This book examines the early history of the graphic novel in the 1970s, after the term was coined but before this art form achieved popular success and critical acclaim. Unearthing a treasure trove of fanzines, adverts, and unpublished letters, it gives readers an exciting inside look at a pivotal moment in the development of the graphic novel.

Winner of the Best Book Award in Comics History from the Grand Comics Database Honorable Mention, 2019-2020 Research Society for American Periodicals Book Prize The term “graphic novel” was first coined in 1964, but it wouldn’t be broadly used until the 1980s, when graphic novels such as Watchmen and Maus achieved commercial success and critical acclaim. What happened in the intervening years, after the graphic novel was conceptualized yet before it was widely recognized? Dreaming the Graphic Novel examines how notions of the graphic novel began to coalesce in the 1970s, a time of great change for American comics, with declining sales of mainstream periodicals, the arrival of specialty comics stores, and (at least initially) a thriving underground comix scene. Surveying the eclectic array of long comics narratives that emerged from this fertile period, Paul Williams investigates many texts that have fallen out of graphic novel history. As he demonstrates, the question of what makes a text a ‘graphic novel’ was the subject of fierce debate among fans, creators, and publishers, inspiring arguments about the literariness of comics that are still taking place among scholars today. Unearthing a treasure trove of fanzines, adverts, and unpublished letters, Dreaming the Graphic Novel gives readers an exciting inside look at a pivotal moment in the art form’s development.

In these tales from The Dreaming #1-6 and THE Sandman Universe Special #1, Lord Daniel’s absence triggers crimes and calamities that consume the lives of those already tangled in his fate. Until he is found, his realm’s residents must protect its broken borders alone. But the most senior story-tellers are tormented by invasive secrets, Lucien is doubting his own mind, and beyond the gates, something horrific awaits with tooth and talon.

A graphic novel classic — and now an Oscar-nominated animated feature! After best friends Robot and Dog spend a happy day at the beach, Robot's joints freeze up—they've become rusted through by the water. Dog is powerless to help Robot, who can't move an inch and is too heavy for Dog to carry. Eventually, Dog makes the difficult decision to leave Robot there, and return alone to the life they shared. The memory of their friendship lingers, and as the seasons pass, Dog makes (and loses) new friends, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters. But Robot, lying rusting on the beach, finds solace in dreams. A masterwork in wordless cartooning, Sara Varon's Robot Dreams is a whimsical and poignant meditation on the power and fragility of relationships.

In this whimsical fantasy adventure, a novelist’s search for an author takes him to a magical city, a villainous literary scholar, and perilous catacombs. Optimus Yarnspinner’s search for an author’s identity takes him to Bookholm―the so-called City of Dreaming Books. On entering its streets, our hero feels as if he has opened the door of a gigantic second-hand bookshop. His nostrils are assailed by clouds of book dust, the stimulating scent of ancient leather, and the tang of printer’s ink. Soon, though, Yarnspinner falls into the clutches of the city’s evil genius, Pfistomel Smyke, who treacherously maroons him in the labyrinthine catacombs underneath the city, where reading books can be genuinely dangerous . . . In The City of Dreaming Books, Walter Moers transports us to a magical world where reading is a remarkable adventure. Only those intrepid souls who are prepared to join Yarnspinner on his perilous journey should read this book. We wish the rest of you a long, safe, unutterably dull, and boring life! Praise for The City of Dreaming Books “German author and cartoonist Moers returns to the mythical lost continent of Zamonia in his uproarious third fantasy adventure to be translated into English, a delightfully imaginative mélange of Shel Silverstein zaniness and oddball anthropomorphism à la Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. . . . A wonderfully whimsical story that will appeal to readers of all ages.” —Publishers Weekly “A salmagundi of whimsy, imagination and book lore—remarkable fun.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer “Moers puts Tolkien through some sort of Willy Wonka sweetening process and comes up with characters such as Optimus Yarnspinner, who, names being fate and all, just has to be a storyteller.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Join a white-collar worker who yearns for blue-collar freedom as he takes a special tour of the Dreaming with caretaker Mervyn Pumpkinhead; Spend New Year's Day with two expatriate faeries--Nuala, once a gift to Dream from Queen Titania, and Claracan, disgraced ambassador to the Royal Court; Travel with two denizens of The Dreaming into the waking world: The Corinthian, a deadly nightmare made flesh, sent to correct the sins of his past; and Matthew the Raven who takes human form to face an old adversary; And learn of the exploits of one of Dream's former ravens, Aristeas of Marmora. Welcome to The Dreaming--the vast, unmapped realm of dreams, where your wildest fantasy may walk side by side with your greatest nightmares, where truth and illustion walk hand in hand--or sometimes claw in glove."--Page 4 of cover.

Tony Kovacs, seventeen, realizes that he is the only one who can stop a bloodthirsty succubus from increasing her powers

From GARTH ENNIS, the creator of the hit AMC television show PREACHER!Collecting the critically-acclaimed six issue limited series in a beautifulhardcover presentation. Dreaming Eagles tells the story of the first African-American fighterpilots to join the United States Army Air Force in WWII and whose humblebeginnings in Tuskegee, Alabama propelled them into the deadly skies above AdolfHitler's Third Reich. Not only were they instrumental against the Nazi warmachine, but also braved an equally great challenge, overcoming everyday bigotryamongst their fellow American soldiers as well as civilians at home. High in theheavens, they fought a battle that would change their country for alltime.

California Dreamin' from Pénélope Bagieu depicts Mama Cass as you've never known her, in this poignant graphic novel about the remarkable vocalist who rocketed The Mamas & the Papas to stardom. Before she was the legendary Mama Cass of the folk group The Mamas and the Papas, Ellen Cohen was a teen girl from Baltimore with an incredible voice, incredible confidence, and incredible dreams. She dreamed of being not just a singer but a star. Not just a star—a superstar. So, at the age of nineteen, at the dawn of the sixties, Ellen left her hometown and became Cass Elliot. At her size, Cass was never going to be the kind of girl that record producers wanted on album covers. But she found an unlikely group of co-conspirators, and in their short time together this bizarre and dysfunctional band recorded some of the most memorable songs of their era. Through the whirlwind of drugs, war, love, and music, Cass struggled to keep sight of her dreams, of who she loved, and—most importantly—who she was.

A collection of the Sandman Universe like you've never seen before - from Neil Gaiman's orginal ground breaking Books of Magic mini-series, though the worlds he inspired that followed! What do two dead boys and a normal 13-year-old have in common? The ability to save the world. Charles and Edwin are dead. They're also detectives. Tim Hunter is alive. He could be the world's greatest mage...once he masters magic. And that's just the beginning. Readers can now enjoy The Books of Magic #1-32, The Children's Crusade #1-2, Vertigo Gallery: Dreams and Nightmares #1, Vertigo Preview #1, Vertigo Visions - Doctor Occult #1, Who's Who #15, Arcana Annual #1, Mister E #1-4, and The Books of Faerie: Auberon's Tale #1-3 all in one place!