Graphic Novels vs Comics

Graphic
Novels—or
just Comics?
LIB 617
Research in Young
Adult Literature

Graphic Novels--or Just Comics? 2
What is a Graphic
Novel?
Define graphic?
S: (adj) graphic, graphical, in writing
(written or drawn or engraved) "graphic symbols"
S: (adj) graphic (describing nudity or sexual activity in
graphic detail) "graphic sexual scenes"
S: (adj) graphic (of or relating to the graphic arts) "the
etchings, drypoints, lithographs, and engravings which
together form his graphic work"- British Book News
S: (adj) graphic, graphical (relating to or presented by a
graph) "a graphic presentation of the data"
S: (adj) graphic, lifelike, pictorial, vivid (evoking lifelike
images within the mind) "pictorial poetry and prose";
"graphic accounts of battle"; "a lifelike portrait"; "a vivid
description"
WordNet: a
lexical database
for the English
language

What is a
Graphic Novel?
From
Suddenly a totally new genre is every where we
look. Is a graphic novel a comic book? Yes, sort
of, not quite. It looks like a comic book, sort of.
Is it a "novel?" Yes, because it tells a fictional
story of some length.
What makes it "graphic?" Well, a great deal of
the story is told by the pictures, the graphics.
Which makes graphic novels a new way to read.

Define Graphic
Novel?
graphic novel
A term coined by Will Eisner to describe his semi-
autobiographical novel A Contract with God (1978),
written and illustrated in comic book style, the first
work in a new genre that presents an extended
narrative as a continuous sequence of pictorial
images printed in color and arranged in panel-to-
panel format, with dialogue given in captions or
enclosed in balloons. . . . This new literary form is
viewed with suspicion by traditionalists who regard it
as a marketing ploy aimed at attracting adult
readers to comic books by removing the stigma
attached to them. Click here to connect to the
Yahoo! list of graphic novel Web sites. See also:
fotonovela.

A Contract With
God?
A Contract With God
and Other Tenement
Stories
This collection of four
stories takes us back to
the Bronx of the 1930s as
seen through Eisner's own
eyes, when tenement
blocks were crammed with
European immigrants
jostling their way to a
better life.

Another
pioneering
graphic novel
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
Maus is the story of Vladek
Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor
of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist who tries
to come to terms with his father, his father's
terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the
cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds
perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of
familiarity with the events described, approaching, as
it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive.
•

An older “graphic
novel” series
(80 years old!)

Aren’t they just
book-length comics?
Graphic novels represent a format,
rather than a genre.
Comics are presented in a format defined as
sequential art – thus the panels, the text
bubbles, and all of the usual trademarks of your
local newspaper’s comic strips. In terms of
genre, remember that while superhero tales
traditionally dominated the comics industry in
the U.S., today's graphic novels range into
every possible genre, from literary fiction to
memoir to fantasy.
• More Than Words: Graphic Novels in Kentucky's Libraries.
Graphic Novels: Where to Start? By Robin Brenner

Graphic Novels:
Here to Stay!
Graphic novels exist in a broad range of
genres: humor, romance, suspense, political
satire, soap operas, horror, porn, Japanese
manga, nonfiction journalism. In 2006, Publishers
Weekly reported, 2,800 new titles were published. For
the first time, graphic novels surpassed standard comic
books in sales, $330 million to $310 million.
"The days when publishers aimed at only 15-year-old
boys - or 50-year-old men who are shopping for their
inner 15-year-old - those days are over," said Calvin
Reid of Publishers Weekly.
•The big battle: It's edge versus respectability as graphic novels
go mainstream

Useful Resources by
Michele Gorman
Getting Graphic! Using
Graphic Novels to
Promote Literacy with
Preteens and Teens
by Michele Gorman
Linworth, 2003
“What Teens Want: 30
Graphic Novels You Can’t
Live Without” cover
article; School Library
Journal, August 2002

Graphic Novels Reviews
for
Young
Adults
No Flying, No Tights
Why is this site here?
I just want to broadcast my opinions to the
world! Actually, no -- I decided to create
a page devoted to graphic novel reviews
specifically for those who read them the
most -- mainly teens -- and for those who
might be involved in distributing them to
teens -- namely teachers, librarians, and
parents.
• Robin Brenner, by day a
mild-mannered library technician
at Cary Memorial Library in
Lexington, Massachusetts
See also
Graphic Novels
101: FAQ

A classic:
Bone
A TIME top ten graphic novel
Bone combines the humor and look of early
Disney movies with the scope of the Lord of the
Rings cycle. Smith draws characters that are
both cute and scary, infusing every panel with
dynamic energy. The best all-ages novel yet
published in this medium, while children will read
Bone for its breathless adventure and sight
gags, older kids and adults will appreciate the
themes of blind fanaticism and corrupting power.
All-TIME Graphic Novels
No Bones
About It

A graphic novel by
Avi
City Of Light, City Of Dark
In City of Light, City of Dark Avi
creates a parallel world that
resembles our own, maybe it is our
own and we just don’t know it. In
this world the boogie men really do
exist, but they have another
name…the Kurbs. The Kurbs were
here first.
• Graphic Novel Review - City of Light,
City of Dark by Rich Haynes, Youth
Services Librarian, Harlan County Public
Library

A graphic novel
publisher
So, what the heck is Oni Press?
Oni Press, Inc. was founded in 1997 by
Joe Nozemack and Bob Schreck with the
goal of publishing the kinds of comics and
graphic novels they themselves would want
to read. Unsatisfied with the material
that was dominating the industry, the
men believed firmly that sequential art
could be used to tell virtually any story.
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Meet Barry Ween, the smartest
living human. What does a ten-
year-old boy do with a 350 I.Q.?
Anything he wants. Cranky,
egotistical, arrogant, and foul-
mouthed, Barry wants to conduct
his experiments and be left alone,
but it never seems to work out.
Hurdles that Barry must
outmaneuver range from time
warps, to art thieves, to
accidentally turning his best
friend into a dinosaur.
Barry Ween
(Series)
Meet the Gang |
Preview the Issues
Find Out Why
Everyone Loves Barry
Ween!

Another Oni YA
publication
Matthew Loux
Brian, Brad and Matt are
good guys with no direction and
zero motivation. . . . But their
serene laziness disappears when
Matt’s crush, Amber, announces
her intention to accompany
Matt’s nemesis, Richard the
jock, to the big rock show.
5-page
preview!

Another Oni
series
By Cullen Bunn
& Brian Hurtt
High and mighty
gangsters rake in the dough hand over
fist, rival criminal families hit the
mattresses, and anyone who gets in the
way ends up in the morgue. . . . But
here's what you don't know, wise
guy. As powerful as the mobs are, a
more sinister force is pulling their
leashes, using greed, gluttony, and lust
to fuel a much more lucrative trade:
human souls.
• http://www.thedamnedcomic.com/

Nonfiction
graphics
The Man Who Would Draw
King: Ho Che Anderson
TIME.comix on a biography of M. L. King
"King" volume one establishes the series'
tone — an attempt to get beyond the near-
saintly mythologization of King's life.
Part two puts you right in the middle of all
the most important civil rights actions from
1960 to 1965, culminating in the March on
Washington.

Romance in
graphic novels
Swoon! Romance is the main
theme here, though that
doesn't prohibit a bit of
action, a bit of angst, and a
bit of erudition. In the end,
though, it's all about catching
your breath and thinking,
“That's how I want it to be.”
Robin on “No Flying, No Tights”

Manga
What is Manga?
Manga can be roughly translated as "comic
books", in reality it is a much more complex
subject. Manga can include almost every
subject imaginable from funny stories to
serious literature. Technical manuals and even
legal case histories have been released in
manga format. Looking at some books about
manga, especially those of Frederik Schodt,
will probably be the best way to understand
this unique form of publishing.
• Anime and Manga Terminology

What about
anime?
What is anime?
(ah-nee-may, is one way to romanize the pronunciation)
Anime, as defined by common fan usage, is simply
any animation that is made in Japan for a Japanese
audience. In Japan the word simply means any
animation made anywhere in the world. Commercial
anime dates back to 1917. Modern anime dates from
the 1960s with the work of Osamu Tezuka, best
known in the U.S. for "Astro Boy", Tetsuwan Atom in
the original Japanese.
• Anime and Manga Terminology

Who reads
manga?
60% are female
While comics feature 50-year-old
superheroes who appeal to boys, manga in the
U.S. is often created by women for women of
all ages. . . . The 11-to-21-year-old
market is huge, says CEO [of Tokyopop, the
largest U.S.-owned creator and licensor of
manga] Jane Friedman, who predicts steady
growth for the category.
• America is Drawn to Manga: Why girls--and
publishers--love Japan's comics By COCO MASTERS
• Posted Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006
R.O.D. – Read or Die –
Preview the Manga here!

Manga as gender-
empowering?
The Transformative Power
of Manga:
[“Boys’ love manga”] postulates that
gender fluidity and change are ways we
can identify with those who are different
from us, experience new things, and, most
importantly, achieve things that were
impossible before.
• Gender Alchemy by J.D. Ho Horn Book Magazine
September/October 2007.

Graphics
Oscars
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards:
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are
considered the "Oscars" of the comic book
industry. They are handed out each year in a gala
ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego
• The "Oscars" of Comics A Brief History
• 2009 Eisner Awards Winners
• Best Publication for Teens/Tweens:
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted
by P. Craig Russell
(HarperCollins Children's Books)

Harveys’ Comics Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the
comic book industry's oldest and most
respected awards. The Harveys
recognize outstanding achievements in
over 20 categories, ranging from Best
Artist to the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.
• History
• Harvey Bio
2007 Harvey Awards
Best Original Graphic Album:
Pride Of Baghdad (DC)

Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards, named
for the character in the classic comic
strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a
festival prize that recognizes outstanding
achievement in comics and cartooning.
2009 Outstanding Graphic Novel
Acme Novelty Library #19, Chris Ware
(Drawn & Quarterly)

Are they?
What do you say?
Who says so? Can they?

Graphic Novels vs Comics

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