Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
As mediums that all rely on the power of visuals, documentaries have often been used to tell the stories of the people behind cartoons, comics, and animation. These films help contextualize art in a bold new way by placing it within the artist’s—and in some cases the industry’s—larger narrative. The wide range of docs available on various streaming platforms cover pretty much everything the medium has to offer, from comic books to cartoon strips and superheroes to politics.
With the addition of the new documentary Laerte-se to Netflix’s library, there’s one more comic-focused doc for fans of the art form to take in. Netflix’s new doc, which arrives on the streaming service on May 19, focuses on Brazilian comic artist Laerte and her reintroduction to the world as a transwoman. A regular on the Brazilian comics scene for the past 30 years, Laerte has illustrated comics for newspapers, magazines, and political campaigns. Known for her oftentimes philosophical comic art, the film also dives into how her art interacts with her life and personal evolution (like in the strip seen above).
After learning all about Laerte and the Brazilian comics scene via Laerte-se, here are eight more cartoonist docs that shine a spotlight on pretty much every aspect of the comics and cartooning world.
'Batman & Bill'
You may think you know everything about Batman, but you’re wrong if the name “Bill Finger” doesn’t ring a bell. This Hulu original dives deep into the secret history of Batman, uncovering the Caped Crusader’s forgotten creator while on a mission to restore Golden Age comic book writer Bill Finger’s lost legacy. With its investigative vibe, this mystery-filled doc is kinda the superhero Serial.
'Crumb'
Crumb doesn’t stop at just profiling the life and work of innovative counterculture cartoonist Robert (also known simply as “R”) Crumb. It dives into the entire eccentric Crumb family, including Robert’s brothers and his cartoonist wife Aline. From his pioneering output in the ’60s underground comix scene to his work as the founder of the aptly-titled ’80s anthology comic Weird, R. Crumb has left an undeniable mark on the comics world. Crumb earned critical acclaim when it was released in 1995. Legendary film critic Gene Siskel named it his favorite film of the year, and Roger Ebert gave it a perfect 4 out of 4 stars.
'Stripped'
After spending much of the 20th century as a fixed part of popular culture via newspapers, the world of the syndicated comic strip has changed dramatically in the first few years of the 21st century. Stripped takes a look at the history of comic strips as well as what lies ahead for the art form now that the internet has all but replaced newspapers. The Kickstarter-funded documentary features interviews with over 70 cartoonists, including Bill Watterson, Kate Beaton, Jim Davis, Cathy Guisewite, and many others.
'Je suis Charlie'
An unflinching look at the tragedy that shook not only the comics world but the world at large, Je suis Charlie follows the history of the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo leading up to the shooting in the paper’s office on January 7, 2015. Twelve people were killed in the attack, including five of the paper’s cartoonists. The French documentary also takes a look at Charlie Hebdo’s satire and satire’s place in the world following the attack.
'Floyd Norman: An Animated Life'
Like Batman & Bill, this documentary focuses on an oft-overlooked animator whose resume reads like a legend’s. Floyd Norman broke barriers when he became the first black animator hired by Disney, paving the way for all the animators of color that have followed in his wake. Norman worked on the Disney classic The Jungle Book and survived the hardest task of all: making Walt Disney laugh. An Animated Life tells Norman’s previously untold story, including his brief troublemaking career in tell-all comics, depicting him as—as one interviewee puts it—the “Forrest Gump of animation.”
'Dear Mr. Watterson'
You can follow Stripped up with an in-depth look at one of the most beloved and innovative comic strips of all time: Calvin and Hobbes. During its ten-year run as a syndicated newspaper strip, Calvin and Hobbes defied all comic conventions by including commentary on the nature of art and resisting the siren song of merchandising that Garfield, Peanuts, and so many other strips responded to. It did all this, of course, while following the imaginative adventures of a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger.
'The Image Revolution'
On the superhero side of things, The Image Revolution gets into one of the most extreme and over-the-top eras in mainstream comic book history. Superhero publishers Marvel and DC Comics were riding high in the early ’90s with new #1 issues regularly selling upwards of a million copies each. The driving force behind those stories was a group of hot, young artists that popularized the aggressive style that would become synonymous with modern superhero comics. At the height of their popularity, these artists all ditched Marvel and founded their own company, thus irrevocably changing the comic book industry.
'Comic Book Confidential'
Released before the mainstream superhero boom of the ’90s and the formation of Image, 1988’s Comic Book Confidential relays stories about the medium’s formative days from legendary creators like Stan Lee, Frank Miller, Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner, Harvey Pekar, and more. As it’s one of the oldest documentaries about the comic book art form, you’ll get to see the industry’s heaviest hitters in the prime of their life, talking about their work—like a young Frank Miller riffing on the nature of superheroes will raucous late ’80s rock music plays.
