Howdy all. I happen to work for an encyclopedia (I like to think of it as "the" encyclopedia, so I'm guessing that you can figure out which one it is - and it doesn't start with "Wiki") and I'm compiling a bibliography for our article on the graphic novel. Our author provided a fairly extensive bib, and I've got a few entries of my own that I plan to add. But are there any "must read" books that would recommend on the scholarly treatment of comics/graphic novels? Thus far, the list definitely includes:

• Rocco Versaci, This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics as Literature, 2007
• Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics, 1993
• Scott McCloud, Reinventing Comics, 2000
• Harvey Kurtzman and Michael Barrier, From Aargh to Zap! Harvey Kurtzman’s Visual History of the Comics, 1991
• Will Eisner, Comics and Sequential Art, 1985
• Will Eisner, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, 1996
• David Beronä, Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels, 2008
• Paul Gravett, Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know
• Gerard Jones, Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book

Anything else?

That looks like a great list. I cannot personally think of anything that really deserves to stand alongside the books mentioned.

I'm a bit embarrassed, though, that I have only read two of those.

Scott McCloud has done a third book Making Comics 2006, probably gilding the lily but maybe worth including.

Agreeing with the first part and sheepishly admitting agreement with the second part of your post.