What to expect: A brief history of graphic novels and manga, and a thorough list of key works and creators. A list with enough controversy to cause argument and debate amongst those who like that sort of thing.

Review by Alex Frith

Let me start by pointing to the title of this book with a large, pointy finger. It's a 'Rough Guide', and it covers 'graphic novels'. Which is to say, if you're already well versed in graphic novel lore, it won't add much to your knowledge. And it's also to say that 'graphic novels', as defined herein, is not the same thing as 'comics', but rather a subset of comics that mostly means self-contained stories. So don't go expecting a rundown of your favourite 2000 AD, Marvel or DC heroes, or the usual gushing over comic strips such as Peanuts or Pogo that highbrow comics history books seem to love so much.

With that out of the way, let me continue by saying that this is an excellent reference book. It's a dip-in-and-out volume, as all the Rough Guides are, and for the casual browser it is remarkably comprehensive (not to mention a handy size for pulling out on the bus, without being too small that the comic page reproductions suffer). The history section is a condensed version of what you can find in some of those coffee table books on comics and graphic novels by Paul Gravett and others, and is a great summary of the sorts of names and dates you might want to know to pass yourself off as a highbrow comics lover. The section which explores and discusses the 'graphic novel' label is particularly good, leaving it to the reader to decide if the label is a good one or not. But do bear in mind that if you've read any of the longer books on comics history, you won't find much new here. And be warned, it is pretty US centric, with only tiny sections covering Europe and the UK.

The bulk of the book is spent on the bold 60 title 'Canon' of the greatest graphic novels to date. Each gets an excerpt and a thoughtful write-up of the work, and an explanation of why it deserves to be in the Canon. Let me re-iterate - no superheroes on the list - save for one particularly controversial choice! I guess it's attempting to be a bit more like a list of Nobel/Booker Prize winning novels only for graphic novels. Which is to say, there's a lot of true-life historical / reportage stuff, soul searching / whining memoirs, and often generally quite depressing stuff in here - much as are found the reading lists that English students get on their first year at University.

If that sounds disparaging it's not meant to, that's just my own bias for genre work coming through. One of the best things the Canon succeeds in is showing just how many different subject areas have been tackled by graphic novels, including of course Science Fiction, Fantasy, and people hitting each other a lot. The books in Fingeroth's Canon that I've read have all been excellent, although I would say that the list as a whole has an air of worthiness to it - so if you're inspired to seek out books on the list, don't expect them to be quick and easy reads.

For anyone wanting to find out about what kind of literary comics works exist, this is a fantastic place to start. And for anyone who's ever constructed their own personal graphic novel canon, it's a great list to look through and argue with. From that point of view alone, it's an irresistible book for fans of literary comics, for a flick through at the very least. And to be fair to Fingeroth, although he limits the official Canon to 60 titles (and not more than one per author on the whole), he gives space to many, many more in the margins throughout the book. Chances are, if your favourite (non-superhero/2000 AD) book isn't on the master list, it is given space in the guide.

Following the Canon of books is a Canon of key creators (well it's not described as a Canon, but basically it is). Again, it's a perfectly sensible list, and again one can argue about who should / shouldn't have made the cut. It's notable for including a handful of comics publishers as well as creators, without whom we might never have seen any of these books at all.

Tacked on the end is a rather out of place look at manga. It's a massively condensed (but still informative) overview of history and style that sadly has space to list only a tiny number of the best-selling (and not necessarily the best) manga titles. Perhaps there's a whole new Rough Guide in the works? Also there's a little look at the Hollywood adaptations of graphic novels (again, not the same thing as films based on characters who've appeared in comics), and to round it off a look at the world of Internet Comics. Again, there's only room for a couple of pages of recommendations, sadly, but it's nice that it's included at all!

Towards the start of the book is a rather curious comic strip about creating a graphic novel. It's brilliantly illustrated by Roger Langridge (2000 AD fans might remember him from The Megazine's 'Straightjacket Fits' strip), not least his obligatory pastiche page of past masters such as Eisner, Clowes and Crumb. Sadly it's not so well scripted by Fingeroth. Essentially it's an encouragement piece to wannabe writers and artists, which is a great idea to include in such a guide, but it's kind of bland. It's certainly not indicative of the level of literary weight in the Canonical graphic novels...

To be honest, it's a faultless guide for the newcomer to grown up comics. More experienced readers will of course disagree about the choice of some books to rave about and others left out, but I don't think any would begrudge the attempt to create a sensible Canon, and all will enjoy the chance to read a review of some great comic books, which, let's face it, still isn't something easy to find in print. Best of all, the back of the guide is brimful of recommendations for other books and websites to explore to find out more about the subject.

Definitely worth a browse, and a solid gift idea for the comics enthusiast in your life.

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