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

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

in the

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

medium, embracing a variety of formats from

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often 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 ter ...

s to trade paperbacks.

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 in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fea ...

'', 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 Se ...

'', Ralph Graczak's ''

Our Own Oddities ''Our Own Oddities'' is an illustrated panel that ran in the Sunday comics section of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' from September 1, 1940 to February 24, 1991. The feature displayed curiosities submitted by local readers and is often remembered ...

'',

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a 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, editorial ...

' ''Heroes of American History'', Gordon Johnston's '' It Happened in Canada'', 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 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'', 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 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 and Tribune Syndic ...

, 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) was not ...

's '' The Spirit'' supplement for Sunday newspapers. Contemporary nonfiction comic strips include '' Biographic'', '' Health Capsules'', ''

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''. 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 (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 Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 nove ...

, 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 nonviol ...

'', 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 and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...

, and the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social 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 States ...

, 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 State of New York, the 12 northern counties of Ne ...

has produced free, educational comic books. The stories feature fictional characters but contain lessons about financial literacy 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 ''Golden Legacy'' was the umbrella title for a line of educational black history comic books published by Fitzgerald Publishing Co. from 1966 to 1976. ''Golden Legacy'' published comic book biographies of such notable figures as Toussaint Louvert ...

'' line of educational black history

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

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. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, u ...

Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks ( – March 5, 1770) was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent, commonly regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American killed in the Amer ...

Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker (November 9, 1731October 19, 1806) was an African-American naturalist, mathematician, astronomer and almanac author. He was a landowner who also worked as a surveyor and farmer. Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a fr ...

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 Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician, publisher, businessman, and maritime pilot. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, he freed himself, his crew, and their families during the American Civil ...

, Joseph Cinqué,

Thurgood Marshall 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 Court's first African-A ...

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

, Lewis Howard Latimer, and

Granville Woods Granville Tailer Woods (April 23, 1856 – January 30, 1910) was an American inventor who held more than 50 patents in the U.S. He was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Self-taught, he concent ...

. ''Golden Legacy'' was the brainchild of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

accountant

Bertram Fitzgerald ''Golden Legacy'' was the umbrella title for a line of educational black history comic books published by Fitzgerald Publishing Co. from 1966 to 1976. ''Golden Legacy'' published comic book biographies of such notable figures as Toussaint Louvert ...

, 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 ...

. Other notable contributors included

Don Perlin Don Perlin (; born August 27, 1929) is 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 ''Ghost Rider''. In the 1990s ...

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 f ...

.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's originally self-published comic book series '' American Splendor'' (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 (''

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 ex ...

'') 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 best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

's nine-issue series '' Palestine'' ( Fantagraphics, 1993–1995) — about his experiences in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

in December 1991 and January 1992 — broke new ground in the realm of comics journalism. Other contemporary nonfiction comic books include the '' For Beginners'' series and '' The Manga Guides''. A growing number of graphic medicine comics has 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 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 '' Ra ...

's ''

Maus ''Maus'' 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 Poland, Polish Jew and The Holocaust, Holocaust su ...

'' 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, with ...

'' 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. Geary has won two awards from the ...

(''Treasury of Victorian Murder''), Harvey Pekar (''Students for a Democratic Society''), Stan Mack (''The Story of the Jews''),

('' Palestine''),

Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; fa, مرجان ساتراپی ; 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'' a ...

(''

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

''),

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

(''

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 tradition, he was born in L ...

'') and

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist thinker and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a politica ...

(''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 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 ...

, which published the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

books, has published several other works of graphic non-fiction, including Ted Rall'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 documented true stories of survival during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

as witnessed by a diverse group of New Orleanians. In ''Italian Winter'' (2010),

Davide Toffolo Davide Toffolo (born January 17, 1965, Pordenone, Italy) is an Italian author of comics books, including graphic non-fiction works, and musician. Life and work Davide Toffolo studied at the DAMS (Dipartimento di Arte, Musica e Spettacolo – ...

documented a story of two children from

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

in Fascist concentration camp in Italy. In ''

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

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

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist 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 a conservative American author, writer, and columnist. She writes about politics and economics from a classically liberal perspective. Shlaes has authored five books, including three New York Times ...

recounted her earlier history of America's

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

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 incorpo ...

has published Ted Rall'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

{{Reflist

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 genres

Comic strips and comic books

Books

See also

References

External links