LibGuides: Comics & Graphic Novels @ Cal State LA: Home

Introduction

Welcome! You can use this guide to locate comics, graphic novels, manga, and more within the University Library. Comic books and graphic novels are great for both leisure and learning.

Interested in creating or teaching with Zines? Check out our Zines guide.

Comic or Graphic Novel?
Neil Gaiman discusses the differences between graphic novels and comics in this brief article, "Is It a Comic Book or Graphic Novel? Learn the Difference Between Graphic Novels and Comics"

Finding Graphic Novels and Comics

OneSearch is the search you'll use when you want to find comics and graphic novels that you can access through the library. You can use any of the approaches below when you begin searching.

Search with Keywords: If you're interested in a topic, but don't have a specific title in mind, you can use keywords to search that describe that topic.
Search by Title or Author: If you're looking for a specific comic or comics by an author, you can use OneSearch's advanced search to narrow down your results. There are more directions on this page about using the advanced search feature.
Search by Subject Headings (see below): Subject headings are assigned to each item in the library's catalog. Searching by a subject heading can help you find related titles for a specific subject area.

Search in Databases

Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels: Volume I & II This link opens in a new window
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Volume I covers major works from North America and Europe, beginning with the first underground comix from the 1950s and continuing through to modern sequential artists. It incorporates 75,000 pages of material from various artists. Volume II offers an additional 100,000 pages of important, rare, and hard-to-find works, scholarly writings, and more.

Underground and Independent Comics Resource Guide
Outlines specific materials in the Underground and Independent comics database that can be used to introduce comic studies, teach narrative form, comic books and race, and more!

Try Searching with a Subject Heading

Search in a Database

Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels: Volume I & II This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Volume I covers major works from North America and Europe, beginning with the first underground comix from the 1950s and continuing through to modern sequential artists. It incorporates 75,000 pages of material from various artists. Volume II offers an additional 100,000 pages of important, rare, and hard-to-find works, scholarly writings, and more.