Originally, Spiegelman proposed the exhibit it took years to bring together the more than 900 drawings, newspaper pages, graphic novels and comic books on view. In fact, the graphic language of each comic can be considered singular and of interest in itself, aside from any specific characters or storylines. From the frames and panels of the earliest comics to the more complex layouts that evolved over time, a complete range of treatments and subjects have been offered to avid readers. Together, the masters of American comics have rendered comedies, tragedies, parodies of human folly and psychologically complex explorations of culture and the self. Schultz (Peanuts) and Harvey Kurtzman (MAD magazine). The show and catalogue tell a story of tradition and innovation, of ground-breakers and the artists of the future who, as children, grew up devouring strips, comic books and, later, graphic novels who drew picture stories in their rooms, in the margins of their school books and in their self-made publications, dreaming of following in the footsteps of such pioneers as McCay (Little Nemo in Slumberland), Will Eisner (The Spirit), George Herriman (Krazy Kat), Jack Kirby (Captain America), Charles M. A large-format, full-colour catalogue contains an introductory essay by independent writer and curator John Carlin, who curated the Whitney's 1983 'Comic Art Show', and contributions from, among others, columnist Pete Hamill, comic artists Jules Feiffer and Matt Groening, and authors Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer. The exhibit travelled to the Milwaukee Art Museum (27 April-20 August 2006) before opening, in two parts, at the Jewish Museum in New York City and the Newark Museum (15 September 2006-28 January 2007).

Now on view in New York and Newark, New Jersey, 'Masters of American Comics' began as a joint venture between the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, University of California at Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (20 November 2005-12 March 2006). In fact, for more than 100 years, many notable artists have contributed to a visual vocabulary that builds on tradition and is also culturally specific. The more recent incarnations are merely additional evidence of the flexibility and relevance of the best comics and graphic novels.

While, today, the comic genre in the US has been marginalised to specialist audiences and subgenres, its overall appeal continues to grow with every new transformation, including the astounding commercial success of anime (Japanese cartoons) and manga (Japanese comic books), and the American versions of them.

Chris ware building stories puzzle