A complete critical guide to the history, form and contexts of the genre, Children's and Young Adult Comicshelps readers explore how comics have engaged with one of their most crucial audiences. In an accessible and easy-to-navigate format, the book covers such topics as: - The history of comics for children and young adults, from early cartoon strips to the rise of comics as mainstream children's literature - Cultural contexts - from the Comics Code Authority to graphic novel adaptations of popular children's texts such as Neil Gaiman's Coraline - Key texts - from familiar favourites like Peanutsand Archie Comicsto YA graphic novels such as Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chineseand hybrid works including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series - Important theoretical and critical approaches to studying children's and young adult comics Children's and Young Adult Comicsincludes a glossary of crucial critical terms and a lengthy resources section to help students and readers develop their understanding of these genres and pursue independent study.