What?
Why?
How?
• Same format as comic books
• Text & illustrations present information
• Medium, not genre
• Book-length, usually contain one story
A Graphic Novel Page
Pages consist of a variety of elements
•
Panels-squares or rectangles that
contain a single scene
•
Gutters-space between panels
•
Dialog Balloons-contain communication
between/among characters
•
Thought Balloons-contain a character’s
thoughts
•
Captions-contain information about a
scene or character
•
Sound Effects-visual sound clues i.e..
Wonk! Pow!
How to
Read a
Graphic
Novel Page
Graphic novels are
read left to right, just
like traditional texts
Dialog Balloons
dialog balloons are read left to right or top to bottom as is
appropriate.
1
4
2
3
5
Sometimes it can get
a little more
complicated…
2
1
But the
basic left to
right rule
still applies
to panels
3
4
2
1
and dialog balloons
as well
3
4
5
6
7
Major Types
Humor
Non-Fiction
Fantasies
Adaptations
or
Spin-offs
Realistic Fiction
Personal
Stories
Toon Books
• For age 4+
• Can be read to or
by children
• Vetted by educators
Manga
• Manga=comic books
• Period before
WWII=beginning of
modern manga
How to read a Manga Page
Unlike traditional western books,
Manga is read right-to-left and
“back” to “front”
Often, if you
start at what
looks like the
front of the
Manga, you will
see a message
like this
1
2
Panels are read
right to left
3
4
5
3
2
1
4
As are dialog
balloons
6
7
5
10
11
8
9
Common Manga
Character Traits
Large, expressive eyes
Small noses
Tiny mouths
Types of Manga
• Shonen: teenage
boys
• Shojo: teenage girls
• Shonen-ai /
Yaoi=boys love
Manga
Adaptations
Popular & Respected
• Read by everyone
• Artists & writers well
respected
• Much anime based
on manga
• perceived as
subversive=attractive!
• Ratings
• “God of Manga”
Osamu Tezuka
• Hayayo Miyazaki:
anime & manga
Names to
Know
First comic “strip”
• Appeared in New
York World: 1895
• R. F. Outcault
• Increased sales
Katzenjammer Kids
• 1897
• Used word balloons
• Used multiple panels to tell story
Early 20th Century
• Windsor McCay
– Chalk-talk artist
– Broadway musical
– Animated movie
Popularity Grows
• By early 1900’s, over
150 strips in
syndication
• 1929: Tarzan
• 1931: Dick Tracy
The Comic Book
• 1933-reprints of
comic strips
• Initially free
• 1935-original stories
& characters
• 10 cents each
Popular comics
• Superman
– First superhero
– On newsstands: 1938
• Characters spun-off into radio & movies
• Superheroes big during World War II
After WWII: crime, science
fiction and horror comics
Shades of things to come…
• The Spirit published
as book-type
supplement
• National
newspapers
• Educated readers
1950’s: comics in crisis!
• Frederic Wertham
• Comics examined by US Senate
• Comics banned and burned
A New Beginning
• Late 1950’s: Justice League of America born
• 1961: Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, &
Spiderman
• 1960’s: Self-published underground comics
Milestones in the
Graphic Novel World
• 1978-Will Eisner coins term
• 1986- Batman: the Dark Knight Returns
• 1987- The Watchmen
• 1992- Maus: A Survivor’s Tale wins Pulitzer
• 2005-”Graphix” imprint launched
• 2006- American Born Chinese named NBA
finalist for Young People’s Literature
• 2007- American Born Chinese wins Printz
Award for excellence in YA literature
• 2007 The Invention
of Hugo Cabret
finalist for NBA
• 2008 Invention wins
Caldecott
• 2007-YALSA creates new annual booklist: “Great
Graphic Novels for Teens”
• 2009-NYT Graphic Books Bestseller List
• 2009- David Small’s Stitches NBA finalist
New Graphic Classics
• Marvel Illustrated
• IDW
• Manga
Shakespeare
• Classical Comics
Educational GNs
President
Obama
collects both
Spider-Man
and
Conan the
Barbarian
comics
Why Graphic Novels &
Manga?
• 6.3 million secondary school students reading below
grade level.
• Average American age 15-24 spends only 7 minutes of
daily leisure time reading.
• >57%of high schoolers devote 3 or more hours of an
average school day to electronic viewing.
• Students with access to variety of reading
materials=higher average reading scores.
Graphic Novels & Manga:
• Present complex material in readable text
• Serve as a bridge to more difficult reading
• Challenge readers of more traditional literature
• Embrace nature of multimedia world
• Fulfill NCTE’s “21st Century literacies” (multiple streams,
simultaneous information)
Checking Out Graphic
Novels & Manga
• Public Library
• Local comic stores
• Book stores
Purchasing
• Many traditional library suppliers offer
graphic novel titles.
• Local comic stores
• Book stores
Collection Development
Policies
• Clear (enough) definition
• Selection criteria
• Maintenance
• Challenges
Classification & Shelving
• Within general collection
• Format specific (PS, NC or 741.5)
• Graphic Novel designation
• DNC
Learning more about Graphic
Novels & Manga!
Reviews & More
School Library Journal
Library Journal
Diamond Comics Bookshelf
Cooperative Children’s Book Center
• Get Graphic!
• Graphic Novel Resources: SUNY at Buffalo
• First Second Books
• Public Square Books