Harvey Kurtzman and the Influence ofMadMagazine

Abstract

This is a chapter in a significant new collection of essays which will be a key reference in the field of comics studies. The chapter came about through an invitation from the editors Jan Baetens, Hugo Frey and Stephen E. Tabachnick to explore the impact on Harvey Kurtzman, with a specific emphasis on the development of the graphic novel as a form. This is the first attempt to do so in an academic context. From the publisher's website: The Cambridge History of the Graphic Novel provides the complete history of the graphic novel from its origins in the nineteenth century to its rise and startling success in the twentieth and twenty-first century. It includes original discussion on the current state of the graphic novel and analyzes how American, European, Middle Eastern, and Japanese renditions have shaped the field. Thirty-five leading scholars and historians unpack both forgotten trajectories as well as the famous key episodes, and explain how comics transitioned from being marketed as children's entertainment. Essays address the masters of the form, including Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, and Marjane Satrapi, and reflect on their publishing history as well as their social and political effects. This ambitious history offers an extensive, detailed and expansive scholarly account of the graphic novel, and will be a key resource for scholars and students.