter 8 Comics in Latin America, AnaMerino; Chapter 9 A Brief History of Comics in Italy and Spain, SimoneCastaldi; Chapter 10 Comics in India, JeremyStoll; Chapter 11 Eastern/Central European Comics, JoséAlaniz; Chapter 12 East Asian Comix, Adam L.Kern; Part 2 Comics Genres; Chapter 13 Art Comics, AndreiMolotiu; Chapter 14 Superhero Comics, Matthew J.Smith; Chapter 15 Journalistic Comics, KentWorcester; Chapter 16 Funny Animals, BrianCremins; Chapter 17 Erotic Comics, JustinHall; Chapter 18 Western Comics, WilliamGrady; Chapter 19 Horror Comics, David AnnwnJones; Chapter 20 War Comics, LeonardRifas; Chapter 21 Autobiographical Comics, Michael A.Johnson; Chapter 22 Silent Comics, BarbaraPostema; Chapter 23 Editorial Comics, MarkLong, ChrisLamb; Part 3 Issues and Concepts; Chapter 24 Defining Comics, AaronMeskin; Chapter 25 Comics and Adaptation, Henry JohnPratt; Chapter 26 Comics and Authorship, AdrielleMitchell; Chapter 27 Comics and Seriality, Christy MagUidhir; Chapter 28 Metacomics, Roy TCook; Chapter 29 Comics and Fandom, MatthewPustz; Chapter 30 Comics, Race, and Ethnicity, Andrew J.Kunka; Chapter 31 Comics and Gender, MelGibson; Chapter 32 LGBTQ Representation in Comics, AjuanMance; Chapter 33 Comics and Time, JanBaetens, CharlottePylyser; Chapter 34 Comics and Ethics, JonRobson; Chapter 35 Comics and Translation, JonathanEvans; Chapter 36 Comics and Criticism, Darren HudsonHick; Part 4 Other Media and Other Disciplines; Chapter 37 Comics and Film, CraigFischer; Chapter 38 Comics and Art, AnastasiaSalter; Chapter 39 Teaching and Learning with Comics, Carol L.Tilley, Robert G.Weiner; Chapter 40 Caricature and Comics, JohnHolbo; Chapter 41 Comics and Linguistics, FrankBramlett; Chapter 42 Comics and Literature, HannahMiodrag; Chapter 43 Comics in Libraries, RichardGraham; Chapter 44 Comics and Rhetoric, RandyDuncan; Chapter 45 Comics and Politics, MichaelGoodrum; Chapter 46 Comics and Cultural STUDIES, IanHague; Chapter 47 Comics, Children's Literature, and Childhood Studies, LaraSaguisag;