graphic novels

1. When I say “Graphic Novel”
What do you think of?

2. COMICS EVOLVE INTO
COMIC BOOKS

3. Grab a little attention . . .
Use Graphic Novels
In your classroom

5. Bayeux Tapestry

6. Graphic Novel or Comic Book?
When most people hear the phrase ‘graphic
novel’ they think ‘comic books.’
Superheroes like Wonder Woman, Wolverine
and the Green Lantern come to mind.

7. CREATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE
GRAPHIC NOVEL GENRE
• Will Eisner receives credit for publishing the first
graphic novel “A Contract with God” in 1978.
• Eisner claims to have created the phrase “graphic
novel” as a spontaneous marketing term used to
convince his publisher to print his work. However,
the term is said to have been used by comic fans
in the 1960s.
• Art Spiegelman receives the Pulitzer Prize in 1992
for “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale” about his father’s
struggle to survive the Holocaust.
• “Road to Perdition” - possibly best known graphic
novel for Western audiences - published in 1998
and eventually made into major motion picture.

8. Graphic Novel or Comic Book?
Graphic Novels are different from Comic Books iN a
few important ways:
• Comic Books are usually a ‘series.’ That means they are
intended to come up with new stories every month.
• Graphic Novels are one story (told in perhaps two or more
volumes) that reach the end and stop.
•Comic books are generally fantasy and science fiction.
•Graphic Novels are more realistic – usually historical, autobiographical
or a memoir.
The mood of a comic book is generally suspenseful and exciting.
The mood of a graphic novel can be more serious and reflective.
So then …. How are comic books and graphics the same?

9. GRAPHIC NOVEL
CONVENTIONS
• Panels
• Transitions/Gutter
• Perspective
• Time
• Narrative
• Words and Pictures

10. • Panel

11. • Transitions

12. 6 Types of Transitions

13. Perspective

14. • Time (1 of 2)

15. Time (2 of 2)

16. Narrative/Captions

18. Words and Pictures

19. Maus: The “Flow” of the Story
Graphic novels rely on pictures and words to tell
the story. These pictures and words are in
panels.
• Panels are the boxes in which the pictures and words
appear.
• The panels are read in sequence like the way you read
the words of a page in a regular book.
• Now you will look at two pages of MAUS – Don’t worry
about reading the words, just follow the directions so you
know how to move your eyes across the page.
Graphic novels are like regular stories. They have a
plot, characters , settings and all the other elements in
stories we read in regular books.

20. Start here and follow the red
arrows.

21. Start here and follow the red
arrows.

22. Graphic Novel: The Parts of the Story
• Graphic novels are like regular stories – they
have a plot, characters and all the other parts
of a regular story.
• A caption is information from the author that
gives us important information about the
setting or what a character is experiencing.
• Sometimes a “caption” can appear inside –or outside -
the panel.

23. This is the first page of MAUS
Caption #1Caption #1
Caption #2Caption #2
Caption #3Caption #3
Caption #4Caption #4
What captions tell us about
the setting?
What captions tell us about
the experiences of a
character?

24. Graphic Novel: The Parts of the Story
• Another important part of a graphic novel is
dialogue.
– Dialogue is what characters say to each other.
Dialogue is conveyed through word balloons.
Each word balloon has a “tail” to let you know
what character is talking.

25. This is the first page of MAUS (again)
Word Balloon #1Word Balloon #1
Word Balloon #2Word Balloon #2
Word Balloon #5Word Balloon #5
Word Balloon #3
Word Balloon #4
Word Balloon #6
Is it clear which
character is saying
the dialogue in
each word
balloon?

26. MAUS: What to look for in words and
pictures
• In the captions and word balloons, some
words are emphasized by being bigger or
bolder.
• This lets the reader know that there is a lot of
emotion behind these words.
• Look at Page One again and identify the
emphasized words.

27. This is the first page of MAUS (again)
Word Balloon #1Word Balloon #1
Word Balloon #2Word Balloon #2
Word Balloon #5Word Balloon #5
Word Balloon #3
Word Balloon #4
Word Balloon #6
What words are
emphasized?
What emotions
are the
communicating?

28. MAUS: What to look for in words and
pictures
• In the pictures, the artist can use devices like
shadow and style to help create a mood.
• Dark shadows usually create a mood of fear or
despair.

29. MAUS: What to look for in words and
pictures
• The style of the art can also help connect the
creator to the reader.
• In this story, we find out very early the
author’s mother killed herself.
• Later on, he tries to tell that story by
dramatically changing the style – the way – he
creates the art.
• He even uses an actual picture of his mother
with him when he was a small boy.
Does this make his pain more real to the reader?
Why?