Comics journalism is a form of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

that covers news or nonfiction events using the framework of comics, a combination of words and drawn images. Typically, sources are actual people featured in each story, and word balloons are actual quotes. The term "comics journalism" was coined by one of its most notable practitioners,

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

. Other terms for the practice include "graphic journalism,"Hodara, Susan
"Graphic Journalism,"
''Communication Arts'' (March 2020). "comic strip journalism", "cartoon journalism", "cartoon reporting", "comics reportage", Cavna, Michael
"COMICS: Meet the man who’s creating a space for longform journalism — in graphic novel form,"
''Washington Post'' (September 16, 2016). "journalistic comics", and "sketchbook reports".McGee, Kathleen
"SPIEGELMAN SPEAKS: Art Spiegelman is the author of Maus for which he won a special Pulitzer in 1992. Kathleen McGee interviewed him when he visited Minneapolis in 1998,"
''Conduit'' (1998). Visual narrative storytelling has existed for thousands of years, but comics journalism brings reportage to the field in more direct ways. The use of the comics medium to cover real-life events for news organizations, publications or publishers (in graphic novel format) is currently at an all-time peak. Comics journalism publications are active in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and India, and comics journalists also hail from such countries as Russia, Lebanon, Belgium, Peru, and Germany. Many of the works are featured online and in collaboration with established publications, as well as the

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

. In recent decades, works of comics journalism have appeared in such publications as ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'', and ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose pare ...

''.

History

Antecedents to comics journalism included printmakers like Currier and Ives and

George Luks George Benjamin Luks (August 13, 1867 – October 29, 1933) was an American artist, identified with the aggressively realistic Ashcan School of American painting. After travelling and studying in Europe, Luks worked as a newspaper illustrator a ...

, who illustrated

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

battles; and political cartoonists like

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and t ...

. Historically, pictorial representation (typically

engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

) of news events were commonly used before the proliferation of photography in publications such as ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication ...

'' and ''

''. In the 1920s, the political magazine ''

New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...

'' sent cartoonists to cover strikes and labor battles, but they were restricted to single panel cartoons. In the 1950s and the 1960s,

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the '' Little An ...

did a number of true comics journalism pieces for magazines like ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

''. In 1965,

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

, later a key founder of the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

movement, produced "Bulgaria: A Sketchbook Report" for Kurtzman's '' Help!'', a tongue-in-cheek journalistic overview of the socialist country of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

, based on his own travels there. Crumb had done an earlier, similar "sketchbook report" on Harlem, which was also published in ''Help!'' Kurtzman also hired Jack Davis and Arnold Roth to do light-hearted journalistic comics for ''Help!'' Editor/cartoonist

Leonard Rifas Leonard Rifas (b. April 16, 1951) is an American cartoonist, critic, editor, and publisher associated with underground comix, comics journalism, left-wing politics, and the anti-nuclear movement. He is notable for his contributions to the form ...

' two-issue series ''Corporate Crime Comics'' ( Kitchen Sink Press, 1977, 1979) was an early example of comics reportage, with a number of notable contributors, including Greg Irons,

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins bec ...

, Harry Driggs, Guy Colwell, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Jay Kinney, Denis Kitchen, and Larry Gonick.

is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of the form, starting with his 1991 series '' Palestine''. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Sacco produced a number of works of comics journalism for such established publications as '' Details'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'', ''

'', and ''

''. Since then, he has published a number of book-length works of comics journalism. In October 1994 cartoonist

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal comedy, surreal daily comic strip ''Zippy the Pinhead, Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are w ...

toured

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

for two weeks, during a period of mass exodus, as thousands of Cubans took advantage of President

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...

's decision to permit emigration for a limited time. In early 1995, Griffith published a six-week series of stories about Cuban culture and politics in his strip '' Zippy''. The Cuba series included transcripts of conversations Griffith had conducted with various Cubans, including artists, government officials, and a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

priestess. Cartoonist

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines '' Arcade'' and '' R ...

was comics editor of '' Details'' in the mid-1990s; in 1997 — modeling himself after Harvey Kurtzman — Spiegelman began assigning comics journalism pieces to a number of his cartoonist associates, including Sacco,

Peter Kuper Peter Kuper (; born September 22, 1958) is an American alternative comics artist and illustrator, best known for his autobiographical, political, and social observations. Besides his contributions to the political anthology '' World War 3 Illu ...

Ben Katchor Ben Katchor (born November 19, 1951) is an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for the comic strip '' Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer''. He has contributed comics and drawings to ''The Forward'', ''The New Yorker,'' ''Metropo ...

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an People of the United States, American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Hate (comics), Hate'' and ''Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exa ...

, Charles Burns, Kaz, Kim Deitch, and

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the ...

. The magazine published these works of journalism in comics form throughout 1998 and 1999, helping to legitimize the form in popular perception. Starting in 1998, and really intensely in the years 2000 to 2002,

did a number of comics journalism stories — on such topics as politics, the Miss America Pageant, bar culture,

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

, and the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

— mostly for

Suck.com Suck.com was an online magazine, one of the earliest ad-supported content sites on the Internet. It featured daily editorial content on a great variety of topics, including politics and pop-culture. Launched in 1995 and geared towards a Generatio ...

. In the period 2000–2001, cartoonist

Marisa Acocella Marchetto Marisa Acocella Marchetto (born 1962 in New Jersey) is an American cartoonist. She is the author of the ''New York Times'' best-selling graphic novel ''Ann Tenna'', the graphic memoir ''Cancer Vixen'', and ''Just Who the Hell is She, Anyway?'' Sh ...

produced the semi-regular comics journalism strip ''The Strip'' for ''

'', often on the topic of

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...

. Some of the first known magazines focused specifically on comics journalism include ''Mamma!'', a magazine of comics journalism printed in Italy since 2009 and produced by a group of authors; and ''Symbolia'', a digital magazine of comics journalism for

tablet computers A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

, which operated from 2013 to 2015. Other digital magazines which focused on comics journalism during this period included Darryl Holliday & Erik Rodriguez'
The Illustrated Press
' and Josh Kramer's
The Cartoon Picayune
'. Jen Sorensen was editor of the "Graphic Culture" section of '' Splinter News'' (formerly ''Fusion'') from 2014 to 2018, while

Matt Bors Matt Bors (born 1983) is a nationally syndicated American editorial cartoonist and editor of online comics publication The Nib. Formerly the comics journalism editor for Cartoon Movement, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 and 202 ...

has edited the online comics collection ''

The Nib The Nib is an American online daily comics publication focused on political cartoons, graphic journalism, essays and memoir about current affairs. Founded by cartoonist Matt Bors in September 2013, The Nib is an independent member-supported p ...

'' since 2014; both sites publish comics journalism pieces. In May 2016, ''The New York Times'' put comics journalism front-and-center for the first time with "Inside Death Row," by Patrick Chappatte (with Anne-Frédérique Widmann), a five-part series about the death penalty in the United States. In 2017, it published "Welcome to the New World," by

Jake Halpern Jake Halpern (born 1975) is an American writer, commentator, and radio producer. Life and career He was born in Buffalo, New York, where he attended City Honors School. Halpern later attended Yale University, where he received an undergraduate d ...

and Michael Sloan, chronicling a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...

refugee family settling in the United States. The series ran in the print Sunday Review edition from January to September 2017 and won the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning The Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary is one of the fourteen Pulitzer Prizes that is annually awarded for journalism in the United States. It is the successor to the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning awarded from 1922 ...

in 2018. In November 2019 the book ''Libia'', about the war in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, written by Francesca Mannocchi and drawn by Gianluca Costantini, was published in Italy; it was translated and published in France in 2020.

Techniques

As with traditional journalism, there are no rules per se about comics journalism, and there are a wide variety of practices. Some practitioners, like

and Susie Cagle, have a background in journalism, while others were trained first as cartoonists. One feature that unites all forms of comics journalism is a reliance on witness interviews and other

primary sources In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

. Many practitioners highlight the form's power to engender empathy in its subjects. Sacco is a trained journalist who extensively documents his subjects and spends years crafting his stories.Mackay, Brad. "Behind the rise of investigative cartooning," ''THIS Magazine'' (Jan. 2008)
Archived at Ad Astra Comix
Among the techniques he uses to protect his subjects — who are often survivors of conflict zones in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

— are to change their names and use his art to anonymize their faces. Wendy MacNaughton sketches extensively with her subjects and locations before retreating to her studio to craft the finished piece. Austrian graduate student Lukas Plank created a comic, "Drawn Truth: Transparency in Journalist Comics," based on his research into the field, that outlines some potential "best practices" for comics journalists. In a February 2005 article on comics journalism for ''

'',

Kristian Williams Kristian Williams (born 1974) is an American anarchist author. He is best known as the author of ''Our Enemies In Blue: Police and Power in America''. Publications *Williams, Kristian. ''Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America''. Brookl ...

introduced, explained, and defended comics journalism:

Comics journalists

* Dan Archer *

Polgreen, Erin
"What is Graphic Journalism?"
''The Hooded Utilitarian'' (Mar. 29, 2011). *

Steve Brodner Steve Brodner (born October 19, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York) is a satirical illustrator and caricaturist working for publications in the US since the 1970s. He is accepted in the fields of journalism and the graphic arts as a master of the edito ...

* Susie Cagle * Claudio Calia * Patrick Chappatte * Sue Coe * Gianluca Costantini * Sarah GliddenH.G
"In the frame: The power of comics journalism: The medium is able to narrate personal experiences more effectively than traditional journalism can"
''The Economist'' (Oct 21st 2016). * Carlo Gubitosa * Wendy MacNaughton *

Josh Neufeld Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladsto ...

* Ted Rall *

* Jen Sorensen *

Seth Tobocman Seth Tobocman (born 1958) is a radical comic book artist who has been living in Manhattan's Lower East Side since 1978. Tobocman is best known for his creation of the political comic book anthology '' World War 3 Illustrated'', which he started ...

Sam Wallman Sam Wallman is an Australian comics journalist, political cartoonist and editor based in Melbourne, Victoria. He is actively involved in the trade union movement, having previously been a union delegate, and an employee of the National Union of ...

Chip Zdarsky Steve Murray (born December 21, 1975), known by the pen-name Chip Zdarsky, is a Canadian comic book artist and writer, journalist, illustrator and designer. He has also used the pseudonym Todd Diamonte. He worked for ''National Post'' for over a ...

* Orijit Sen

Magazines of comics journalism

Active

* ''

Cartoon Movement Cartoon Movement is a business that offers a global online platform for editorial cartoons and comics journalism. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, Cartoon Movement receives between 60 and 100 cartoons each day from over 220 freelance cartoonists i ...

'', platform for works of graphic journalism and editorial cartoons *
Drawing the Times
', international platform for graphic journalism * ''

'', American online non-fiction comics publication founded and operated by

. Published under Medium from 2013 to 2015 and under First Look Media from 2016 to 2019. Now member-supported. *
La Revue Dessinée
', French quarterly of comics journalism. Published since 2013 by Éditions du Seuil.

Defunct

* ''The Cartoon Picayune'', American anthology of comics journalism and nonfiction comics, published from 2011 to 2017. Founded and edited by Josh Kramer. * ''The Illustrated Press'', Chicago-based outlet founded by Darryl Holliday. Active from 2011 to 2015. *''Mamma!'', Italian printed magazine of comics journalism, editorial cartoons, data journalism, and photojournalism. Founded by Carlo Gubitosa and published by cultural association Altrinformazione from 2009 to 2013. *''Symbolia'', American digital magazine of comics journalism. Published from 2013 to 2015.

References

External links

*
The Nib
' *
Cartoon Movement
' *
Drawing the Times
' *
La Revue Dessinée
' *
World Comics Network
', grassroots nonfiction comics from around the world
Positive Negatives
produces literary comics, animations, and podcasts about contemporary social and humanitarian issues
Symbolia
' website (archived)
Dan Archer's "An introduction to comics journalism, in the form of comics journalism,"
Poynter
"A graphics journalism project from ''The New York Times'' is taking readers inside death row"
Poynter
"Comic Books as Journalism: 10 Masterpieces of Graphic Nonfiction,"
by Kirstin Butler for ''The Atlantic'' {{Comics Types of journalism Comics genres

History

Techniques

Comics journalists

Magazines of comics journalism

Active

Defunct

See also

Further reading

References

External links