Comics culture: The New York Times Magazine examines the evolution of comic books, focusing largely on graphic novels, and the work of Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, Seth, Chris Ware, Joe Sacco and Daniel Clowes:

"Comic books are what novels used to be -- an accessible, vernacular form with mass appeal -- and if the highbrows are right, they're a form perfectly suited to our dumbed-down culture and collective attention deficit. Comics are also enjoying a renaissance and a newfound respectability right now. In fact, the fastest-growing section of your local bookstore these days is apt to be the one devoted to comics and so-called graphic novels. It is the overcrowded space way in the back -- next to sci-fi probably, or between New Age and hobbies -- and unless your store is staffed by someone unusually devoted, this section is likely to be a mess. Peanuts anthologies, and fat, catalog-size collections of Garfield and Broom Hilda. Shelf loads of manga -- those Japanese comic books that feature slender, wide-eyed teenage girls who seem to have a special fondness for sailor suits. Superheroes, of course, still churned out in installments by the busy factories at Marvel and D.C. Also, newer sci-fi and fantasy series like Y: The Last Man, about literally the last man on earth (the rest died in a plague), who is now pursued by a band of killer lesbians."