Penn Libraries began collecting a greater number of comics and graphic novels for the general collection with the arrival of the Steven Rothman Collection of Comics, Cartoons, and Graphic Novels in 2008. The general collection now contains over 3,000 comics and graphic novels to compliment the thousands of works in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts. The collection is particularly strong in standalone graphic novels, LGBTQ comics, and published editions of webcomics.
The Comics and Graphic Novels collection encompasses more than fiction, including works in religion, philosophy, and psychology; the social sciences, and history. The collection also extends beyond works published in English. The East Asia Comics Collection contains a number of comics from Japan and Korea. Comics in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, and many other languages are also represented in our general collections.
Connections to Special Collections
The vast majority of the Comics and Graphic Novels collection at Penn Libraries is contained within the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts as the result of two generous donations: the Steven Rothman Collection of Comics, Cartoons, and Graphic Novels and the David Toccafondi, Dan Sung and Joshua O'Neill Collection of Comics and Graphic Novels. Both collections are often consulted by Penn academic courses devoted to the study and creation of comics and graphic novels.
More information on Comics collections in the Kislak Center.