Comics Is a Name Some of Us Give to Telling Stories with Pictures

Harriet Earle opens this chapter with a minimalist definition of comics, asserting that all comics require is “at least one image and a story.” They deliberately strip away conventional formal elements—words, panels, gutters, publication format, and genre tropes—to emphasize the medium’s expressive flexibility. Joanna Davis-McElligatt responds by challenging this reduction, arguing that comics must be understood as a communicative, cultural, and social medium that involves drawing, image-text interplay, and reader engagement. She emphasizes the need for comics to represent marginalized identities and critiques the historical exclusion of Black creators and readers. Earle’s reply expands the conversation to the industrial and economic dimensions of comics, analyzing market structures, readership demographics, and the impact of movements like Comicsgate. They conclude that comics need diverse creators and readers as much as those audiences need comics, and that the future of the medium depends on embracing broader representation and resisting exclusionary industry norms.