Not quite art

Comics have smuggled their way into art books before. Invariably they have been there, however, as an aside, a digression, to demonstrate the inspiration for the 'proper' art that constitutes the bulk of the book. Just take a look at any of the numerous tomes available about Pop, Graffiti and Outsider artists, and there they are - present, but unacknowledged as anything other than a convenient pop culture prop.
So it was maybe time for a book that took a different tack. Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels includes no canvases by Roy Lichtenstein or Philip Guston. Instead, the intention here is to celebrate comics in their own right, to explore their richness and diversity since the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. Hopefully, the illustrations will tell their own story, showing where comics have been, where they are going, and above all what they can do. In the end, it's surprising how well 'disposable' pop culture can last.
There were, however, other reasons why such a book was appropriate at this point in time. For in the last decade and a half, comics have been through something of a revolution. Enormous improvements in printing technology coupled with the emergence of a 'direct sales' system of marketing to specialist comics shops, have heralded a radical transformation in the way comics are produced. This in turn has opened up new spaces for more complex and imaginative stories and artwork than ever before. Whereas previously, the common image of a comic was of a throwaway, cheaply produced, poorly drawn slice of entertainment for children, today photographic-quality paper and fully painted artwork are commonplace, and there is a huge array of subject matter for adults - everything from splatter horror and sexual fantasy, to satire and political documentary.