On the surface, the relationship between comics and the 'high' arts once seemed simple; comic books and strips could be mined for inspiration, but were not themselves considered legitimate art objects. Though this traditional distinction has begun to erode, the worlds of comics and art continue to occupy vastly different social spaces.
Comics Versus Art examines the relationship between comics and the most important institutions of the art world, including museums, auction houses, and the art press. Bart Beaty's analysis centres around two questions: why were comics excluded from the history of art for most of the twentieth century, and what does it mean that comics production is now more closely aligned with the art world? Approaching this relationship for the first time through the lens of the sociology of culture, Beaty advances a completely novel approach to the comics form.
Comics Arts World
Roy Lichtenstein's Tears: Ressentiment and Exclusion in the World of Pop Art
Searching for Artists in the Entertainment Empire
Cartoons as Masterpieces: An Essay on Illustrated Classics
Highbrow Comics and Lowbrow Art?: The Shifting Contexts of the Comics Art Object
On Junk, Investments and Junk Investments: The Evolution of Comic Book Collectibles
Crumbs from the Table: The Place of Comics in Museums
By Way of Conclusion: Chris Ware's Comics About Art
Endnotes