Sometimes I need a fix so bad. My dealer — Minneapolis’ Big
Brain Comics — is still waiting on those new releases, but I’m
jonesing… bad. So with shaky hands, I flip the switch
and let the computer’s blue glare flood my face. My eyes glaze over
and I fall back into my chair with a giant grin. The world of
online comics — a sort-of dopamine substitute for the preferable
paper version — will sate me today. And you? Is your graphic novel
habit interfering with personal relationships or work? If so, you
too may have a problem. It can help to know that you’re not alone.
Here’s a list of resources you can turn to for help. (And if you’re
not yet a comics or graphic novel junky, well, it can’t hurt to try
just one sweet taste, right?)
ONLINE COMICS
What Is A Graphic Novel?
You Don’t
Have to Kiss
A
Lesson Is Learned But the Damage Is Irreversible
Harvest Gypsy
Ballad
Exit
Music
The World of Mr. Toast
Honeydew Syndrome
Superidol
Bee
COMICS RESOURCES
Comic
Art Collective: Original comic art available for purchase
Artbomb:
A great resource and introduction, offering previews of graphic
novels
The Comics
Journal: A magazine dedicated to the arts perspective on
comics
The
Comics Reporter: Comics news and culture blog.
The Webcomics Examiner: ‘a forum of
reviews and critical articles evaluating webcomics as a fine
art’
OnlineComics.net: A categorized clearinghouse
of comics available online
Museum of Comic
and Cartoon Art: A SoHo-based museum with the mission to
‘promote the understanding and appreciation of comic and cartoon
art.’
A SMALL SAMPLING OF GREAT ARTISTS TO SEEK OUT IN
PRINT
Chris Ware: He put graphic novels on the map
as an unparalleled master of stunning, highly literate graphic
novels.
Will
Eisner: Some call this comics pioneer the father of the graphic
novel.
Joe Sacco: A forerunner in the powerful medium
of graphic journalism, particularly in the area of war
coverage.
Adrian Tomine: His simple, widely recognized
drawing style accents his emotional, understated
storytelling.
Daniel Clowes: Two of his wonderfully weird,
uber-indie comics have been adapted to film (Ghost World
and Art School Confidential).
Gilbert Hernandez: His Palomar, an
account of a fictional Central American town, is an epic.
Jaime Hernandez: Minimalist Latin American
storytelling.
Jessica
Abel: Comics by and for fun, tough, artsy, grrl types.
COMICS PUBLISHERS SITES:
Fantagraphics
Top Shelf
Productions
Drawn
and Quarterly
Alternative Comics
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