COMICS RARELY GO LIVE, and this fall seems to be the magical moment for New York aficionados to appreciate the real thing. The Fantagraphics 30-year retrospective exhibition at the Society of Illustrators runs through October 21st. It features over 100 original pieces by dozens of artists published by Fantagraphics over the last three decades.

The exquisite beauty of these drawings gave me goose bumps as I studied them at close range. From non-repro blue scribbles to cutouts, whiteouts, and an incredible variety of line work and brush strokes, the show is so real it's almost surreal. A sampling of the works on view will give an idea of what's in store for the lucky visitor: a couple of political caricatures by Steve Brodner; Chris Ware's original cover art for "Acme #1;" hilarious social observations by Rick Altergott; retro-style comics by Michael Kupperman; and ballpoint drawings titled "Love" by Leah Hayes.

Other Fantagraphics classics include Daniel Clowes' Ghost World, which was adapted as a film by Terry Zwigoff in 2001; The Complete Crumb Comics by R. Crumb, Peanuts by Charles Schultz, and Jim Flora's record jacket art. Comics by Los Bros Hernandez, Tony Millionaire, and Jessica Abel, cartoons by Jules Feiffer, and Drew Friedman's caricatures of Jewish comedians are also represented.

Since it was founded in 1976, Fantagraphics, the Seattle-based publishing house, has played a major role in helping to further the graphic novel as an adult literary form. In an interview via email last week, editor Eric Reynolds said, "Gary Groth and Kim Thompson, the two founders, have always had a rather clearly stated mission: to prove that the medium of comics should be taken seriously as a literary form that speaks directly to the most relevant concerns of contemporary society." Their contribution as publishers was "...to look for work that is sophisticated in some fashion, whether it be socially relevant or something more formally innovative. Something with subtext more than an overt message."

The company came into being at a crucial moment for the medium, sandwiched between the underground comics boom of the late 60's, and the post-underground boom of the 80's, in which the graphic novel emerged. These book-length comics were given that handle, largely to present an air of respectability to a reading public that is generally opposed to comics as a literary form.

"I think that graphic novels are equally capable of capturing the breadth of human expression as anything, but in a completely different way," says Reynolds. "The form requires that the author employ different disciplines than those used by a prose novelist." He went on to say, "It's important to differentiate visual narrative from prose, for each type deserves its own credit for succeeding in its own fashion."

The term itself has raised much controversy over the years, and has been hotly debated among those who produce graphic novels. In chain bookstores, which, for better or worse, establish categories that become ingrained over time, it's not unusual to see Art Spiegelman's "Maus" (Pantheon) on the same table as "Superman" (DC Comics). So classifying this particular graphic novel implicitly separates it from the genre it belongs in ("Holocaust Literature") and places it in the rather vague "Superheroes" category, thereby diminishing its seriousness.

"I hope that people who enjoy good literature are discovering that a novel can also include pictures," explains Reynolds. "I also think that comics encourage literacy among younger people, but for serious adult readers, I hope that we're getting to a point where the phrase 'comics' or 'graphic novel' isn't a pejorative term. And I think we are."

Despite such issues, what we know as graphic novels are leaving their earlier limitations behind, and many are offering genuinely serious subjects; in the process they have helped to create new audiences for the genre. As readers, we are fortunate to have Fantagraphics, and its steady flow of fascinating titles, to remind us that a good book will always be rewarding, regardless of the form it takes.

Illustration: Art for "Comics as Art: We Told You So," © 2006 Daniel Clowes, courtesy Fantagraphics Books.

Fernanda Cohen is a Brooklyn-based illustrator.

Fantagraphics: 1976-2006 at Society of Illustrators

Fantagraphics Books

Comics As Art: We Told You So.