The graphic novel and comic book in Malta : a history

Abstract

Comics can be defined as a medium as they have a unique combination of visual and narrative form. One of the early pioneers of comic book design, Will Eisner, considers the comic book form as 'sequential art'. As discussed by Eisner, comics have their roots in art that had an illustrative purpose. Originally formatted to fit a newspaper, hence the reference to 'comic strips', comics eventually developed into a medium of experimentation. The diversity of theme and aesthetics has allowed the comic book to appeal to specific audiences, varying from children to adults. In Malta, a small amount of comics were imported but the first known comic available directly to children was the Children's Own which contained strips translated into Maltese. However, excluding the well-known newspaper cartoons in the early twentieth century, it is only towards the end of the 1960s that Maltese artists began to produce comic strips. These strips became popular thanks to the Maltese publication Sagħtar which was aimed at secondary school children. Comics for adults were very sparse. Many artists who have left their mark on the Maltese comic book scene include Ġorġ Mallia who could be considered as a pioneer in his field due to his considerable amount of contributions within the context of the island. The list of artists includes amongst others Joe Sacco, Victor Pulis, Norman C. Borg, Fabio Agius and Mark Scicluna. In the introduction, I will be exploring theories related to imagery and text, as well as ideas related to frame and composition and basic terminology used in comics. Each following chapter features an analysis of the comics published in the particular time phase, with a special emphasis on their value as art history. My main focus in this dissertation is on entertainment comics in the Maltese scenario with sparing mention of instructional comics and strips of a political and social nature. Each chapter is adeptly illustrated with images from these sources. The first chapter covers the general evolution of comics in chronological order. The second chapter deals with comics of a pioneering nature within the local context, spanning from 1950s to the early 1970s, starting from the translated publication Children's Own to the beginning of the Sagħtar publication. In the third chapter, the ongoing Sagħtar publication and the comic book series Il-Komik and Imħabba Vera, spanning from the mid 1970s to the 1980s, are analysed. The new generation of comic artists during the late 1980s are also discussed. A review of comics in the last decade is included in the fourth chapter. Comic book related events and the issue of web comics are also analysed. A list of comic artists, comic book publications and verbal communications is included in the appendices after the conclusion.