Hi all ~

I'm in a release challenge that requires us to read/release one book for each of the 41 categories at bookcrossing. I'm not exactly sure what a Graphic Novel is. Is this basically a picture book , like comics?

I still need to get one and want to make sure I get the right thing. Thanks.

Yes. Some Marvel/Dc comics are in this format (although could be classified as something other than a novel). Road to Perdition and V for Vendetta are 2 famous Graphic Novels. Japanese Mangas are also in this category.

Ok that's what I thought , but wanted to be sure. So guessing Dilbert falls into this category too. :)

Loosely, yeah.

A Graphic Novel is usually a compendium of a few issues' worth of those small, paper-covered comic books that are famous for being rolled up and stuck in the back pocket of the cool kid. Instead, GNs are bigger, heavier, and have a cover like you'd find on a novel -- they are almost the size of a trade paperback, but a bit taller and skinnier.

Some other examples are Maus and my favorite: anything by Joann Sfar (picky, aren't I?). Other well-known examples of graphics that form series are Sandman and Preacher. And superheroes.

Check out Amazon for any of those and you'll see what I mean. The neat thing about the genre is the use of art to further the story and bring a richness to it that can't be achieved through words alone.

I wouldn't classify Dilbert as a Graphic Novel; it has the illustrated element, sure, but my understanding of a graphic novel is that the actual writing has some kind of story arc, like a regular novel. I think to be considered a graphic novel the "comic" should have a beginning-middle-end. Dilbert can count for the Humor category, though!

Ok - That's what I was trying to figure out. Should I consider it Grapic Novel or Humor. I've been marking them as humor, but have seen others mark them as GN, so thought maybe I should change what I mark mine.

Thanks a bunch for the clarification and examples. Guess I'm still in the market for a GN then :)

Usually the standard Sunday newspaper comics do not qualify as graphic novels. A novel tells a story, which usually take at least one volume to finish, though one book may contain several anthologies.

Also, graphic novel tends to have uneven panels. The artist will treat the whole page as one big canvas, dividing them into smaller panels to suit the scene. It may be one full page of a scenery, or boxes of different sizes. The layout will be more artistic, not as boring as the comic strip which usually come in several panels of the same size.

It's not so much the size of the publication but rather how the storyline pays out. If it's a complete story/gag within a few panels or one page, it's not graphic novel. Even though some of the comics, like For Better or Worse, has a general flow of story, each strip is somewhat complete on its own, following the standard of start-development-surprise-end.

So, regular comics/cartoons, think Peanuts, Garfield, Dilbert.
Graphic novels, think Marvel superheros, Japanese manga, and those thick, nicely bound artbookish work.

Just remember it's a NOVEL but told in a series of illustrations rather than written in words.

Any of you have one you'd like to trade for something off my shelf? I'm open to let you pick it even and surprise me. I just got dozens of new books added yesterday and today.

I hate to go buy one , as it's really not my style of book , but I still need to meet that category for the challenge. This offer is open to anybody interested.

:P I figure this is as good of a place as any to ask. :giggle:

I don't have any myself... but I just wanted to tell you, in case you don't get any response to your request in this thread, to post a new thread in the Giveaways & Bartering forum, with a subject like "ISO Graphic Novel for release challenge" or something to that effect. Not everyone reads every thread in Chit Chat, so your request may be visible to more people as a separate thread in the forum designed specifically for things like this. :)

I got one - compliments of LoveMyLife :kiss: Thanks for the suggestion just the same Cherie. :wink:

If you decide you like graphic novels, this is one of my favorites: 1602 by Neil Gaiman

I'd loan you my copy, but it's a hardbound special edition and would probably cost a fortune to mail. :(

-Nan

If you are interested in Japanese manga I always have some. I just sent a bunch of to R2s-D2 and Cosmicflurk as both comic boxes have the luck to end up with that Tammy Blackhole.

An excellent graphic novel is done by a Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-Shing is Hero, based on the movie. Artwork is gorgeous.
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4568207
I have it now as a ring, will be more than happy to add you. It's not too often a book gets so many 10 stars!

But just like books and movies, graphic novels come in different genres too - fantasy, romance, horror, crime, sports, martial arts, adult, Yaoi (for 18+)...

Thanks a bunch for the offer Azuki , but LoveMyLife beat you to it. She is sending me one already. :)

Azuki, maybe we could do some trades sometime! :lol: