Graphic Novels
"The graphic novel is not literary fiction's half-wit cousin, but, more accurately, the
mutant sister who can often do everything fiction can, and, just as often, more."
~Dave Eggers
"We revere words; we devote libraries to house them. We adore pictures; we build
museums to house them. Somehow when you combine the two, we're talking
something for dunces and dunderheads. " ~Harvey Pekar
Readings: Articles
This is only the second semester that we have covered graphic novels in this class.
The reason for this is simple-it is a section of the library that is little known to most
librarians. It doesn't come up in our school work over the years; there is no required
reading list of graphic novels to get into college and unless we simply like reading
them-no one ever makes us read them. So, why should we care? Simply because our
patrons are reading them by the droves and that alone should pique our interest. Build
your graphic novel collection and your circulation will go through the roof. This isn't
an area librarians can afford to ignore any longer.
Graphic novels are an area that any readers' advisor should be willing to explore and
understand. It will connect you to an already strong readership that doesn't expect you
to understand what they like to read. Readers of graphic novels are use to being
looked down on as not reading "real" literature. As the awards given to graphic novels
continue to grow it is important for librarians to show readers that we at least
understand and respect their reading choices. The best way to do this is to read.
Graphic novels seem to be the last stand of materials that is fully acceptable to never
touch in a librarian's lifetime-even for readers' advisors. This breeds fear and
avoidance and by having you read a graphic novel in this class-that will help stop this
trend.
It is important to note that graphic novels are not a genre. Instead they are considered
a format. This means that the lecture will follow a slightly different format than the
other genres we have covered this semester.
The stereotypes
Comic books have often been a source of frustration for parents, kids and writers
alike. Often dismissed as cheap entertainment for kids comic books have long been
given a low status in the literary world. Many say comic books are just for boys, are
too violent or sexy. Feminists say that the outrageous portrayal of women's assets lead
to a sexist attitude towards women and the fiction community has long held comics as
shallow trash. As with any genre or format, there is a wide variety of quality and
appeal in graphic novels. As librarians and readers' advisors we are not here to judge,
we are here to understand the format and to feel comfortable working with our
patrons.
Definition
So, what is a graphic novel? Are graphic novels, comics and manga the same? What is
the difference between anime and manga? The differences between comic books,
comics and graphic novels can be a bit murky. For the purpose of this lecture I will
briefly go over some varying ideas on the differences between comics and graphic
novels and then will collectively use the term graphic novel for comics and graphic
novels. Clear as mud? Thought so!
Comics refer to the comic books most of us are familiar with from our childhood and
pop culture of the 20th century. These books are sequential art that portrays most
commonly superheroes as well as comic strips such as Peanuts or Calvin & Hobbes.
Many of these comics have a resurgence when the movie is released featuring that
particular superhero.
The term graphic novel is often attributed to Will Eisner, a comic industry veteran. In
1978 he used the term to differentiate his new book that he considered serious and
more literary than your average superhero comic book. He wasn't the first comic to
use this term, but with his use, it stuck. Under this terminology a graphic novel is a
book that involves graphics but the content more compares to that of a novel. Graphic
novels can be fiction or nonfiction. There is a current trend to redo classics in the
graphic novel format to attract new readers. Biographies, classic literature, history
materials and the Bible have been printed in this format. Graphic novels appeal more
to both male and female readers unlike the traditional comic books that lends itself to
male readers.
Manga (pronounced "mon-gah") is simply the Japanese word for comics and has been
around since the 1920s. Some people confuse the terms manga and anime. Manga
refers to the print Japanese comics and anime refers to Japanese animation. Many
popular characters and series in manga are transformed into anime so the two really
do go hand in hand with readers. Manga has taken over the comics market in the
United States in the last decade. U.S. manga accounts for two-thirds of the graphic
novel market and it isn't showing any signs of slowing down. The librarians that I talk
with about the format are adamant that American comics are dead and all anyone
wants is manga. While circulation statistics do not support this theory, it is safe to say
that manga reigns in popularity in the graphic novel market. Manga is another area
that has a strong female readership.
One key difference in reading manga is that it reads right to left instead of left to right.
This requires an adjustment for the reader who is use to reading right to left. It sound
much more complicated than it is and many manga books will provide instruction on
how to read the panels and accompanying text.
Another difference with manga that is important to note in the library environment is
that the story continues over a series of volumes. The story is completed over a few
volumes to well over 30 volumes, but for many series the story simply pauses with
one volume only to be picked up at the next volume. This leaves the reader no closure
until all volumes have been read and this also explains why our manga fans in the
library are rabid for the next one in the series. Can you blame them? How would you
feel if you were 3/4th of the way through the latest Grisham legal thriller only to find
the story paused until you are able to get your hands on the next volume?
Manga terminology you should be familiar with:
Shoen: Target audience is boys from elementary school to their late teens. Action,
sports and battle scenes are prominent.
Sojo: Target audience is girls from elementary school to their late teens. Romance,
comedy and drama is prominent.
Seinen: Target audience is young men focusing on business, crime and political
drama.
Josei: Target audience is college-age to middle-age women focusing on work, family
and romance.
Yuri: Stories deal with romantic relationships between two women and is not usually
explicit. Audience is usually young lesbians.
Yaoi: Stories deal with romantic relationships between two men with a mixture of
explicit and non-explicit material. Audience is usually young heterosexual females.
Yaoi is much more popular than Yuri manga.
Hentai-Sexually explicit manga.
History
Humans have been communicating in graphic form long before writing was
developed. Hieroglyphics, medieval tapestries and Japanese picture scrolls are all
examples of ancient sequential art. But, Rodolphe Topffer (1799-1846) is most often
given the title of the father of modern comics. Rodolphe was a teacher but in his spare
time he drew satirical picture stories for his friends who encouraged him to have them
published.
But, it wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that comics began to take off in
places that we recognize. In 1895 the first widely recognized Sunday comic was
printed called The Yellow Kid by Richard F. Outcault. It wasn't long after this that
many multi-panel newspaper comic strips began to be published. In 1935, these
comics were first published in book sized anthologies known as "comic books". These
comic books were sold in newspaper stands and became hugely popular.
In 1938, comics where changed forever with the introduction of Superman, the first
comic book character with super-human powers. The superhero phenomenon helped
to solidify comics as a national institution and new superheroes started to fly (no pun
intended) off the shelves. Superheroes remained popular through the end of World
War II as society needed heroes to believe in. After the war their popularity dropped
as there wasn't an enemy to fight anymore and society was changing quickly.
The 1950's proved to be an interesting time for comic books that reflected our natural
culture. It seems that comics became the fodder of Communists and censorship. In
1954, a Comics Code was developed and enforced by the Comics Code Authority of
the Comics Magazine Association of America, in which publishers submitted their
work to the authority to receive their seal of approval. While the CCA is still in
operation its influence is not as strong as it once was and most publishers do not
bother submitting their titles. For fun, here are a few of the rules from the original
code:
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In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal be punished for
his misdeeds.
No comic magazine shall use the word horror or terror in its title.
Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical
qualities.
Love stories must reinforce the sanctity of marriage and love scenes are
forbidden from stimulating lower and baser emotions.
The transformation of comics to graphic novels has been a decades long process.
Artists like Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman began underground and worked their way
up to show that graphic novels were weighty enough to handle tough subjects and
deeper content. One of the best examples of this type of work is Spiegelman's Maus.
From this base the modern graphic novel has been born with a wide variety of content
and styles that have open wide the doors of popularity in this often underappreciated
format.
Appeal
Story Line:
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Story emphasizes people.
Usually a retelling meant to entertain.
The story is part of a fantasy world with depth, complexity and feelings.
Frame:
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Frame greatly affects the tone and atmosphere in both graphic novels and
manga.
Manga artists focus on images of the setting in the book to establish a scene
and will give great time to that atmosphere.
Nothing is presented without having a purpose.
Characterization:
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Characters rule the graphic novel format.
Often characters are well-known and loved by readers.
Due to the emotional content of manga, artists spend considerable time building
characters
Pace:
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Pace-usually quick in comics, moderate in graphic novels.
Pacing in manga is usually much slower than US graphic novels.
The Japanese concentrate on emotion which influences everything else.
The writers of manga linger over events and situations to stress a plot point or
create a powerful sense of mood.
References
Brenner, R.E. (2007). Understanding manga and anime. Westport, Connecticut:
Libraries Unlimited.
Fingeroth, D. (2008). The rough guide to graphic novels. New York: Rough Guides.
Goldsmith, F. (2010). The readers' advisory guide to graphic novels. Chicago:
American Library Association.
Gravett, P. (2005). Graphic novels: Everything you need to know. New York:Collins
Design.
Hajdu, D. (2008). The ten-cent plague: The great comic-book scare and how it
changed America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Thompson, J. (2007). Manga: The complete guide. New York: Ballantine Books.
Weiner, S. (2003). Faster than a speeding bullet: The rise of the graphic novel. New
York: Nantier.Beall.Minoustchine Publishing, Inc.
Wright, B.W. (2005). Comic book nation: The transformation of youth culture in
America. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Zellers, J. ( 2008). Reader's Advisory with Graphic Novels, Part 1-3. Retrieved
September 22, 2008, from Novelist database.