Graphic Novels YA: 2003 versionYa

Graphic Graphic Novels—or Novels—or

just just Comics?Comics?

LIB 617 LIB 617 Research in Young Research in Young Adult LiteratureAdult Literature

Graphic Novels--or Just Comics?Graphic Novels--or Just Comics? 22

What is a What is a Graphic Novel?Graphic Novel?

Define 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 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.


Define Graphic Define Graphic Novel?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 A Contract With God?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 Another pioneering pioneering

graphic novelgraphic novel

Maus: A Survivor's Tale: A Survivor's Tale Maus is the story of Vladek

Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe, and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father, his father's terrifying story, and History itself. Its form, the cartoon (the Nazis are cats, the Jews mice), succeeds perfectly in shocking us out of any lingering sense of familiarity with the events described, approaching, as it does, the unspeakable through the diminutive.

•

An older “graphic An older “graphic novel” series novel” series (80 years old!)(80 years old!)



Aren’t they just Aren’t they just book-length book-length

comics?comics?

Graphic novels represent a Graphic novels represent a formatformat, rather than a , rather than a genregenre. .

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:Graphic Novels:Here to Stay!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



Useful Resources Useful Resources byby

Michele Gorman

Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens

by Michele Gormanby Michele GormanLinworth, 2003Linworth, 2003

“What Teens Want: 30 Graphic Novels You Can’t Live Without”

cover article; cover article; School School Library JournalLibrary Journal, August , August 20022002


Graphic Novels Graphic Novels Reviews for Reviews for Young Young AdultsAdults

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 alsoGraphic Novels 101: FAQ


A classic:A classic:Bone

A 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. All-TIME Graphic Novels

No Bones About It


A graphic novel A graphic novel

by by AviCity 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 A graphic novel publishernovel publisher

So, what the heck is Oni Press?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 IssuesFind Out Why Everyone Loves Barry Ween!


Another Oni YA Another Oni YA publicationpublication

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.

5-page preview!


Another Oni Another Oni seriesseries

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 Nonfiction graphicsgraphics

The Man Who Would Draw King: Ho Che Anderson: 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 Romance in graphic novelsgraphic novels

Swoon! Swoon! Romance is the Romance is the main theme here, though main theme here, though that doesn't prohibit a bit of that doesn't prohibit a bit of action, a bit of angst, and a action, a bit of angst, and a bit of erudition. In the end, bit of erudition. In the end, though, it's all about though, it's all about catching your breath and catching your breath and thinking, “That's how I want thinking, “That's how I want it to be.”it to be.”

Robin on “No Flying, No Tights”


MangaMangaWhat is Manga?

Manga can be roughly translated as "comic books", in reality it is a much more complex subject. Manga can include almost every subject imaginable from funny stories to serious literature. Technical manuals and even legal case histories have been released in manga format. Looking at some books about manga, especially those of Frederik Schodt, will probably be the best way to understand this unique form of publishing.

• Anime and Manga Terminology


What about What about anime?anime?

What is anime? ? (ah-nee-may, is one way to romanize the (ah-nee-may, is one way to romanize the pronunciation)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 Who reads manga?manga?

60% are female 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!

Manga as Manga as gender-gender-

empowering?empowering?

The Transformative Power The Transformative Power of Manga: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 Graphics OscarsOscars

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

• 2009 Eisner Awards Winners

•Best Publication for Teens/Tweens: Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children's Books)


Harveys’ Comics AwardsHarveys’ 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

2007 Harvey Awards Best Original Graphic Album: Pride Of Baghdad (DC)


Ignatz AwardsIgnatz 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.

2009 Outstanding Graphic NovelAcme Novelty Library #19, Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)


Are they?

What do you say?

Who says so? Can they?

Education

Graphic Novels YA: 2003 versionYa