Making Nonfiction Comics
By Eleri JHarris & Shay Mirk
272 pages/Abrams ComicArts/$29.99
There are numerous books available on how to write comics (I co-wrote one and am editing another), as well as on how to draw, letter, and color comics. However, no one really focuses on content like this excellent volume, which concentrates entirely on the growing field of nonfiction graphic narratives.
Graphic nonfiction has been around almost as long as graphic novels, with the general public first exposed to it through Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and gained notice for works such as Joe Sacco’s Palestine or even Joe Kubert’s Fax from Sarajevo. My first exposure was in 1982 with Jack Jackson’s Los Tejanos graphic novel, published by Fantagraphics. Today, many publishers produce series of biographies or explore stories from history. I have used Abrams’Economix to help understand financial concepts.
The authors and artists are experienced from the Nib, a graphic journalism website, and they break down the process step by step. Along the way, they educate us on some interesting topics as a way of demonstrating the lesson. There are chapters on research, interviewing, graphic reportage, personal narratives, and data usage, which walk you through each process.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the book is the diverse range of people interviewed about their process. Several interviews are featured in each chapter, demonstrating the vast scope of graphic journalism. I knew of it from some newspapers, but here we have 42 different creators, each doing interesting work in the less obvious corners of the World Wide Web.
The authors also ensure that we understand basic terminology, along with chapters that focus on writing in this style, and the value of having a firm editorial hand to prevent creators from getting lost in the weeds with too much research or obscuring details.
The final two chapters are universal for creators, focusing on how to share and publish your work, as well as how to build a community. They then conclude by spelling out how they created the book, providing examples of a comics script, contract basics, and deep citations for further reading.
My Maryland Institute College of Art students have rarely explored nonfiction, but I intend to highlight this aspect, as many have fascinating personal stories worthy of sharing with the world.
English (US) · 