What is a Graphic Novel?

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.

I collected comic books as an adolescent—Wonder Woman and Archie and Classic Comics—so I thought I knew all about this pulp art form. They were for kids and they had limited literary merit.

Wrong! Some graphic novels are for pre-teens but most have a depth of content that requires a higher level of maturity on the part of the reader--not only of age but also of experience with this style of storytelling.

Herge's Tin-Tin books is an example of an old classic "comic book" which is, by definition, a graphic novel intended for the preadolescent audience. Maus by Art Spiegelman, which is a story of the Holocaust is an example of a graphic novel intended for an older audience.

As stated by Francisca Goldsmith in Booklist Youth, "Graphic novels require active, critical participation by the reader, who must not only be able to decode text but also follow its flow and grasp essentials of narrative, mood, character, or plot through images."

One of the main driving forces behind the mainstreaming of graphic novels has been the importing of "manga," a popular comic book style from Japan. An adaptation of "manga" as seen in anime cartoons movies such as Spirited Away, which has won major international awards, has made the general public more aware of this phenomenon.

Thanks to the Friends of the Library the Juneau Public Libraries have puchased the beginning of a sizable collection of graphic novels using several reputable reviewing sources.

Some Titles currently owned by the Juneau Public Libraries are:

• Akiko by Mark Crilley
• Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley
• Bone by Jeff Smith
• City of Light, City of Dark by Avi
• Clan Apis by Jan Hosler
• Meridian: Flying Solo by Barbara Kesel

For Reviews on these titles and many others please try no flying no tights

Return to Sandra Says

Also check out the other articles.
Phoenix Award
Juvenile Illustrated Fiction
Native American Books