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Graphic Medicine

Thinking about Citing

Citing a graphic novel is challenging because there aren't yet clear directions from the major style guides. That said, here are some tips and resources for for your citation process.

MLA Examples

These are courtesy of Southern Connecticut State University Library.

 
Graphic novel by one person

A citation for a graphic novel created by one person is formatted the same as any other nonperiodical print publication. Please remember to indent if the citation runs beyond the first line (note: because of the responsive design of this webpage, hanging indents are not demonstrated here).

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. 2 vols. New York: Pantheon-Random, 1986-91. Print.
 

Graphic novel by more than one person

For a collaborative work, begin with the name of the person whose contribution is most relevant to your research, following it with a label identifying the person's role. Other collaborators are listed after the title in the order in which they appear on the title page, also with labels identifying their roles.

Benoit, Ted, adapt. Playback: A Graphic Novel. By Raymond Chandler. Illus. Francois Ayroles. Introd. Philippe Garnier. New York: Arcade, 2006. Print.

Pekar, Harvey, writer. The Quitter. Art by Dean Haspiel. Gray tones by Lee Loughridge. Letters by Pat Brosseau. New York: Vertigo-DC Comics, 2005. Print.
 

Multivolume work

If the graphic narrative is part of a multivolume work, you may add information about the series following the medium of publication. 

Yabuki, Kentaro, writer and artist. Showdown at the Old Castle. Eng. adapt. by Kelly Sue DeConnick. Trans. JN Productions. Touch-up art and lettering by Gia Cam Luc. San Francisco: Viz, 2007. Print. Vol. 9 of Black Cat.

 

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