Graphic novels have a long history that began outside of the United States in Japan and Europe. While comics gained popularity in the US in the 1930s-1940s, they received backlash in the 1950s when a psychologist claimed they caused juvenile delinquency. This led to Senate hearings and stricter comic regulations. The genre declined until the 1970s-1980s when graphic novels for adults emerged, gaining critical acclaim. Milestone works like Maus brought new readers and established graphic novels as a serious literary art form. Today, graphic novels are a mainstream part of publishing and popular culture.

1. Graphic Novels
A Brief History
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2. GRAPHIC NOVELS: DEFINED

3. What’s a graphic novel?
• Broadly defined, a story told in comic book format, but
presented to the reader in a book.

4. “Graphic” & “Novel”
• The phrase “graphic novel” is sort of a misnomer.
• Not all graphic novels are “novels”.
• See Persepolis.
• Not all graphic novels are “graphic”.
• American Born Chinese, for example.

5. A Rich History
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Graphic novels have a lengthy history outside of the US.
Japan & Manga
Europe even beat us to the punch.
US & Graphic Novels started a beautiful relationship in
the 80s.

6. GRAPHIC NOVELS: US HISTORY

7. Before the days off…

8. 1938

9. 1940s
• “Most children (and certainly most boys)
read, collected, and exchanged comic books” (Monnin).
• Many adults were scared by the intensity with which
kids’ embraced such stories.

10. WHY THE BAD REP?

11. 1950s
• A psychologist by the
name of Wertham
denounced comics
and claimed they
were causing kids to
turn “bad”.
• Many communities
organized comic book
burnings.

12. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile
Delinquency Hearings (1954)
• Televised trials
• Young people + comics
= juvenile delinquents
• Only horror & crime
books investigated
• Politicians, educators, d
octors, and comic
creators were present

13. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile
Delinquency Hearings (1954)
• Let’s do a close reading of the statement of
purpose regarding these trials.

14. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile
Delinquency Hearings (1954)
• Created a biased representation
• Comic content “toned down” as a result
• However, the public still linked
crime, horror, and delinquency to comics

15. 1960s
• Comic books were
virtually left for dead.
• Appealed now to a
narrow field of
hardcore fans.

16. 1970s
• Comic artists set out
to prove that image
literacies could:
• Appeal to a wide
audience (kids &
adults alike)
• Operate on a
serious, literary level

17. 1980s & 1990s
• Maus I (1986) & Maus II (1991) = game changers
• US Graphic novels was born.
• Brought new readers to the world of graphic novels.
• Novel readers were reading comic books.
• We got the stories of Watchmen and The Dark Knight
Returns out of this era, too.

18. Today’s Entertainment

19. Today’s Entertainment
• Clearly includes
graphic novels
• Book store sections
are overflowing
• Manga is has a
growing fan-base.

20. What’s More?
• You can learn from reading them, too!

21. The truth…
• Comics are more than superheroes, aliens, crime, and violence.
• Many subjects are successfully represented in comic books…
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History/historical fiction
Science
Biography
Geography
Math
Classics/ poetry
Mythology/folklore/tall tales

22. Works Cited
Monnin, Katie. Teaching Graphic Novels. Gainsville, FL:
Maupin House Publishing, 2010. Print.