Elisa Shoenberger has been building a library since she was 13. She loves writing about all aspects of books from author interviews, antiquarian books, archives, and everything in between. She also writes regularly for Murder & Mayhem and Library Journal. She’s also written articles for Huffington Post, Boston Globe, WIRED, Slate, and many other publications. When she’s not writing about reading, she’s reading and adventuring to find cool new art. She also plays alto saxophone and occasionally stiltwalks. Find out more on her website or follow her on Twitter @vogontroubadour.

View All posts by Elisa Shoenberger

2000 AD

From Batman to Judge Dredd, and from page to screen, Jock’s work is instantly recognisable – this book collects sketches, layouts, and unlettered artwork from the highly influential artist, in-demand film poster artist, and one of the most respected comic creators working in the medium. This stunning hardcover coffee table book illustrates his processes across sequential and concept art, including his character designs for the 2012 movie, DREDD. From his earliest work to his latest 2000 AD covers, this book showcases the artistic evolution of one of the modern masters of comic art.

If you ever have wanted to learn more about comics and their creators, you’ve come to the right place. More and more books are being published focusing on the history of comics, history of curators, and academic analyses of what comics means. Comic books and their history have become more accepted as an area in recent years with some universities and schools offering minors and majors in the topic. That’s pretty amazing considering people had been proclaiming the end of the comic book industry in the 1970s!

My only caveat was that it was hard to find a lot of comics about non-English countries that were written by the people from those countries or their diaspora. This may be a question of whether those books exist in those countries in those languages but have not been translated into English; I just don’t know.

So here’s a list of books that look behind the scenes in the world of comics. Some explore the art and the design behind them while others look more critically at the history of the medium and their creators.

All-Negro Comics: America’s First Black Comic Book by Chris Robinson and Orrin C. Evans and others (Image Comics, November 4, 2025)

I am particularly fond of comics that reprint and refresh our memories about comic books in the 20th century. This one book reprints 1947 All-Negro Comics #1, which is described as the “first comic book anthology of original Black characters created by Black talent,” led by Orrin C. Evans. In addition to the reprint, the book includes essays about the importance of the comic book and its creators. It also includes current Black comic book writers/artists creating new stories with the characters from the original comic. It’s a great way to honor the importance of the comic and help connect today’s readers to the book.

***All access members continue below to find out about more books that go behind the scenes of comics ***

Elisa Shoenberger has been building a library since she was 13. She loves writing about all aspects of books from author interviews, antiquarian books, archives, and everything in between. She also writes regularly for Murder & Mayhem and Library Journal. She’s also written articles for Huffington Post, Boston Globe, WIRED, Slate, and many other publications. When she’s not writing about reading, she’s reading and adventuring to find cool new art. She also plays alto saxophone and occasionally stiltwalks. Find out more on her website or follow her on Twitter @vogontroubadour.

View All posts by Elisa Shoenberger

*Super Visible: the Story of the Women of Marvel *By Margaret Stohl with Jeanine Schaefer and Judith Stephens

There are lots of books out there about the lives of comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but this book looks at the contributions of women and non-binary folks to our favorite superheroes at Marvel. Going back to 1939 through the present day, the authors explore the “invisible work” that women have made to this popular medium. It includes interviews with over 120 women and nonbinary Marvel contributors, as well as reprints of historic comics.

*Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism *by Paul S. Hirsch

Not so secret confession: I wrote my undergraduate thesis on socialist comic book propaganda in early 1970s Chile. So when I learned about this title, I had to include it. I wish it had been around when I was writing my thesis! Hirsch’s work explores how the US used comic books as a form of propaganda during World War II and the Cold War. During World War II, the US was worried that countries in Latin America (and elsewhere) might want to side with the Axis powers. So they began publishing comics that would position the US and its allies as heroes and the Axis powers as the villains. That project continued during the Cold War, with comics painting the Soviet Union and its allies as the enemy. It was a means to rally support and deflect criticisms of the US.

It’s Life as I See It: Black Cartoonists in Chicago, 1940–1980, edited by Dan Nadel, essays by Charles Johnson and Ronald Wimberly

Published in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s 2021 exhibition Chicago Comics: 1960 to Now, this book chronicles the work of Black cartoonists working in Chicago from publications like the Chicago Defender,* Negro Digest*, and other publications. The collection shows the diversity in topics by comic book artists, including race and racism, Afrofuturism, and daily life in the works of Yaoundé Olu, Jay Johnson, and Morrie Turner. It’s definitely worth a read to learn more about the rich history of Black comic artists in Chicago.

Messiahs, Meshugganahs, Misanthropes, and Mysteries by Bob Levin (Fantagraphics, 10/14/25)

In this wide-reaching book, Levin analyzes the works of top comic artists in the 20th century, from Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, Edward Gorey, and David Sim. It’s a combination of historical research, biography, memoir, and textual analysis. Levin has written other books on the comic book industry, including The Pirates and the Mouse: Disney’s War Against the Counterculture and Outlaws, Rebels, Free-thinkers, Pirates & Pornographers: Essays on Cartoons and Cartoonists.

Comics Art in China, edited by John A. Lent and Xu Ying

This book explores the history of comic art in China from the 19th century to the present day. It explores everything from humor periodicals to picture books, comic books, and political cartoons. The authors explore how comics were used as propaganda against the Japanese during World War II in what was called “cartoon warfare.” In addition, it looks at how Chinese animators persisted in making animated films through the wars, the Cultural Revolution, through to the present day.

Godzilla: The Monster Comic Art Collection, illustrated by Matt Frank, Jeff Zornow, Bob Eggleton, Simon Gane, James Stokoe, and others

Things are coming up Godzilla right now. First, there was the 70th anniversary of Godzilla last year. This book celebrates the art of all things Godzilla, including his fellow Kaiju, like Mothra, Battra, and more. It showcases artwork from IDW’s Godzilla series, which includes covers and art from titles such as Godzilla: Gangers & Goliaths, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters, and Godzilla in Hell.

Burning Down the House: Latin American Comics in the 21st Century, edited by Laura Cristina Fernández, Amadeo Gandolfo, Pablo Turnes, and other contributors

This work dives into the comic arts of the 21st century in Latin America. I love that it focuses in part on the intersection of comics and politics, which is my area of particular interest. I also wish it had been available when I was writing my thesis (even if my work was 20th-century). It’s got a broad definition of Latin America that includes Spain and Brazil. It’s part of a series in the Global Perspectives in Comic Studies that also has titles on Battle Lines Drawn: War Comics Since 1914 (12/23/2025) and Comics and Migration: Representation and Other Practices.

*Pretty In Ink: North American Women Cartoonists 1896-2013 *by Trina Robbins

Trina Robbins, the late comic historian extraordinary, expanded her historical review of female comic artists from the late 19th century to the 21st. She includes the stories of Golden Age comic book artist Lily Renée, whose life story is almost as fascinating as Senorita Rio, an adventurous comic she drew. She dives into both mainstream and alternative comics, covering artists as varied as Kate Beaton, Lilli Carré, and Alison Bechdel. Robbins wrote other books about comics and women, including The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age, Dauntless Dames: High-Helled Heroes of the Comic Strips, and the comic book about Lily Renée: Lily Renée, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer.

Manga’s Global Century: A History of Japanese Comics, 1905-1989, by Andrea Horbinski (University of California Press 10/2025)

And of course, we have to have some work looking at the world of manga in Japan. This work explores how Japanese art history and European/American cartoons intersected to create this extremely popular art form in the early 20th century. The book also analyzes how the medium has evolved for a wider range of readers, which includes women and members of the queer community through the 1980s.

So that’s ten books that peel back the curtain on the wide and wonderful world of comic books. If you want more about the history of the comic book, read this wonderful article. Or if you want more about the comic book industry but in fiction, check out this article I wrote in 2022.

2000 AD

From Batman to Judge Dredd, and from page to screen, Jock’s work is instantly recognisable – this book collects sketches, layouts, and unlettered artwork from the highly influential artist, in-demand film poster artist, and one of the most respected comic creators working in the medium. This stunning hardcover coffee table book illustrates his processes across sequential and concept art, including his character designs for the 2012 movie, DREDD. From his earliest work to his latest 2000 AD covers, this book showcases the artistic evolution of one of the modern masters of comic art.

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