Mangas became popular in Japan in the 1950s at the same time as television, which is reflected in the close connection between manga and animated film. In contrast to European comics in the tradition of Hergé, many mangas are characterised by great visual power, combined with the depiction of emotions, self-discovery and sexuality. Alongside this line, however, there are also autobiographical mangas such as "Barefoot through Hiroshima" by Keiji Nakazawa.

The underground comics of the 1968 era, which infiltrated the comic code through new distribution channels and reopened comics to an adult audience by removing taboos on a sexual and political level, represent a major developmental boost following the 1954 break. The first sale of Robert Crumb's "ZAP Comix" on 25 February 1968 in San Francisco and its radically autobiographical character represent a significant turning point in the history of comics.

Comics also found their way into art and literature in the early 1960s. In 1961, Andy Warhol produced pictures of Superman, Dick Tracy and Batman. In German-language literature close to pop, authors such as Fichte, Chotjewitz and Rolf-Dieter Brinkmann used comic motifs.

In the same year (1978) as "A Suivre", the first graphic novel "A contract with God" was published by Will Eisner, who is henceforth regarded as the inventor of "graphic literature". This comic was not first published as a booklet or newspaper strip but directly as a book, emphasising its literary nature and seriousness, which was reflected in the choice of subject matter and an innovative style of presentation. The space opened up by Eisner has since been utilised by many authors. Today, however, the label "graphic novel" has lost its clear definability due to its good marketability and its numerous uses to ennoble comics against accusations of "filth and trash". Even comics not initially published under this label, such as Alan Moore's "Watchmen" and Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns", which revolutionised the superhero genre in 1986, are now often referred to as graphic novels.

In 1992, Art Spiegelman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Maus", further popularising the graphic novel. The first part, "My father bleeds history", had already been published as a book in 1986. The second part, "And Here My Troubles Began", followed in 1991.

Scott McCloud's comic "Understanding Comics", published in 1993, became an important building block for understanding the narrative style of comics. McCloud looks back to ancient pictorial narratives to reveal the structural principles of comics.

In "Palestine" by Joe Sacco, created between 1992 and 1995, he develops the comic reportage. Instead of a consistent story, a confused sequence of images is shown, with the journalist perceiving these images as the only fixed point. With the trend towards autobiographical storytelling and the success of superhero films from 2002 onwards (Spiderman), comics received increasing attention in the feature pages. Stephan Ditschke recognises a significant turning point in 2003/2004 with the German-language translations of Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis", Craig Thompson's "Blankets", Joe Sacco's "Palestine" and the publication of "hero" by flix.