The Comic Book History of Comics

by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey
colored by Adam Guzowski

The inspiring, infuriating, and utterly insane story of comics, graphic novels, and manga - as a comic book! Most texts about the history of comics tend to focus on the author's personal favorite sub-category: comic strips, super heros, pulps, undergrounds, European comics, Japanese comics, etc.- while ignoring other, equally significant forms. Fred and I tried to avoid that pitfall by focusing on the breakthrough events of creativity and commerce that evolved the comics art form as a whole (rather than just the stuff we personally liked) using our signature fast paced, funny-but-factual style.

Regardless, The Comic Book History of Comics was never intended to be an all-encompassing academic text on the history of sequential art. To attempt to do so in the medium of comics itself would be a lifelong endeavor. We loved making this book but we thought 256 pages achieved our goal to make a gateway history of the comics art form, focusing on the people and their artistry that pushed the medium ever-forward.

Since it's 2008 debut as a self-published black and white comic book it has been revised, expanded and re-published a few times, most recently as a full color, two volume edition published by IDW / Penguin Random House in 2018. In 2020 we followed up with a companion project, The Comic Book History of Animation.

Complete color collection now available in paperback and ebook from Amazon.

praise for The Comic Book History of Comics

Ryan Dunlavey is an illustrator and author based in New York City. © Ryan Dunlavey, all rights reserved. Email: ryan@ryand.art