The Library Workshop; or, "I don't think we followed the white rabbit out of Kansas, Toto. Let's see how far down this looking glass goes."

For this list, I color-coded subject headings as blue. I also made note of the works that led me to those subject terms, so that I could find them again. Because I am doing a textual analysis of a graphic narrative, there is an intersection of art and literature and storytelling present in this list.

I started at library.ucf.edu and performed an "Anywhere" search for the term "graphic narrative." This brought back 103 results, but because I did not put the search term in quotes, most of them appeared to not be relevant. From the first page, there were two results that appeared relevant. 

·         Graphic storytelling by Will Eisner

o   Relevant subjects found were: "cartooning -- technique"

·         Sequential images by Mark Williams

o   "Graphic arts"

o   "Narrative art"

I searched "cartooning -- technique" which brought me 9 results. There was only one relevant (relating to graphic narratives and literature) one.

·         Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

I searched "Graphic arts" and by using the Library's side bar navigation, I was able to refine the search to only include things under the subject heading "History." Out of 133 results, I found two sources that appeared relevant to art theory

·         History of art by H. W. Janson

·         The unchanging arts; new forms for the traditional functions of art in society by Alan Gowans

o   "Art and society"

I searched "narrative art". This was a really broad search and the results I got were scattered and out of 81 results, there was only one relevant (how words and pictures tell stories together).

·         Words about pictures: the narrative art of children's picture books by Perry Nodelman

o   "illustration of books"

I refined my search of narrative art by clicking "Themes, motives" under Subject: Topic and found one relevant text.

·         Narrativity: How Visual Arts, Cinema and Literature are Telling the World Today Rene Audet, et al.

I searched "Art and society" and got back 624 results. I found two things I thought were relevant (how art works)

·         An introduction to the philosophy of art by Richard Eldridge

o   "aesthetics"

·         Art in its time: theories and practicies of modern aesthetics by Paul Mattick

To refine these results, under Subject: Topic, I clicked "criticism and interpretation" and then I clicked "masculinity in art." I then removed the term "criticism and interpretation" from my search. I found four interesting books, but only one I saw would be relevant (how images work) to my research.

• Visual culture: images and interpretations edited by Norman Bryson, Michael Ann Holly, and Keith Moxey

I searched "illustration of books" and received 252 results. The second result caught my interest.

• The art of the book: from medieval manuscript to graphic novel

To refocus myself after an hour of hyperlink-clicking, I made a basic search for the term "comics." To refine these 405 results, I clicked "history and criticism" under Subject: Topic. I browsed through the first four pages of results and found several amazing books

• Arguing comics: literary masters on a popular medium edited by Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester
• "comic books, strips, etc -- history and criticism"
• Comics & culture: analytical and theoretical approaches to comics edited by Anne Magnussen and Hans-Christian Christiansen
• "Comics -- criticism"
• Reading comics: a language, culture, and the concept of the superhero in comic books  by Mila Bongco
• The aesthetics of comics by David Carrier
• Women in the comics by Maurice Horn
• The system of comics by Theirry Groensteen
• The language of comics  by Mario Saraceni
• The language of comics: word and image edited by Robin Varnum and Christina Gibbons
• This book contains graphic language: comics as literature by Rocco Versaci
• "literary form"

I then did a search of "Sandman" and found the following work.

• The Sandman papers: an exploration of the Sandman mythology
• "Sandman (comic strip)"
• "Gaiman, Neil"

I also found a subject to search for after finishing the second activity

• "Fantasy comic books, strips, etc. History and criticism"

2.     Compare the results of searching the same precise topic in a database suggested for your subject area, two scholarly databases from/for differing fields, WorldCat, and a database geared toward Women/Gender Studies. Discuss how the different disciplines approach the topic.

            I decided to look into WorldCat with the term "comics." I quickly decided to refine my search with "comics AND criticism", because the only results were just comic books. The results to the second search were similar to what I found in the UCF Catalog, books that provided academic criticism of the medium as a whole and focused critiques of specific works. However, one interesting feature was the "Refine Your Search" sidebar. This let me pick much broader topics like "Education", or "Performing Arts." I was able to look at what these whole fields had that contained related material to the criticism of comics. Another interesting way to refine this search was the ability to look at theses and dissertations.        

            After that, I decided to get precise. I used the term " Sandman Comic books, strips, etc." With this term, I was able to find 6 theses/dissertations on the subject, including "Telling stories about storytelling: the metacomics of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis." I have mixed emotions about finding this. On one hand, it will (hopefully) be an amazing source based on the title alone. On the other, I am so excited I won't be able to sleep tonight.

            The next adventure brought me to a decision. I had to figure out which databases outside of my field would provide interesting resources. I decided I would first explore the Art Index and Art Index Retrospective. The term I used was "comic books, strips, etc." After the results popped up, my first feeling was Confusion followed by his life partner Dread. The only databases I am familiar with are the Ebscohost ones, like the MLA International Bibliography. After getting past the different color palette and layout, I was able to analyze the results. Most of them focused on specific published works and reviewed them. Most of them were singular strips or underground work. This was interesting because it showed me how popular of a medium this was in the art world right now.

            I decided to access the Education Full Text database, because I know Will Eisner wrote on how comics can be used as educational tools. My favorite example is the emergency landing instructions on airplanes. I searched this database for " comic books, strips, etc." After skimming the first few pages of results, I noticed a pattern in the articles retrieved. Most of the articles had to do with how consumers interact with comics by reporting on comic book shops, interviews with popular authors, and the future of the medium. I then realized most of these results were from Publisher's Weekly, so I refined the search to only include peer-reviewed material. These results focused on using comics as an educational tool, such as a part of the learning process ("Learning From Comics on the Wall: Sequential Art Narrative Design in Museology and Multimodal Education" in Visual Arts Research v. 35 no. 1)

or how they affect literacy ("Adult Fans of Comic Books: What They Get Out of Reading" in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy v. 53 no. 1).

            I decided to see what I could find in the GenderWatch database. I searched for "comic books, strips, etc", but that did not return any results. I searched again with "comics" received 836 articles. The database suggested the topic "Comic books" which returned 83 results. Both of these searches returned similar results: magazines and newspapers that did stories relating to comic books. I did not find many scholarly articles, just news reporting. The one element that was consistent for a majority of the articles was queerness. There were many articles about GLBT cartoonists, cartoons, comics, and graphic novels. 

6.     Research a seminal scholar or text through reviews, citation index, biographical information, etc and discuss the effect of scholar/work on the discipline.

I used ISI Web of Science to perform an citation index of Will Eisner. He is, arguably, the most important figure in regards to the theoretical and analytic treatment of comic books. One of the most prestigious awards in the field of comics is named after him, because he saw comics as a medium that should be taken seriously. I was interested in the following terms:

1. COMICS SEQUENTIAL AR
2. GRAPHIC STORYTELLING
3. PLOT

I received 40 results. 32 were articles, 2 were book reviews, 2 were reviews, 2 were proceedings papers, and 1 consisted of editorial material. Eisner has been cited in journals like Proteus ("'You don't even look like a real female. You look...better.' Gender, Invasion, and Fantasy in the Luna Brother's Girls"), The Journal of Quantitative Linguistics ("The Composition and Structure of the Comic"), The British Journal of Aesthetics ("Comics as Literature?"), English Language Notes ("Sequencing and Contingent Individualism in the Graphic, Postcolonial Spaces of Satrapi's Persepolis and Okubo's Citizen"), and Social & Cultural Geography ("Identity and geopolitics in Herge's Adventures of Tintin").

His three most influential works touch on three major elements that still effect comics to this day, superheroes, comics as art, and academic analysis . The Spirit was a serial comic that influenced a majority of superhero comics. A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories is one of the first graphic novels, and it was critically acclaimed. Because of its publication, people began to see the potential of graphic narratives. Comics and Sequential Art is a book of essays that demonstrates the way comics work. He comments on the sequential nature of comics, the frames of comics, and the use of this art form for education.