Graphic novels Young Adult 2007

Graphic
Novels—or
just Comics?
LIB 617
Research in Young
Adult Literature
Fall 2010

Graphic Novels--or Just Comics? 2
What is a Graphic
Novel?
Define graphic?
S: (adj) graphic, graphical, in writing
(written or drawn or engraved) "graphic symbols"
S: (adj) graphic (describing nudity or sexual activity in
graphic detail) "graphic sexual scenes"
S: (adj) graphic (of or relating to the graphic arts) "the
etchings, drypoints, lithographs, and engravings which
together form his graphic work"- British Book News
S: (adj) graphic, graphical (relating to or presented by a
graph) "a graphic presentation of the data"
S: (adj) graphic, lifelike, pictorial, vivid (evoking lifelike
images within the mind) "pictorial poetry and prose";
"graphic accounts of battle"; "a lifelike portrait"; "a vivid
description"
WordNet: a
lexical database
for the English
language

What is a
Graphic Novel?
From
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.

Aren’t they just
book-length comics?
Graphic novels represent a
format, rather than a genre.
Comics are presented in a format defined as
sequential art – thus the panels, the text
bubbles, and all of the usual trademarks of your
local newspaper’s comic strips. In terms of
genre, remember that while superhero tales
traditionally dominated the comics industry in
the U.S., today's graphic novels range into
every possible genre, from literary fiction to
memoir to fantasy.
• More Than Words: Graphic Novels in Kentucky's Libraries.
Graphic Novels: Where to Start? By Robin Brenner

Graphic Novels:
Here to Stay!
Graphic novels exist in a broad range of
genres: humor, romance, suspense, political
satire, soap operas, horror, porn, Japanese
manga, nonfiction journalism. In 2006, Publishers
Weekly reported, 2,800 new titles were published. For
the first time, graphic novels surpassed standard comic
books in sales, $330 million to $310 million.
"The days when publishers aimed at only 15-year-old
boys - or 50-year-old men who are shopping for their
inner 15-year-old - those days are over," said Calvin
Reid of Publishers Weekly.
•The big battle: It's edge versus respectability as graphic novels
go mainstream

Define Graphic
Novel?
graphic novel
A term coined by Will Eisner to describe his semi-
autobiographical novel A Contract with God (1978),
written and illustrated in comic book style, the first
work in a new genre that presents an extended
narrative as a continuous sequence of pictorial
images printed in color and arranged in panel-to-
panel format, with dialogue given in captions or
enclosed in balloons. . . . This new literary form is
viewed with suspicion by traditionalists who regard it
as a marketing ploy aimed at attracting adult
readers to comic books by removing the stigma
attached to them. Click here to connect to the
Yahoo! list of graphic novel Web sites. See also:
fotonovela.

A Contract With
God?
A Contract With God
and Other Tenement
Stories
This collection of four
stories takes us back to
the Bronx of the 1930s as
seen through Eisner's own
eyes, when tenement
blocks were crammed with
European immigrants
jostling their way to a
better life.

Another
pioneering
graphic novel
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
In Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
Art Spiegelman has simultaneously expanded the
boundaries of a literary form and found a new way of
imagining the Holocaust, an event that is commonly
described as unimaginable. The form is the comic
book, once dismissed as an entertainment for children
and regarded as suited only for slapstick comedy,
action-adventure, or graphic horror.
Maus II
A Survivor's Tale: And
Here My Troubles
Began

An older “graphic
novel” series
(80 years old!)
Tintin -
80 years old but still a young reporter
Somehow, ever since January 10 in 1929,
the day when together they took the
train to the Soviet Union, the renowned
reporter and his inseparable side-kick
Snowy have surrendered nothing of their
timeless appeal. As it is, the Soviets
have passed into history but Tintin's
adventures retain their same old
magnetic power unabated.

Useful Resources by
Michele Gorman
Getting Graphic! Using
Graphic Novels to Promote
Literacy with Preteens and
Teens
by Michele Gorman
Linworth, 2003
“What Teens Want: 30
Graphic Novels You Can’t
Live Without” cover article;
School Library Journal,
August 2002

Graphic Novels Reviews
for
Young
Adults
No Flying, No Tights
Why is this site here?
I just want to broadcast my opinions to the
world! Actually, no -- I decided to create
a page devoted to graphic novel reviews
specifically for those who read them the
most -- mainly teens -- and for those who
might be involved in distributing them to
teens -- namely teachers, librarians, and
parents.
• Robin Brenner, by day a
mild-mannered library technician
at Cary Memorial Library in
Lexington, Massachusetts
See also
Graphic Novels
101: FAQ

A classic:
Bone
A TIME top ten graphic novel
Bone combines the humor and look of
early Disney movies with the scope of
the Lord of the Rings cycle. Smith draws
characters that are both cute and scary,
infusing every panel with dynamic energy.
The best all-ages novel yet published in
this medium, while children will read
Bone for its breathless adventure and
sight gags, older kids and adults will
appreciate the themes of blind
fanaticism and corrupting power.
No Bones
About It

A graphic novel by
Avi
City Of Light, City Of Dark
In City of Light, City of Dark Avi
creates a parallel world that
resembles our own, maybe it is our
own and we just don’t know it. In
this world the boogie men really do
exist, but they have another
name…the Kurbs. The Kurbs were
here first.
• Graphic Novel Review - City of Light,
City of Dark by Rich Haynes, Youth
Services Librarian, Harlan County Public
Library

A graphic novel
publisher
So, what the heck is Oni Press?
Oni Press, Inc. was founded in 1997 by
Joe Nozemack and Bob Schreck with the
goal of publishing the kinds of comics and
graphic novels they themselves would want
to read. Unsatisfied with the material
that was dominating the industry, the
men believed firmly that sequential art
could be used to tell virtually any story.
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Meet Barry Ween, the smartest
living human. What does a ten-
year-old boy do with a 350 I.Q.?
Anything he wants. Cranky,
egotistical, arrogant, and foul-
mouthed, Barry wants to conduct
his experiments and be left alone,
but it never seems to work out.
Hurdles that Barry must
outmaneuver range from time
warps, to art thieves, to
accidentally turning his best
friend into a dinosaur.
Barry Ween
(Series)
Meet the Gang |
Preview the Issues
Find Out Why
Everyone Loves Barry
Ween!

Another Oni YA
publication
Matthew Loux
Brian, Brad and Matt are
good guys with no direction and
zero motivation. . . . But their
serene laziness disappears when
Matt’s crush, Amber, announces
her intention to accompany
Matt’s nemesis, Richard the
jock, to the big rock show.

Another Oni
series
By Cullen Bunn
& Brian Hurtt
High and mighty
gangsters rake in the dough hand over
fist, rival criminal families hit the
mattresses, and anyone who gets in the
way ends up in the morgue. . . . But
here's what you don't know, wise
guy. As powerful as the mobs are, a
more sinister force is pulling their
leashes, using greed, gluttony, and lust
to fuel a much more lucrative trade:
human souls.
• http://www.thedamnedcomic.com/

Nonfiction
graphics
The Man Who Would Draw
King: Ho Che Anderson
TIME.comix on a biography of M. L. King
"King" volume one establishes the series'
tone — an attempt to get beyond the near-
saintly mythologization of King's life.
Part two puts you right in the middle of all
the most important civil rights actions from
1960 to 1965, culminating in the March on
Washington.

Romance in
graphic novels
Swoon! Romance is the main
theme here, though that
doesn't prohibit a bit of
action, a bit of angst, and a
bit of erudition. In the end,
though, it's all about catching
your breath and thinking,
“That's how I want it to be.”
Robin on “No Flying, No Tights”

Manga
What is Manga?
Though manga as we know it probably
came into being at the dawn of the 20th
century, most aficionados of the genre
agree that the modern manga style was
invented by Osamu Tezuka — the creator
of such classic works as Astro Boy and
Kimba the White Lion — in the late
1940s/early 1950s.
• Beginner's Guide to Manga

Manga
What is Manga?
“It used to be fairly straightforward to say
that manga were black-and-white comics
originating in Japan,” Mr. Kiley [Mike Kiley, the
senior vice president of the publisher Tokyopop]
wrote. “But for many years now, there have
been manga ‘variants’ in many places around
the world,” including manhwa in Korea and
original English language manga in the United
States.
• Graphic Books Best-Sellers: What Is Manga? By
GEORGE GENE GUSTINES
October 22, 2010, 10:00 am

What about
anime?
What is anime?
(ah-nee-may, is one way to romanize the pronunciation)
Anime, as defined by common fan usage, is simply
any animation that is made in Japan for a Japanese
audience. In Japan the word simply means any
animation made anywhere in the world. Commercial
anime dates back to 1917. Modern anime
dates from the 1960s with the work of
Osamu Tezuka, best known in the U.S.
for "Astro Boy", Tetsuwan Atom in the
original Japanese.
• Anime and Manga Terminology

Who reads
manga?
60% are female
While comics feature 50-year-old
superheroes who appeal to boys, manga in the
U.S. is often created by women for women of
all ages. . . . The 11-to-21-year-old
market is huge, says CEO [of Tokyopop, the
largest U.S.-owned creator and licensor of
manga] Jane Friedman, who predicts steady
growth for the category.
• America is Drawn to Manga: Why girls--and
publishers--love Japan's comics By COCO MASTERS
• Posted Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006
R.O.D. – Read or Die –
Preview the Manga here!

Another view
The Librarian's Guide to Manga

Manga as gender-
empowering?
The Transformative Power
of Manga:
[“Boys’ love manga”] postulates that
gender fluidity and change are ways we
can identify with those who are different
from us, experience new things, and, most
importantly, achieve things that were
impossible before.
• Gender Alchemy by J.D. Ho Horn Book Magazine
September/October 2007.

Graphics
Oscars
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards:
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are
considered the "Oscars" of the comic book
industry. They are handed out each year in a gala
ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego
• The "Oscars" of Comics A Brief History
• 2010 Eisner Awards Winners
• Best Publication for Teens
• Beasts of Burden, by Evan Dorkin
and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)

Harveys’ Comics Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the
comic book industry's oldest and most
respected awards. The Harveys
recognize outstanding achievements in
over 20 categories, ranging from Best
Artist to the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.
• History
• Harvey Bio
2010 Harvey Award Winners
Best Original Graphic Album
“Asterios Polyp“, by David
Mazucchelli, Pantheon

Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards, named
for the character in the classic comic
strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a
festival prize that recognizes
outstanding achievement in comics
and cartooning.
2010 Outstanding Graphic Novel
Market Day, James Sturm
(Drawn & Quarterly)
Preview (PDF)

Are they?
What do you say?
Who says so? Can they?

Graphic novels Young Adult 2007

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Graphic novels Young Adult 2007

Similar to Graphic novels Young Adult 2007 (16)

More from Johan Koren

More from Johan Koren (20)

Graphic novels Young Adult 2007