Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels image

How It May Come Up:

  1. I thought Watchmen was an OK movie, but it really didn’t live up to the graphic novel.
  2. I was really impressed by how Eisner integrated art and narrative in A Contract With God
  3. I don’t really like reading so much, is there a way I can do it with more pictures?


Overview:
The term “graphic novel” is a nebulous one, with almost every fan of comics having their own definition. A good section agree, though, that a graphic novel is a bound version of a complete story, whether or not that story previously appeared serialized or as one whole piece.
Though there is a lot of debate as to what the first graphic novel was, comics legend Will Eisner is most often associated with pioneering the form and using it to its advantages. His groundbreaking Contract With God still stands as one of the medium’s greatest tales, and his influence can still be seen in titles to this day.
The word “graphic” in the term graphic novel often leads people to believe that the stories contained inside are gritty, adults-only tales filled with blood, guts and sex, but this simply is not true. Epic, all ages fare such as Jeff Smith’s Bone series are considered graphic novels because of their scope, not their content.
Some graphic novels approach heights of grandeur usually reserved for more “serious” forms of literature. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen was declared one of Time Magazine’s 100 greatest novels from 1923-on, rubbing shoulders with Faulkner, Hemingway and Kerouac. Craig Thompson’s heartbreaking love story Blankets and Allison Bechdel’s Fun Home garnered buzz in literary circles and were praised by the frankness and maturity of their stories.
In any discussion of graphic novels, eventually the conversation will almost undoubtedly turn toward mainstream superhero comics. Publishing juggernauts Marvel and DC are still the biggest in the biz, with independent companies such as Image, Dark Horse and Oni Press filling out the rest of the market. Mainstream comics are a far cry from their post World War II beginnings, as well as much more reeled-in and mature early 1990’s extravagance. Comics today feature snappy dialogue and intriguing situations that rival any Hollywood blockbuster.

Talk About It:

  • Graphic Novel legend Alan Moore wrote three graphic novels that eventually became movies, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen.
  • Marvel was purchased earlier this year by Disney.  The $4 billion deal caught almost everyone by surprise.
  • The portrayal of the holocaust in Art Spiegelman’s Pullitzer Prize winning Maus proved that graphic novels could handle the most serious subjects with aplomb. 


How I Really Feel:
You might want to give graphic novels a try, even if you believe you’re “above” that kind of entertainment. Comic books and graphic novels have gone through a renaissance over the past few years, and they’re definitely different from what you may remember. Some good places to start would be Craig Thompson’s Blankets as well as the aforementioned Watchmen.

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Mr.G

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on 04/04/10 From Hell is also a Moore graphic novel that was made into a movie, though most people involved wuld rather forget it (as with LXG). Also, many argue that one of the greater influences on The Dark Knight was Moore's The Killing Joke (along wth Loeb's The Long Halloween). As a literature teacher, I have used graphic novels seriously in the classroom and found them to be an excellent way to inspire outsde-of-the-box thinking in teens. They often get away with content and concepts that even "regular" literature would consider risky, Batman tackled land mines, Superman discovered his powerlessness in the face of world hunger, and Captain Marvel discovered that power is not always what a frightened child nees. Coupled with the increasingly sophisticated and complex interaction of art and dialogue (compare, for example, the simplicity of A Death in the Family, powerful though it is, to the towering Kingdom Come, inconceivable twenty years before), grahic novels are being taken more seriously every day. I can only hope that more serious literature students (I have little hope for the scholars, but the young'uns have a chance) start to pay more attention to this rich and wonderful medium. - Mr. G