Non-fiction comics, also known as graphic non-fiction, is

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

in the

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

medium, embracing a variety of formats from

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s to

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

Comic strips and comic books

Traditionally, comic strips have long offered factual material in this category, notably ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

'', John Hix's ''

Strange as It Seems ''Strange as It Seems'' appeared as a syndicated cartoon feature published from 1928 to 1970, and became a familiar brand to millions around the globe for its comic strips, books, radio shows and film shorts. Created by John Hix, ''Strange as It ...

'', Ralph Graczak's '' Our Own Oddities'',

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

' ''Heroes of American History'', Gordon Johnston's ''

It Happened in Canada ''It Happened in Canada'' was a syndicated Canadian cartoon feature by Gordon Johnston that presented Canadian facts and achievements in a manner similar to ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!''. As many as 65 newspapers in Canada carried the comic dur ...

'', and others. ''Dick's Adventures in Dreamland'' was another attempt by King Features to teach history with comics. Clayton Knight created a strip about aviators, ''The Hall of Fame of the Air'' (1935–40), later collected in a book. ''Texas History Movies'', which began on October 5, 1926, in ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'', received praise from educators, as did ''America's Best Buy: The Louisiana Purchase'', a 1953 daily strip in the ''New Orleans States'', distributed nationally by the

Register and Tribune Syndicate The Register and Tribune Syndicate was a Print syndication, syndication service based in Des Moines, Iowa, that operated from 1922 to 1986, when it was acquired by King Features to become the Cowles Syndicate affiliate. At its peak, the Register a ...

, which also handled

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

's ''

The Spirit The Spirit may refer to: * Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, p ...

'' supplement for Sunday newspapers. Contemporary nonfiction comic strips include '' Biographic'', ''

Health Capsules ''Health Capsules'' is a comic strip syndicated by United Feature Syndicate since February 20, 1961. The comic panel answers reader's health-related questions, accompanied by a humorous illustration. ''Health Capsules'' is currently produced by Br ...

'', ''

The K Chronicles ''The K Chronicles'' is an autobiographical weekly comic strip by the independent cartoonist Keith Knight that has been produced since the early 1990s. Knight is an African-American artist whose comics often explore themes relevant to his racial ...

'', and ''

You Can with Beakman and Jax ''You Can with Beakman and Jax'', also known in its Spanish-language version as ''El Mundo de Beakman'' ("The World of Beakman"), is an American science and education syndicated comic strip by Jok Church, which ran from July 14, 1991 to July 17 ...

''. Non-fiction was published in numerous comic books in the 1940s, notably ''Picture News'' (Lafayette Street Corporation), ''True Comics'' ( Parents' Magazine Press), ''Heroic Comics'' (

Eastern Color Printing The Eastern Color Printing Company was a company that published comic books, beginning in 1933. At first, it was only newspaper comic strip reprints, but later on, original material was published. Eastern Color Printing was incorporated in 1928 ...

), ''It Really Happened'' and ''Real Life Comics'' (both Standard/Better/Nedor). A notable scripter of this material for 1940s comic books was novelist

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...

, who wrote for ''Real Fact'' (DC Comics), ''Real Heroes'' (also Parents' Magazine Press), and ''True Comics''.''The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith'', by Joan Schenkar, 2009; A notable nonfiction comic from the 1950s was the 1957 one-shot ''

Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story ''Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story'' is a 16-page comic book about Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery bus boycott published in 1957 by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR USA). It advocates the principles of nonvio ...

'', a 16-page comic book about

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for her refusal to move from her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, in defiance of Jim Crow laws, which sparke ...

, and the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

, published and distributed by the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

. Ever since the 1950s, the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...

has produced free, educational comic books. The stories feature fictional characters but contain lessons about

financial literacy Financial literacy is the possession of skills, knowledge, and behaviors that allow an individual to make informed decisions regarding money. Financial literacy, financial education and financial knowledge are used interchangeably. Financially un ...

and the work of the Fed. One title, ''Once Upon a Dime'', has been produced a number of times in different iterations, updating its content as society has evolved. Fitzgerald Publishing Co. produced the '' Golden Legacy'' line of educational black history

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

from 1966 to 1976. ''Golden Legacy'' produced biographies of such notable figures as

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, us ...

Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks ( – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent who is traditionally regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, and as a result the first American kil ...

Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731October 19, 1806) was an American Natural history, naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. A Land tenure, landowner, he also worked as a surveying, surveyor and farmer. Born in Baltimore Co ...

Matthew Henson Matthew Alexander Henson (August 8, 1866March 9, 1955) was an African American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary on seven voyages to the Arctic over a period of nearly 23 years. They spent a total of 18 years on expeditions together.

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician who was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the still enslaved Smalls commandeered a Confederate transport ship in Charlesto ...

Joseph Cinqué Sengbe Pieh (), also known as Joseph Cinqué or Cinquez and sometimes referred to mononymously as Cinqué, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship '' La Amistad'' in July 1839. After ...

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Lewis Howard Latimer Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an American inventor and patent draftsman. His inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for electric light bul ...

, and

Granville Woods Granville Tailer Woods (April 23, 1856 – January 30, 1910) was an American inventor who held more than 60 patents in the United States. He was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, ...

. ''Golden Legacy'' was the brainchild of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

accountant Bertram Fitzgerald, who also wrote seven of the volumes. Many of the other contributors to the ''Golden Legacy'' series were also black, including Joan Bacchus and

Tom Feelings Tom Feelings (May 19, 1933 – August 25, 2003) was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. His most famous book is ''The Middle Passage: White S ...

. Other notable contributors included

Don Perlin Donald David Perlin (; August 27, 1929 – May 14, 2024) was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for Marvel Comics' ''Werewolf by Night'', ''Moon Knight'' (a character he co-created), '' The Defenders'', and ''Ghos ...

and

Tony Tallarico Anthony F. Tallarico (September 20, 1933 – January 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist, and children's book illustrator and author. Often paired in a team with his generally uncredited penciler, Bill Fraccio, Tallarico drew primarily fo ...

.Christopher, Tom
"Bertram A Fitzgerald and the Golden Legacy Series of Black History Comics"
(originally published in edited form in ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

''), TomChristopher.com (2004).

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired ...

's originally self-published comic book series ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

'' (published from 1976 to 2008) "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, ndthe autobiographical comic narrative."HARVEY PEKAR: Remembering the man — and legacy — one year later
by Michael Cavna, The Washington Post, 7/13/2011 He was the first author to publicly distribute "memoir comic books."Graphic Memoir: The Legacy of Harvey Pekar
by JT Waldman, The Prosen People, The Jewish Book Council, July 3, 2012.

Larry Gonick Larry Gonick (born August 24, 1946) is an American cartoonist best known for '' The Cartoon History of the Universe'', a history of the world in comic book form, which he published in installments from 1977 to 2009. He has also written ''The Ca ...

(''

The Cartoon History of the Universe ''The Cartoon History of the Universe'' is a book series about the history of the world. It is written and illustrated by American cartoonist, professor, and mathematician Larry Gonick, who started the project in 1978. Each book in the series e ...

'') produced graphic non-fiction about science and history for more than 30 years.

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is credited as the first artist to practice rigorous, investigative journalism using the comics form, also referred to as comics journalism. His groundbrea ...

's nine-issue series ''

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

'' (

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

, 1993–1995) — about his experiences in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in December 1991 and January 1992 — broke new ground in the realm of

comics journalism Comics journalism is a form of journalism 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 quo ...

. Other contemporary nonfiction comic books include the '' For Beginners'' series and ''

The Manga Guides is a series of educational Japanese manga books. Each volume explains a particular subject in science or mathematics. The series is published in Japan by Ohmsha, in the United States by No Starch Press, in France by H&K, in Italy by L'Espress ...

''. A growing number of

graphic medicine Graphic medicine connotes the use of comics in medical education and patient care. Overview The phrase ''graphic medicine'' was coined by Dr. Ian Williams, founder of GraphicMedicine.org, to denote "the intersection between the medium of comics an ...

comics have been written over the past decade by those who revealed their personal experiences with their own or another person’s illness or disability. Researchers have analyzed the truthfulness or authenticity of graphic non-fiction and graphic biographies. According to Robert V. Bullough Jr, and Stefinee Pinnegar, the reader expects the truth, but comparative studies concluded that graphics are less objective than textual biographies due to the pictorial material. Textual biographies present more information about the subject, while graphic biographies focus more on individual events, statements, and emotions, and present them more appealingly.

Books

Since the publication of

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

's ''

Maus ''Maus'', often published as ''Maus: A Survivor's Tale'', is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, serialized from 1980 to 1991. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a History of the Jews in P ...

'' in 1986, there have been many non-fiction "graphic novels" published in the realms of history, biography, autobiography, education, and journalism. Francisca Goldsmith, writing in the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'' in 2008, assembled a "list of essential titles for high schoolers" and reviewed graphic nonfiction by a variety of creators, including

Rick Geary Rick Geary (born February 25, 1946) is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He is known for works such as ''A Treasury of Victorian Murder'' and graphic novel biographies of Leon Trotsky and J. Edgar Hoover. Biography Rick Geary was born on F ...

(''Treasury of Victorian Murder''),

(''Students for a Democratic Society''),

Stan Mack Stan Mack is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author best known for his observational comic stri''p Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies'', which ran in ''The Village Voice'' for more than 20 years. He was an early pioneer of documentary cartoonin ...

(''The Story of the Jews''),

(''

''),

Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; ; born 22 November 1969) is a French-Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her best-known works include the graphic novel ''Persepolis (comics), Persepolis'' and Persepo ...

(''

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

''),

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

(''

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

'') and

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian and a veteran of World War II. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn ...

(''A People’s History of American Empire''). Other examples are ''The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation'' (2006) and ''After 9/11: America’s War on Terror'' (2007), both by

Sid Jacobson Sidney Jacobson (October 20, 1929 – July 23, 2022) was an American writer who worked in the fields of children's comic books, popular music, fiction, biography, and non-fiction comics. He was managing editor and editor in chief for Harvey Comi ...

and

Ernie Colón Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as main ...

.''School Library Journal'', November 1, 2008.
/ref>

Hill & Wang Hill & Wang is an American book publishing company focused on American history, world history, and politics. It is a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hill & Wang was founded as an independent publishing house in 1956 by Arthur Wang (1917/1 ...

, which published the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

books, has published several other works of graphic non-fiction, including

Ted Rall Frederick Theodore Rall III (born August 26, 1963) is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cart ...

's ''After We Kill You We Will Welcome You as Honored Guests: Unembedded in Afghanistan.'' In '' A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'' (2009),

Josh Neufeld Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) is an alternative comics, alternative cartoonist known for his comics journalism work on subjects like graphic medicine, equity, and technology; as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Br ...

documented true stories of survival during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

as witnessed by a diverse group of New Orleanians. In ''Italian Winter'' (2010), Davide Toffolo documented a story of two children from

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

in Fascist concentration camp in Italy. In ''

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

'' (2013), U.S. Rep.

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

recalled his childhood, his entry into the American civil rights movement and his first encounter with Martin Luther King Jr., and his first experiences with nonviolent resistance. ''March: Book One'' (2013) was followed by ''Book Two'' (2015) and ''Book Three'' (2016). In ''The Forgotten Man Graphic Edition: A New History of the Great Depression'' (2014),

Amity Shlaes Amity Ruth Shlaes ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American conservative author, writer, and columnist. Shlaes has written five books, including three ''New York Times'' Bestsellers. She currently chairs the board of trustees of the Calvin Cool ...

recounted her earlier history of America's

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpor ...

has published

's comic-format biographies of Edward Snowden (''Snowden''), Bernie Sanders (''Sanders'') and Pope Francis (''Francis: The People's Pope''). Red Quill Books has published a series of political, non-fiction comics including an illustrated version of the ''Communist Manifesto'' (2010-2015), a manga version of ''Das Capital'' (2012), and the ''Last Days of Che Guevara''.

References

External links

''Wired'': "How Comics Can Save Us From Scientific Ignorance"
by Barry Harbaug, ''Wired'' (2008)
"9 of the best nonfiction comics from around the world,"
by Daniel A. Gross, ''PRI'' (2016)
"Graphic nonfiction books are on the rise: This up-and-coming genre conveys facts in full color,"
by Melissa Hart, ''The Writer'' (2018) {{Comics Comics genres

Comic strips and comic books

Books

See also

References

External links