The story begins in 1968, a key year in comics' shift from being driven by commercial potential into a means of self-expression respected not just as entertainment but also as art. The book traces comics' evolution up to the emergence of today's global, digital scene and the medium's likely future.

Robert Crumb and Gabrielle Bell, Jack Kirby and Alan Moore, Moebius, Yumiko Oshima and Osamu Tezuka are just a few of the hundreds of artists and writers included - making it unprecedented in its global reach.

The broad reach of Comics extends to artists, styles and movements, spanning Marvel and DC superheroes; the Underground movement and manga powerhouse Osamu Tezuka; politically charged Italian fumetti and sexually charged ladies' manga; the Francophone technique of ligne claire; sci-fi; Métal Hurlant; the pioneering Japanese alternative journal Garo; the graphic memoir and the graphic novel; and, finally, the moment comics made the jump from page to web page.

Featuring the best-known artists and writers - from Jack Kirby, Hergé and Moebius to Katsuhiro Otomo, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore - Comics also introduces readers to some creators they may not yet have encountered, such as Andrea Pazienza, the Fort Thunder collective and Fabrice Neaud.