Tuesday, August 07, 2007
A Guide to Graphic Novels
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What exactly is a graphic novel? A friend (who I had thought was a big reader) revealed a major problem in defining the form recently when he inquired about my summer reading. His interest piqued when I mentioned graphic novels; but it quickly became apparent that we were referring to two very different graphic worlds. He was thinking more (porno)graphic, like say Anais Nin of the 00’s, and I was earnestly describing the candid confessional graphic novels Maus and Persepolis.
So there’s that confusion. There’s also the false assumption that graphic novels are all violent, when in truth superhero comics and Manga are only a fraction of the graphic oeuvre. Graphic novels are not limited by genre; fantasy, action-adventure, travel diaries, sci-fi, memoirs and myth all find their way into graphic form. The fact is, graphic novels are fun and often brilliant, and there is no need to fear them or consider them too x-rated for the living room bookshelf.
Some of the earliest and most compelling graphic novels are autobiographical in nature, or as Lynda Barry has called them “autobifictionalography.” The dark tales of various skivers and teenage jezebels in Will Eisner’s A Contract with God, generally acknowledged to be the first graphic novel, were inspired by Eisner’s own upbringing in a Bronx tenement. R. Crumb mined the obsessions of his own childhood for material. Such work begs the question of whether drawing is confessional and cathartic in nature – it certainly can be for moviegoers who rushed to see Crumb and American Splendor, about Crumb’s pal Harvey Pekar.
Given the current popularity of memoirs, it’s not surprising that several of these confessional graphic novels have transcended the core audience for comics. Three stellar examples, which dear Misstropolis readers should pick up immediately, are: Maus, Persepolis, and Fun Home.
Art Spiegelman’s Maus (1973) won a Pulitzer Prize Special Award in 1992. The most famous of all graphic novels, Maus is the story of a son trying to understand his health-obsessed, detritus-saving, Auschwitz-survivor father.
In Persepolis, New Yorker cartoonist Marjane Satrapi’s personal teenage rebellion is rather unfortunately timed to coincide with the revolution in Iran. The drawings are reminiscent of Persian miniatures, and will interest anyone who remembers the American preoccupation with the Iranian hostage crisis - properly contextualized as one small aspect of the upheaval in Iran during Marjane’s childhood.
Alison Bechdel’s “Tragicomic” Fun Home has some truly riotous moments with the dysfunctional family of the year. Fun Home is the endearing name for the funeral home run by a closeted English teacher/embalmer who happens to be the father of the author. Just imagine playing house using caskets as props.
Graphic novelists haven’t restricted themselves to the format, nor have prose writers limited themselves to word only. Neil Gaiman, author of the Sandman series as well as Stardust, upon which the recent movie is based (link to RD article), has been equally successful writing traditional fantasies. Jennifer Holm, author of Pennies from Heaven, has found tremendous success with the Baby Mouse series – volume 7 Baby Mouse Ice Skater Girl to be released soon. Brian Selznick separates text and image in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, using birds’-eye perspectives to reveal the narrative in unusual ways.
Graphic novels are understandably well-suited for big screen adaptations. Frank Miller’s work is a favorite of Hollywood studios, as Sin City and 300 reveal. Sony Pictures Classics has just purchased the screen version of Persepolis for American distribution (the author is co-directing), and the ever popular petit-Belge hero Tintin is expected in theaters next year, thanks to producers Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy (also producing Persepolis). Plot driven stories with strong visuals translate well from foreign languages, and it only takes a few frames to see that any relation to the x-rated variety is only in your (or your friend’s!) dreams.
A recap of the works above and a few more recent offerings are listed below. Enjoy!
For children:
To Dance: a ballerina’s graphic novel, by Siena Cherson Siegel with artwork by Mark Siegel
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
Baby Mouse series by Jennifer Holm, Sardine Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar
Beowulf by Gareth Hinds
Tintin series by Herge Asterix, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
Teens or Young Adults:
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Sandman series by Neil Gaiman
Death Note series vol. 1-12 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (Manga)
Adults:
A Contract with God by Will Eisner
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Persepolis 1&2 by Marjane Satrapi
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
La Perdida by Jessica Abel
Carnet de Voyage
General Information on Graphic Novels:
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life by Paul Gravett
*Title Image from Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life by Paul Gravett
Dangerous Books for Dads
Comments
This was a wonderfully written and extremely informative piece. I read “Maus” years ago and never thought of it as a graphic novel. I am currently reading “Fun Home,” which was recommended in this article. There is an immediacy of affect that attends graphic novels because the image supports the words, which are more spare and economical than in novels.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you.
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