The literature review synthesizes research on comic books as a discursive and communicative genre in teaching language and literature in Latin America, from 2006 to 2017. Through a selection of academic sources, the paper identified 32 texts, which were analyzed and classified in two categories: 1) definition and characteristics of the comic book, with a description of the studies that have focused on defining comic books and their textual characteristics; and 2) educational utilization, with a synthesis of research centered on the literacy of comic books as an object of learning and as an educational strategy for other educational purposes. The study concludes with an identification of the progress and challenges of this area of study and recommendations for future studies.