Comics+ History and Legitimacy
Comics are not a single genre, and they were not invented in a superhero office. They are a global set of visual storytelling traditions with a messy, contested history.
Success criteria
- I can place key developments in comics history on a timeline.
- I can distinguish comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, manga, and webcomics.
- I can explain why comics have been treated as disposable and as literature.
- I can question a timeline that leaves out traditions outside the United States.
A partial timeline
This timeline is deliberately broad and Anglophone-heavy. Treat it as a starting point, not the whole history of visual narrative.
1830s-1890s: the printed cartoon and the newspaper strip
Political cartoons, illustrated magazines, and newspaper humour strips establish recurring characters and serial readership. Richard Outcault's The Yellow Kid (1895) is often named as an early newspaper strip.
1930s-1940s: comic books and superheroes
Comic books emerge as cheap, disposable entertainment. Action Comics #1 (1938) introduces Superman and helps establish the superhero formula. Other genres, including crime, romance, horror, and humour, also sell widely.
1950s: moral panic and the Comics Code
Psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent (1954) blamed comics for juvenile delinquency. The Comics Code Authority imposed censorship that reshaped the industry and reinforced the idea that comics were children's fare.
1960s-1970s: counterculture and the graphic novel
Underground comix publish work outside the Code. Will Eisner's A Contract with God (1978) is widely credited with popularising the term "graphic novel" for a substantial, book-length comic.
1980s-1990s: literary recognition and the manga boom
Maus (serialised 1980-1991) later wins a Pulitzer Prize. Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (both 1986) complicate the superhero form. Manga grows rapidly in English-language markets.
2000s-present: bookshops, schools, and screens
Graphic novels become a major bookshop and library category. Memoir, history, adaptation, and graphic journalism expand. Webcomics and digital platforms change how comics are published, read, and shared.
Five forms, not one
| Form | What it usually is | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Comic strip | A short sequence, often serialised in newspapers or online. | Strip does not mean simple; a strip can build character and argument over years. |
| Comic book | A staplebound or digital issue, often part of a series. | Comic book is a format, not a genre. |
| Graphic novel | A book-length comic, often a self-contained story. | The term is marketing as well as description; not every graphic novel is a novel. |
| Manga | Japanese comics, with their own genres, publishing rhythms, and visual conventions. | Manga is not one style, and it is not all for children. |
| Webcomic | A comic published online, often serialised and read on a screen. | Scroll, page, and swipe all change pacing and reveal. |
Why comics were called "not real reading"
Comics have often been judged by their cheapest, most disposable examples. The panic of the 1950s treated them as a threat to young readers. Schools and libraries often dismissed them as a stepping stone to "proper" books. Meanwhile, artists kept using the form for memoir, history, journalism, and complex fiction.
Key idea: a medium is not the same as a genre. "Comics" describes a way of making meaning with images and words in sequence. It does not tell you whether the story is funny, serious, true, or for children.
Discussion
- Why might a timeline of comics focus on the United States and still call itself a history of comics?
- What does the Comics Code suggest about who was thought to be reading comics?
- Why does the label "graphic novel" help some books reach new readers? What does it leave out?
- Which form on the table do you know least about? What would you need to read to understand it better?
Exit ticket
In three sentences, explain one reason comics have been dismissed and one reason that dismissal is wrong.
Teacher note: use a short teacher-selected extract from the 2004 New York Times article "Not Funnies" only if it is appropriate for the class. It is long, copyrighted, and contains outdated phrasing.