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Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. --Robert C. Harvey

Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, <i>Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium</i>, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, <i>A Comics Studies Reader</i>, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. Robert C. Harvey</p>

While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe Toepffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the verbal-visual blend of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics 'the ninth art.' The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium. --Gordon Flagg, Booklist �Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms.� �Robert C. Harvey �While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman�s Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware�s Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel�s Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe T�pffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the �verbal-visual blend� of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics �the ninth art.� The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium.� �Gordon Flagg, Booklist �The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context.� �Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative �Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace.� �Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette -Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms.- --Robert C. Harvey -While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe Topffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the -verbal-visual blend- of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics 'the ninth art.' The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium.- --Gordon Flagg, Booklist -The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context.- --Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative -Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace.- --Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. --Robert C. Harvey The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context. --Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace. --Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. Robert C. Harvey While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman s Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware s Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel s Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe Topffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the verbal-visual blend of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics the ninth art. The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium. Gordon Flagg, Booklist The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context. Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace. Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. Robert C. Harvey While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman s Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware s Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel s Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe Topffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the verbal-visual blend of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics the ninth art. The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium. Gordon Flagg, Booklist The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context. Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace. Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. --Robert C. Harvey While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe Topffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the verbal-visual blend of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics 'the ninth art.' The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium. --Gordon Flagg, Booklist The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context. --Jan Baetens, Image & Narrative Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace. --Rod Lott, Oklahoma Gazette

Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester have, once again, performed admirably in producing another compendious survey of comics scholarship. Their earlier effort in this vein, Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium, scanned the historical landscape for essays about comics written by various literary critics and the like; their current production, A Comics Studies Reader, compiles 28 essays by contemporary scholars and critics. The result is a sort of panorama of current serious thinking about the art of cartooning in all its forms. Robert C. Harvey

Since academics have helped legitimize comics as an art form to be taken seriously, it only makes sense that an entire book of scholarly essays put illustrated fiction under the microscope. It very well could serve as the required reading for that course I never had the opportunity to ace.--Rod Lott Oklahoma Gazette The editorial work accomplished by Heer and Worcester is simply impressive. Not only have they managed to gather material that is challenging, well-written, well-thought and that should enable a big leap forward in comics theory and criticism, but the two editors have also succeeded in giving each text the necessary space and context.--Jan Baetens Image & Narrative While such critically acclaimed graphic novels as Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986, 1991), Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan (2000), and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006) established the artistic legitimacy of comics, academic comics scholarship has thriven apace. The 28 essays Heer and Worcester collect reflect the various approaches to writing about comics taken by writers in the burgeoning discipline. Those include the historical in pieces on nineteenth-century graphic storyteller Rodolphe T pffer and other progenitors of the medium; the formal in esoteric pieces on the craft and art of comics, covering such aspects as the verbal-visual blend of words and pictures, the ways artists indicate panel sequencing, and sound representation in Japanese manga; and the critical-analytic in considerations of seminal works by Ware, Spiegelman, and others. Most of the essays focus on American comics, but several examine works from Japan, Mexico, and France, where scholars have deemed comics 'the ninth art.' The contributions range in readability from totally accessible to highly rarefied and borderline pedantic. Still, altogether they attest to the artistic importance of a long-neglected medium.--Gordon Flagg Booklist

Author Information

With Chris Ware and Chris Oliveros, Jeet Heer is editing a series of volumes reprinting Frank King's Gasoline Alley, three volumes of which have been published. A Toronto-based writer, he has written introductory essays to the George Herriman Krazy and Ignatz series. |Kent Worcester teaches political theory at Marymount Manhattan College. He is the author of C. L. R. James: A Political Biography and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA).

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