Comics, Comix & Graphic Novelsis the first ever fully documented study to explore the graphic qualities of the comic book, and the development of the genre into a sophisticated and culturally revealing popular art form. This book traces the history of the comic from early cartoon-like woodcuts through to the graphic strips of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Organized thematically it explores the various genres of the comic book - including humour, adventure, girls' comics, underground and alternative. The fascinating careers of the creators of the best-known characters - from Supermanand Tintinto Tank Girl- are revealed in depth, as are the stories behind the much-loved comics such as Beanoand The Incredible Hulk. The most recent artists are also illustrated and discussed, including Harvey Kurtzman (Mad), Chris Donald (Viz), Art Spiegelman (Maus)and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira).