ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies the attributes that define someone as a historian of the comic book industry, then sketches the background and contributions of several key historians of the industry, and finally offers a brief look at contemporary and possible future trends in the field. Unlike many professions, there are no set educational or licensing requirements defining who can call him- or herself a comic book historian. As a result, individuals with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and expertise are referred to, and refer to themselves, as comic book historians. The comic book industry is not an impersonal entity that works in a vacuum but is rather the product of people—working as individuals and collectively—who labor within the historic sociocultural context in which they reside. Many of the early comic book historians were not only observers of the industry, but often members of it as well.
