McQuade LibGuides: Graphic Novels: How to Cite

MLA

In a graphic novel, text and illustrations are intermingled. The entry in the works-cited list for a graphic novel entirely created by one person follows the same format as any other non-periodical print publication.

Format:

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Year.

Example:

Barry, Lynda. What It Is. Drawn & Quarterly, 2008.

**If the graphic novel is part of a multi-volume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor, illustrator, or translator.

**If the graphic novel is part of a multi-volume work, you may add information about the series following the medium of publication.

Example - Multi-volume Work:

Fialkov, Joshua H. The Bunker. Illustrated by Joe Infurnari, vol. 2, Oni Press, 2015.

**If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.

Example - Multivolume Work, Each Volume with Its Own Title:

Miller, Frank. Just Another Saturday Night. Dark Horse Books, 2005.

http://elmo.academyart.edu/reference-help/mla_citation_guide.html#graphic

Additional Information

Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide
The serious scholarly analysis of comic art (or as the Library of Congress says, "Comic Books, Strips, etc.") has grown at a significant rate in recent years. Witness the articles in journals such as the Journal of Popular Culture and the late, lamented INKS: Cartoon and Comic Art Studies, as well as the tremendous growth of papers delivered at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association and Modern Language Association conferences. All of these are indications that we are on the threshold of a New Age of academic inquiry into the comic medium.

This maturation of comics scholarship requires attention in an area heretofore neglected. Bibliographic citation, one of the hallmarks of scholarly writing, becomes problematic when dealing with comic art. Comic books are particularly troublesome, as they incorporate aspects of both books and periodicals. Established citation manuals do not allow for the bibliographic uniqueness comics represent. Further, while established style guides may maintain that their primary aim is to establish credit, the primary aim of comic art citation is to provide location information: assisting those who wish to track down the cited source. Credit, if only because of its potentially convoluted complexity, is secondary. The Comic Art and Comics area of the Popular Culture Association, having recognized and wrestled with these concerns for several years, has established the following criteria for citing comic art.