Ranger Read Program
Graphic Novels are NOT Comics!
The term "graphic novel" usually refers to one of three formats:
• A stand alone story with graphic
• Trade paperback collections of serial comics
• Anthologies of related topics od stories
| Comics | Graphic Novels |
| Collections of unrelated stories | Tell only one story or several shorter related stories |
| Comics are almost always shorter | Length vary, but they are usually longer than comics |
| Primarily entertainment value | Write about almost any topic: from the Holocaust to urban legends |
| Can stand alone as stories – graphics add to the story |
What is a Graphic Novel by Prof. J Mcroy?
"Graphic novels combine elements from painting and illustration (e.g. composition, color, design) with the written word’s capacity for evoking emotion through metaphor and for posing challenging philosophical questions. This creative fusion of image and language expands the ways that readers perceive information, necessitating that they actively collaborate with the writer and artist in the creation of meaning. In other words, as a sequential art form, graphic novels require readers to apply sophisticated intellectual and cognitive maneuvers that contribute to the development of advanced reading strategies and the sharpening of critical thinking skills. Unlike serialized commercial comics, graphic novels conform to – and occasionally challenge – traditional literary narrative structures in ways that rival the efforts of the world’s most acclaimed writers. Alan Moore’s 1986 graphic novel, Watchmen, for example, was selected as one of the “100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to the Present” by Time magazine, and Art Spiegelman’s Holocaust memoir, Maus, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992. Not surprisingly, educators throughout the United States have enthusiastically embraced graphic novels as a vital tool for improving literacy skills. However, the pedagogical application of graphic novels does not end there. University professors from around the globe, recognizing the plethora of complex ideas contained within this steadily emerging mode of discourse, have readily adopted graphic novels as an integral component of their curriculum. The truism that emerged with the increasing popularity of graphic novels – “comics aren’t just for kids anymore” – has never been more appropriate."
