Selected Article Databases
Scholarly and substantive articles on comics and graphic novels have been appearing in academic journals with increasing frequency since the early 1990s. While there is no database exclusively devoted to indexing secondary work these genres, the sources listed below include articles published in academic journals centered on literary, visual, and cultural studies. See the box to the right for links to journals dedicated to comics research.
The Library provides networked access to many more secondary source databases -- indexes and full-text -- than can be listed here. Discipline-specific resources such as PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts, for example, would be useful to those exploring the psychological or sociological dimensions of comics. A full list of databases, arranged by subject category, may be found in Databases.
- Academic Search PremierThis multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 8,500 journals, including full text for more than 4,600 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles.
- America: History & LifeAmerica: History and Life (AHL) is a complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises over 530,000 bibliographic entries for periodicals dating back to 1954. Additional bibliographical entries are constantly added to the databases from editorial projects such as retrospective coverage of journals issues published prior to 1954.
- Art & Architecture SourceThis database covers a broad range of subjects from fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. It features full-text articles as well as detailed indexing and abstracts for an array of journals, books, podcasts and more. International in scope, Art Source includes periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch and is designed for use by a diverse audience, including art scholars, artists, designers, students and general researchers.
- Communication & Mass Media CompleteCommunication & Mass Media Complete provides the most robust, quality research solution in areas related to communication and mass media. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to create a research and reference resource of unprecedented scope and depth encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline. CMMC offers cover-to-cover (core) indexing and abstracts for more than 550 journals, and selected (priority) coverage of nearly 200 more, for a combined coverage of 737 titles. Furthermore, this database includes full text for over 440 journals.
- Communication AbstractsComprehensively covers communication-related articles, reports, papers, and books from a variety of publishers, research institutions, and information sources on a world-wide scale. Coverage includes not only communication literature but also literature in other disciplines that is relevant to communication researchers, such as international literature in film studies, the role of technology in human communications, risk communication, crisis communication and public opinions.
- Humanities International IndexIndexes articles and books across the arts and humanities disciplines from a multitude of U.S. and international publications. HII also provides citations for original creative works including poems, fiction, photographs, paintings and illustrations. Many links to full text.
- International Bibliography of ArtCitations encompass fine arts in all media (from painting and sculpture to video and new media), decorative arts, museum studies and conservation, archaeology, folk art, material culture, classical studies, antiques, and architectural history.
- JSTORJSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing the back issues of several hundred scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, music, ecology and botany, business, and other fields. It includes the following collections: Arts & sciences I, II and III, General science, Ecology and botany, Business, Language and literature.
- MLA International BibliographyThe premier scholarly bibliography covering languages, literatures, folklore, film and linguistics from all over the world. Online coverage back to 1926. Includes books, articles in books, and journal articles. Does not index book reviews.
- Project MuseFull text of scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. Covers such fields as literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, and others.
- ProQuest Research LibraryProQuest Research Library, formerly known as Periodical Abstracts, is a comprehensive database available through the ProQuest online system. It indexes and abstracts general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. It comprises two components: a core list of periodicals covering about 800 publications, and 15 subject-specific modules that supplement the core list. Modules cover arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international studies, law, military, multicultural studies, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests. Full text of many articles is provided.
- Web of ScienceChoosing "All Databases" allows you to search an index of journal articles, conference proceedings, data sets, and other resources in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Academic Journals
The Library subscribes to several academic journals focusing on comics and graphic novels. Here is a selection of currently received titles to which we have online access:
Comicalités
European Comic Art
Image & Narrative
Imagetext: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies
International Journal of Comic Art
Journal of Popular Culture
Mechademia
Studies in Comics
Be sure to check the Library Catalog for specific journal titles.
Secondary Bibliographies
Bibliographie zur Comic-Sekundärliteratur by
Call Number: Library Annex Z5956 C6 N48x 1987Publication Date: 1987Primarily covers a period of 10 years (1977 to 1986). Includes the European, American, and South American secondary literature so far as it was possible to identify.
Comic Art in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America: a comprehensive, international bibliography by Call Number: Library Annex Z5956 C3 L458x 1996Publication Date: 1996
Comic Art in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Latin America Through 2000 by Call Number: Fine Arts Library Z5956.C3 L458 2004Publication Date: 2004A continuation of Lent's 1996 bibliography, listed above.
Comic Books and Comic Strips in the United States Through 2005 by Call Number: Uris Z5956 C6 L47 2006 (A.D. White Library)Publication Date: 2006A comprehensive bibliography of the business, legal, artistic, culural, technical, and historical aspects of American comic books and comic strips.Comic Books and Strips by
Call Number: Uris Z5956 C6 S52 (A.D. White Library)Publication Date: 1988Describes 1,000 publications including anthologies, periodicals, and collection catalogs written by and for enthusiasts and collectors. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Marvel Graphic Novels and Related PublicationsCall Number: Print: Olin stacks PN6725 W44 2008 +Publication Date: McFarland, 2008Focusing on Marvel's mainstream comics, provides a detailed description of each comic along with a bibliographic citation listing the publication's title, writers/artists, publisher, ISBN (if available), and a plot synopsis. One appendix provides a comprehensive alphabetical index of Marvel and Marvel-related publications to 2005, while two other appendices provide selected lists of Marvel-related game books and unpublished Marvel titles.
