Forging a new medium

For the first time several prominent comic strip historians from different countries collaborated on a publication about the comic strip in the 19th century. Most of the specialists give an overview of the comic strip production in their country and present some of the finest cartoonists of that era. There are also two more detailed discussions which offer new insights into two major cartoonists. The editors, Pascal Lefevre and Charles Dierick of the Belgian Centre for Comic Strip Art discuss the controversy over the definition of the comic strip and explain how the comic strip developed in the 19th century as a mass entertainment. There is also a timeline which gives an overview of the most important facts and names from 1800 till 1914.