Weekly Geeks 19 – Getting Graphic

So, the topic for this last week of May over at Weekly Geeks is graphic novels.

*happy dance*

Part 1: What’s A Graphic Novel?

For those of you unfamiliar with graphic novels and the greater edification of those who are…

A ‘graphic novel’ is a book whose story is told using sequential artwork. A single person can write, draw, and color the work but it’s more common for at least two people to collaborate.

Graphic novels usually have text, which appears in dialog, narration, and sound effects; how much text varies with the title. There are a few, like Korgi, that have NO text at all and are told ENTIRELY via images.

There are four types or categories of graphic novel; trade, original, manga, and ‘comicized’…

The Trade/TPB

Trade Paper Back (TPB) or ‘trade’ books collect/reprint comic book issues in a single hard or paperback book. This is a term internal to the comic book scene.

The Three Types of Trades

1. Collections of a particular storyline from one or more comic book titles so that fans can read the entire story in one book without having to collect any of the individual issues.
   
2. Comic books are sometimes released as a mini-series, in which case the trade/graphic novel version collects ALL the issues into one book. It’s easier to read and sometimes the series being reprinted can’t be gotten ahold of any more.
   
3. The ‘Essentials’, ‘Masterworks’, ‘Archives’, etc. volumes that Marvel and DC release where they reprint the first years of a classic, and sometimes forgotten, title in several volumes. That way fans can read things like the first Doctor Strange (1960s) or Wonder Woman (1941) stories without mortgaging their houses to buy the original issues.
   

Some top trade graphic novels:

Batman: The Killing Joke, Watchmen, Essential: Defenders, Vol. 1

The Original Graphic Novel

An ‘original’ graphic novel is one that was originally written as a book and was never serialized in a several magazine issues (i.e. never been a comic book).

Some top graphic novels of this type:

Maus, American Born Chinese, and Far Arden.

Manga & Manwha

These are comic books of novel length, sometimes collected from serializations in magazines, from Japan (manga) and Korea (manwha/manhwa). The manga tradition actually predates our own comic books in Western Europe and America. People don’t usually include these under the ‘graphic novel’ header but I feel that they’re kin and kindred.
Manga has it’s own various unique genres, besides the standard ‘fantasy’, ‘science fiction’, etc. ones. Most of these are based on age and/or sex/gender demographics. I believe manwa is similar.

Some famous manga titles:

Akira, Buddha, Chobits, Death Note, Fruits Basket, Ghost in the Shell, and Naruto.

Some famous manwha titles:

Angel Diary, Demon Diary, Kill Me, Kiss Me, Les Bijoux, Model, and Rangorak.

The ‘Comicized’ Novel

This is a graphic novel version of a book originally written in prose, like Moby Dick or The Dresden Files series. The ‘comicized’ novel is a growing trend.
Note: There are several prose novel series that have graphic novels based in their worlds but which contain entirely new stories instead of being adaptations. Two prime examples are the Dark Tower series and Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson: Homecoming book.

Part 2: Weekly Geeks Questions

Do You Read Graphic Novels?

Boy howdy do I. I LOVE graphic novels. I have two separate small bookshelves just for them; one for big publishers and one for indie and small press.

What’s really interesting is that I find myself willing to read genres or stories as graphic novels that I wouldn’t want to read as a novel.

Do You Count Graphic Novels as Books When Tracking Book Numbers?

Yes, of course. For one thing, regardless of all other arguments, they fit the base definition of a book. For a second, a novel or novella illustrated with sequential art is just as much a novel or novella as their non-illustrated cousins.

Some People Don’t Think Graphic Novels Qualify as “Serious” Literature

Same for romance novels, whoo-whoo (paranormal romance), YA, fantasy, and ALL genre fiction. *smirk* Whenever humans set to quantifying they always inevitably start qualifying, if you follow me. It’s all hubris, frankly, and a sign that you need to step back, take a deep breath, and stop taking yourself so damn seriously.

After all, no one gets out alive and I don’t see St. Peter putting ‘thought graphic novels were books’ down in the sin column or someone living their next life as a shrimp because they read paranormal romances in this one.

Who are your favorite authors?

That’s a little more complex a question when talking about graphic novels, and not least because they’re often collaborative works. Mainly, though, it’s a tricky one to answer because writers of graphic novel, comic, and manga/manwha books tend to write vastly different stories and characters with each title. It would be better to ask what my favorite graphic novels are.

Which Graphic Novels Do You Recommend?

Hoo boy, that’s a whole different post all on it’s own. To say nothing of a whole section of this blog. I’ll have to rein in my enthusiasm or I’ll be typing all day.

My Top Ten Graphic Novels To Recommend

Keep in mind, this list is changeable depending on who I’m recommending to. If you’d like some customized graphic novel recs feel free to drop me an email about it.

My Husband’s Top 5 Graphic Novels to Recommend

Some Great Graphic Novel Recommended Reading Lists:

• See my Graphic Novel Love section
• The Best Graphic Novels list on GoodReads has been voted on by various members of the site (including myself)
• My favorite manga review site is Manga Life
• Comics Worth Reading’s Must-Read Comic Classics has some good items, as well as some links to additional lists from past years.
• Graphic Novel Reporter has several good lists:
  • Hot Fall Graphic Novels for Libraries
  • The Core Ten for Teens
  • The Core Ten for Adults
  • Hottest Graphic Novels of 2010: The Complete List (‘complete’ means it includes kids, tweens, teens, adult non-fiction, and adult fiction)

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