Graphic Novels and Comic Books: How to Search for Sources
Journals on Comic Art
The TCTC collection holds several journals devoted to the comic arts! If you are looking for a topic, these would be a great place to start.
Getting Started with your Research
Just getting started with your research?
For help with every step of the research process, from choosing a topic and developing research questions to finding and evaluating sources and writing up your paper with proper citations, see this helpful guide!
Databases
While comic books have been around for many decades, Graphic Literature is a relatively young genre.
Comic Studies as a field of academic research is even younger.
So the library doesn't have a "Comic Studies Database" ... when you are looking for sources, which databases you use will depend on the question you are researching.
- Art Full Text This link opens in a new window
Foundational art research database providing full-text art journals and books. It covers fine, decorative and commercial art, as well as photography, film and architecture.
- Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Full-text literary database covering all genres and time-frames. It includes thousands of synopses, critical essays, book reviews, literary journals and author biographies, plus full-text classic novels, short stories and poems. Also includes the Masterplots series and "Critical Insights" volumes.
- Academic OneFile: Gale This link opens in a new window
A broad subject database which includes peer-reviewed journals, magazines, reference sets and podcasts covering the areas of criminal justice, history, economics, marketing, and psychology. Also includes podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowUse to explore general questions about graphic literature from a number of different angles.
- Reader's Guide Full Text Mega This link opens in a new window
A general database covering aspects of modern life including arts, business, computers, education, health/medicine, history, literature, news, pop culture, religion, science, and more. Provides full text, indexing and abstracts for a broad selection of periodicals.
- Ebook Collection from Salem Press This link opens in a new window
Includes easy-to-understand information about literature, history, science, and health.
- Religion and Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
A full-text database for theology and philosophy research. It includes hundreds of full-text journals and magazines covering many religious and philosophical topics, including world religions, religious history, political philosophy and philosophy of language.
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new windowInterested in women in comics and graphic literature? Try this database
Video Resources for the Study of Graphic Literature
How to Cite a Comic
Graphic literature appears in many different formats and styles, often with multiple authors and titles, which can lead to confusion when it comes time to cite your sources. Here is a guide to comic art citation written by Allen Ellis of Northern Kentucky University.