Research by Subject: Comic Arts: Find Comics

Finding Comics in Print and Online

Bound Books

Books are arranged using the LC Call Number system and can be identified in the Library’s online catalog, OneSearch. Note the Call Numbers and Locations. Most of these books will be located in the Comics Corner (1st floor), Juvenile Collection (4th floor), or Special Collections (1st floor). Books in Special Collections must be used inside of the Special Collections Reading Room.

Single Issue "Floppy" Comic Books

Single Issue Comic Books (i.e. floppy comics) can be identified in the SDSU Comics Hub. These are located inside of Special Collections and must be used on-site.

Mini-Comics

Comics contained in our Zines and Mini Comics Collection can be identified in the Finding Aid (inventory list) for this collection. These comics are located inside of Special Collections and must be used on-site.

Library of Congress Subject Headings related to comics (this is not an exhaustive list):

Subscription Databases (Remote access limited to SDSU students, staff and faculty)

Underground and Independent Comics - Volume I, 2, 3 (Alexander Street Press)
Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic Novels is the first ever scholarly, primary-source database focused on adult comic books and graphic novels. Here are the works of artists both celebrated and overlooked, alongside interviews, criticism, and journal articles that document the continual growth and evolution of this artform.
Alexander Street Platform accessibility statement
World of Archie Comics Archive, The (ProQuest)
This digital collection offers access to the runs of more than 100 publications from Archie Comics spanning the early 1940s to 2020. It includes Archie, Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, Betty & Veronica, and Jughead.
Alexandar Street Platform accessibility statement

E-Books at SDSU and at the Public Library

Comics E-Books at SDSU
This link will take you to comics-related e-books in the Library Catalog. You can also search the Catalog for specific titles or subjects to see if we own the e-book.
Comics Plus
Available through San Diego Public Library. More than 20,000 digital comics, graphic novels, and manga. Get a public library card: https://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/services/lending/librarycard

Internet Resources

Comic Book+
"We are the original and still the premier site to read and download Golden and Silver Age comic books. Plus, we also hold a large and growing selection of comic strips and pulp fiction."
Digital Comic Museum
"We are the best site for downloading FREE public domain Golden Age Comics. All files here have been researched by our staff and users to make sure they are copyright free and in the public domain. To start downloading just register an account and enjoy these great comic books. We do not charge per download and the goal of the project is to archive these comic books online and make them widely available."
Internet Archive: Collections of Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Over 35,000 online graphic novels, manga and comic books. Focus is on older international and lesser-known American comics.
Comixology: An Amazon Company
Over 750 free comics. [Note: It is unclear if these titles will be offered in perpetuity or if this a freebie during the COVID-19 pandemic]
Marvel - free issues
[Note: It is unclear if these titles will be offered in perpetuity or if this a freebie during the COVID-19 pandemic]
DC - free issues
Offers a very limited number of free issues.
Dark Horse - free comics
Includes numerous excerpts, samplers and Free Comic Book Day issues. [Note: It is unclear if these titles will be offered in perpetuity or if this a freebie during the COVID-19 pandemic]
IDW - free comics
[Note: It is unclear if these titles will be offered in perpetuity or if this a freebie during the COVID-19 pandemic]
Image Comics First Issues
Read the first issue of select Image comics for free.
Indigenous Story Studio
Indigenous Story Studio, formerly known as the Healthy Aboriginal Network, has been a registered non-profit Society in the province of British Columbia since 2005. Our mandate is the non-profit promotion of health, literacy & wellness.
Graphite
Comic books, graphic novels, webtoons, webcomics, strips, and manga.
Library of Congress Webcomics Web Archive
This collection focuses on comics created specifically for the web and supplements the Library of Congress’ extensive holdings in both comic books, graphic novels, and original comic art. Webcomics are an increasingly popular format utilized by contemporary creators in the field and often includes material by artists not available elsewhere. Webcomics selected for this collection include award-winning comics (Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, Eagle Awards, and Shuster Awards) as well as webcomics that have significance in the field due to longevity, reputation, and subject matter. This collection includes work by artists and subjects not traditionally represented in mainstream comics, including women artists and characters, artists and characters of color, LGBTQ+ artists and characters, as well as subjects such as politics, health and human sexuality, and autobiography. The content of these websites is captured as it was originally produced and may include content that is not suitable for all ages.
The Webcomic List
"The Webcomic List primarily helps you keep track of which of your favourite online comics have updated. To do this we monitor over 26000 online comics, checking them several times a day; this enables us to keep you updated as fast as possible."
WEBTOON
We started a whole new way to create stories and opened it up to anyone with a story to tell.
We’re home to thousands of creator-owned content with amazing, diverse visions from all over the world.
Get in on the latest original romance, comedy, action, fantasy, horror, and more from big names and
big names to be - made just for WEBTOON. We’re available anywhere, anytime, and always for free.
Go Comics
"GoComics.com is the web's largest catalog of syndicated newspaper strips, political cartoons and webcomics, offering free new content every day.Iconic cartoons include Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Ziggy and Dilbert. Recent successes include FoxTrot, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, The Argyle Sweater, The Boondocks and Cul De Sac."
Comic Strip Library
The Comic Strip Library is a digital library containing a collection of public domain comic strips. Everything in the collection predates 1923 and is no longer under copyright in the United States. Currently the Comic Strip Library is more of a proof-of-concept and a work-in-progress than a fully realized project, but the foundations are there to build on. Unlike many comic databases which are indexed by date alone, the comics in the Comic Strip Library are thoroughly cataloged. Searches on the Comic Strip Library can match text from dialogue and narration; character names; subject matter; objects, creatures, and people depicted in a strip; or even literary techniques. For example, a search for "fourth wall" will turn up comic strips which break the fourth wall, and a search for "puns" will bring up comics containing word play.
Manta Comics
Manta is owned and operated by RIDI Corporation – one of the top storytelling companies in Korea,
and the country’s first content startup to earn unicorn status. As the #1 webnovel publisher and platform in Korea, we have hundreds of new stories to review every quarter in vertical comic strip format best suited for scrolling.

The Manta app is available to download for free for iOS and Android devices. As a non-subscribed user of Manta, you will have access to the first few episodes of each series so that you can get a little taste of what the series is all about! The following episodes after that will be "locked", meaning that you must purchase a subscription for Manta Unlimited to continue reading.

Furthermore, we now have a new feature called the “Free Pass”. The Free Pass is available for a selection of series marked with a clock icon, and you can use it for each series to unlock an episode for 72 hours. Once you use a Free Pass for a series, it will reset again for each series in 24 hours.

These entries describe historical primary source collections available for research in Special Collections at the SDSU Library. Special Collections houses unique archival and manuscript collections, rare books and manuscripts, and graphic/ephemera collections.

Comics and Magazines

Bound Comics and Graphic Novels in Special Collections
Use OneSearch, the Library's catalog, to discover bound comics and graphic novels in Special Collections (these items cannot be checked out and must be used inside of Special Collections)
Single Issue ("Floppy") Comics in Special Collections
The Library owns more than 80,000 floppy comics and we're working hard to make them browsable in our online comics catalog! If you don't see a title here, ask us!
Zines and Minicomics Collection

Manuscript and Archival Collections

Edward Gorey Personal Library

Edward Gorey’s Personal Library is part of the Special Collections at San Diego State University Library. Gorey collected illustrated wit, humor, nonsense, and comics produced from the 1700s up until his death in 2000. These books’ influence appear in his work.

To search this special collection for comic art is easy. Simply go to the library’s catalog at libpac.sdsu.edu and do a word search for Edward Gorey Personal Library. Next, modify your search by adding any or all of the following words: comic, nonsense, strip, humor. The search string would be: (Edward Gorey Personal Library) and (comic or nonsense or humor or strip). Or try other words of interest to modify your search and see what is in the library.

Since newly-cataloged titles are always being added to the collection, you can use the link in this guide's title to generate a real-time list of results using the search string described above. If you need further assistance, please contact: Linda Salem, Librarian for the Edward Gorey Personal Library.

The SDSU Library subscribes to the historic New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Defender. They all use the same database searching platform, ProQuest. Search Tips:

If you need newspaper comics from a specific date or date range, change the drop-down under Publication Date.
Under Document Type, check the box for Comic.
You can leave the keyword search fields blank and use the tips above to search all comics, or, you can enter specific titles of a comic strip.

New York Times 1851 - 2014

Los Angeles Times 1881-1993

Chicago Defender 1909-1975

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
This database of American newspapers goes back to the year 1777, however the link provided should take researchers to nearly 4000 search results for newspaper comics published between 1950-1963.
Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics
Scanned book. Selected comic treasures from American newspaper pages from 1896 to the 1970s. This site may ask you to create an account and login, but it is free.
100 years of American newspaper comics : an illustrated encyclopedia
Scanned book. This site may ask you to create an account and login, but it is free.
Classic Newspaper Comic Strips
Free out-of-copyright digital comics. Many were published before the earlier than the 1950s, however, you may still find a limited number from the 1950s-1970s.
Favorite fifties funnies: 50 popular comic strips from the 1950s
An article that reprints numerous samples of 1950s comic strips.
Comic Strip Library
The Comic Strip Library is a digital library containing a collection of public domain comic strips. Everything in the collection predates 1923 and is no longer under copyright in the United States.

Comic Zine Database from the Poopsheet Foundation
A virtual archive of mini-comics, comic fanzines, small press comics, newave comix and related items. The physical archive, housed at PF headquarters, is being built with personal acquisitions as well as generous donations from supporters. This project is most definitely a work in progress.

Lalo Alcaraz: The Daily Aztec Cartoons (1985-1987)
As an SDSU student, Lalo's cartoons appeared in "The Daily Aztec" between the years 1985 to 1987. "The Daily Aztec" is San Diego State University's independent student newspaper. This collection digitizes each of his cartoons that appeared in the newspaper. Print versions can be viewed in the SDSU Library's Special Collections & University Archives.
The New Yorker Cartoons (via The Cartoon Bank)
The New Yorker's cartoon tradition started 90 years ago, in the very first issue, published on February 21, 1925. Since then, the magazine has featured more than 80,000 cartoons on its pages and now, every day, on newyorker.com, its apps, and across social media. Here on The Cartoon Bank, options abound! Along with the illustrations that first appeared in print, the online archive holds additional unpublished cartoons - more than 120,000 total!

ProQuest Research Library
In the Advanced search under "document type," you can limit to editorial cartoon and search by topic.

Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is dedicated to the promotion of political art in American life, and the celebration of free speech and a free press as essential to a healthy democracy. The AAEC aims to be an international leader in support of the human, civil, and artistic rights of editorial cartoonists around the world, and to stand with other international groups in support of the profession.
Cartoons & Caricatures: Finding Images at the Library of Congress
The Library holds multiple, extensive collections of cartoon and caricature art that collectively contain an estimated 129,000 original drawings and prints in the Prints & Photographs Division. They include such diverse subgenres as political cartoons and caricatures, comic strips and comic books, gag and other single panel cartoons, graphic novels, animation, and born digital drawings. Use this guide to help find materials owned by the LOC.
Cartoon America The Ungentlemanly Art: Political Illustrations
Digital version of an exhibit.
Political Cartoons and Public Debates
The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching.

Golden Age of Anime: This large collection is currently being cataloged and will be available soon.
For SDSU multimedia holdings, search our Media collection.

The following Library of Congress subject headings are a sampling of how you may find items in the Media Collection.
Search the catalog for 'Comic books, strips, etc' and use the limits on the left to limit by resource type (DVD, etc)
Superhero films -- United States
Batman films -- United States
Superman films
Animated films
Machinima films
Animation (Cinematography)
Science fiction films
Alien films
Star Trek films
Star Wars films
Dystopian films
Horror films

Comic Arts

Comic Arts Curator

Library Hours

e-Resource Problem Report

Finding Comics in Print and Online

Bound Books

Single Issue "Floppy" Comic Books

Mini-Comics

Library of Congress Subject Headings related to comics (this is not an exhaustive list):