After standing for many years, historic buildings and places collect stories and tales that lay hidden in their walls, ready to be told. For those that do not survive the tests of time, who is there to tell their story, and without a physical structure how? Often these tales are cinematic, encapsulating every range of emotion, so what better way than a graphic novel to depict their stories than in a visually descriptive medium?

While in graduate school, I researched, wrote, and illustrated, “AGBANY: the birth of the historic preservation movement.” In the summer of 2022, I self-published AGBANY, akin to the DIY spirit of the individuals behind AGBANY. In the process of creating the graphic novel, I felt as though as I was writing a love letter to a place that I would never be able to experience except through historic newspapers, photographs, and oral histories.

As a preservationist, the graphic novel felt like an extension of the stewardship I had learned so much about during graduate school.

Graphic Novels as Stewardship

Preservation is a community-driven place-based initiative. We work to save landmarks for their historical, cultural, and visual contribution to our sense of place. This duty to be to be stewards of the built environment, takes all different forms, both direct and indirect.

Direct stewardship is often understood as rehabilitation and actions impacting the physical status of a place. Indirectly, creative interpretations such as graphic novels and comics dedicated to the history of place and historic structures are equally valid. In this case, conducting research, constructing a narrative, and illustrating these stories all serve as an act of stewardship that brings awareness while also bridging gaps of knowledge and interest.

AGBANY, Chapter Two: Taking a Stand, Pages 3 and 4. Oral histories from the New York Preservation Archive Project were used to understand the motives and drives behind the key players of AGBANY.

Graphic novels and comics bring historical narratives to the next level, challenging the educational process. Elements such as color, linework, and other stylistic decisions subconsciously add to a narrative to denote tonal or mood changes. The genre digs into the humanity of preservation: the drive, passion, and motivation of those who fight to save our built environment. Complex, primary source research can be tied together into a thrilling narrative keeping readers itching for more.

The medium is accessible. Text is formulated to be digestible within comic panels flowing quickly and naturally. The audience range (depending on the topic) covers a variety of generations, from early education to working professionals. Most importantly, it attracts a variety of readers outside of the field, who are initially attracted to the artistic facet of the medium. While not immediately interested in architecture or historic preservation, these readers may gravitate to these books due to a general appreciation for the art behind the medium.

AGBANY, Chapter Four: A Doomed Fate, Pages 3 and 4. The illustrative nature of graphic novels can bring quotes and text to a next level, denoting tone and mood changes.

The process of creating the graphic novel is akin to writing an elaborate love letter to a place one may never get to experience except, the medium captures a sense of place through images and writing. By fabricating an experience of a place that may no longer be with us, the dynamic narrative structure of graphic novels leverages a place’s chronological lifespan that immerses the reader.

To get a sense of how graphic novels play this role, below is a sampling of five graphic novels—including my own, AGBANY—that focus on place-based stories, preservation, and architectural history at different scales.

By purchasing any of these products using the links on this page, you'll be supporting the National Trust. Check out other ways you can support preservation as you shop, travel, and play.