Comics journalism employs comics media to give an account of real-life news events, a reportage. Making drawn pictures accepted as reliable sources of information requires the application of strategies that authenticate them. Wibke Weber and Hans-Martin Rall identify five visual authentication strategies in comics journalism. The application of a meta-story or reflection on the constructed nature of comics reportage are key authentication strategies in comics journalism. Reflexivity means that the comics reportage gives an insight into its making: the author is often present in the pictures, drawing, collecting data for the reportage, or directly addressing the reader as a narrator. This way, the comics reportage stages its own creative process, representing in detail the research methods, the means of data collection and the other details of the journalist’s fieldwork. Touching upon the graphic style, physical resemblance becomes a major means of authentication. So that readers can recognize personalities and places regularly featured in news stories and press articles, characters and decors are drawn so they resemble the photos and videos shown on other media. Therefore, comics reportages are well-documented with photographic resources, or sketches made on the spot. The inclusion of documentary evidence (photos, original documents, infographics, and charts) is not uncommon, enabling the reader to assess the comics reportage as a reliable source of information.
