The Art of the Comic Book: An Aesthetic History

by Robert C. Harvey

In this definitive study of one of popular culture's favorite genres Robert C. Harvey, a cartoonist and comics critic, traces the evolution of the comic book as a potent form of narrative art. He takes it from its beginnings in the 1930s through the most contemporary of productions in the mid-1990s.

In defining comic book aesthetics Harvey establishes both a critical perspective and a vocabulary for evaluating the art. Because he is an able practitioner himself, his insights are especially valuable. As he demonstrates how words and pictures function together to tell stories in ways unique to the medium, he explains the processes of narrative breakdown, page layout, and panel composition, and shows how these aspects of the art form can be manipulated for dramatic effects.

Enhanced by many illustrations, this detailed examination of comic book art includes work from both the mainstream and the counterculture, both veteran and newcomer. Whether traditional or iconoclastic, their cartoon art continues to uphold the aesthetic that Harvey finds to be the basis of cartooning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, History, Comics

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Robert C. Harvey (born 1937), popularly known as R. C. Harvey, is an author, critic and cartoonist. He has written a number of books on the history of the medium, with special focus on the history of the comic strip, and he has also worked as a freelance cartoonist.
Harvey describes himself as having created cartoons since the age of seven. He was educated at the University of Colorado, where he submitted cartoons to the campus magazine, The Flatiron. Upon graduation, Harvey attempted to earn a living as a freelance cartoonist in New York, but eventually he changed his career path and enlisted in the US Navy. After a three-year tour, Harvey was discharged and found employ as an English teacher.
Dissatisfied with his pay and disillusioned with the work, Harvey left teaching and returned to freelance cartooning, specializing in cartoons of "sexy girls". Unable to make a living solely through cartooning, Harvey took a position with an educational conference company. In 1973, Harvey began writing on the medium, initially for The Menomonee Falls Gazette.

"Comics ... are sometimes four-legged and sometimes two-legged and sometimes fly and sometimes don't ... to employ a metaphor as mixed as the medium itself, defining comics entails cutting a Gordian-knotted enigma wrapped in a mystery ..."

- R. C. Harvey, 2001

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey spreads a wide net in this very well written book on artists and writers who really changed the medium of comic books from Kirby to Crumb and Gerber to Miller. Heck, he even throws Frank Thorne and his work on Warren’s “Ghita” into this book.
The book lags a little toward the end I felt, but overall it is quite exhaustive and worth your time if you are interested in the hobby.

[Karl Kindt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone interested in how comic books function as an art form needs to read this. RCH's writing is a bit indulgent at times, but he provides very clear, insightful, detailed analysis 80% of the time.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best Comics theory book I've read. It is very unlike McCloud's book, but equally essential. Though McCloud provides deep insights into what Comics are, Harvey's book demonstrates what makes certain visual storytelling techniques good and how the medium can achieve brilliance. Essential for creators.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Public library copy.

A great history on comics with some of the industry's finest, chalk full of details with visual aides.