Blacknwhitecomics 20 Comics Fixed Today

(1989) The ultimate goth tragedy. O’Barr drew this as therapy after a personal tragedy. The heavy blacks, the scratchy white scratch-marks, the rain made of ink splatter—it is all emotion rendered directly. Color would be an insult to the grief.

by Glyn Dillon

Rebuilt the halftone screens that were aliasing into moiré patterns. Why it matters: An immigrant story told entirely through silhouette and negative space. blacknwhitecomics 20 comics fixed

Re-aligned the hand-lettered cursive text that was cut off on the original right margins. Why it matters: A semi-autobiographical story about a Chinese-American tattoo artist, celebrated for its brushwork. (1989) The ultimate goth tragedy

Recovered lost white highlights using frequency separation. Why it matters: A brutalist comic about sanitation workers who discover a skeleton cult. Color would be an insult to the grief

Creating art strictly in black and white forces a creator to master the fundamentals of graphic design. Without a vibrant color palette to rely on, an artist must communicate everything through a few core techniques:

When the community discusses "fixing" or remastering 20 iconic black-and-white works, these are the legendary graphic novels and series that top the list due to their massive cultural impact or complex histories: 1. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman