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How to Read Nancy: The Elements of Comics in Three Easy Panels

by Paul Karasik

A close reading of comics through one Nancy strip

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A close reading of comics through one Nancy strip

Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden use a single Ernie Bushmiller Nancy strip, published August 8, 1959, as the basis for examining how comics communicate. The book breaks the strip into its constituent elements, connecting close analysis of one work with a broader account of comics-making, from drawing-board creation to bookstore publication. Its compact case study offers a way to consider the medium’s visual language and the choices involved in constructing a comic. The focus stays anchored in a specific strip while opening onto questions about how comics are made and understood.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Comics students and scholars interested in close analysis of the medium
  • Nancy fans curious about the construction of a specific strip
  • Casual comics readers seeking an introduction to comics’ visual language

Themes

Comics’ visual languageClose readingThe craft and production of comics

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Everything that you need to know about reading, making, and understanding comics can be found in a single Nancy strip by Ernie Bushmiller from August 8, 1959. Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden's groundbreaking work How to Read Nancy ingeniously isolates the separate building blocks of the language of comics through the deconstruction of a single strip. No other book on comics has taken such a simple yet methodical approach to laying bare how the comics medium really works. No other book of any kind has taken a single work by any artist and minutely (and entertainingly) pulled it apart like this. How to Read Nancy is a completely new approach towards deep-reading art. In addition, How to Read Nancy is a thoroughly researched history of how comics are made, from their creation at the drawing board to their ultimate destination at the bookstore. Textbook, art book, monogram, dissection, How to Read Nancy is a game changer in understanding how the "simplest" drawings grab us and never leave. Perfect for students, academics, scholars, and casual fans.
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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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