Saturday, February 4, 2012

They're Here! Graphic Novels

Who would have thought that comic books would grow into such an art form?  And get a new name to boot, graphic novels.  Plus, graphic novels are presented in an upscale package minus the staples down the center.  I would say that if you want tight storytelling with pictures, a graphic novel could be something you'd like.  I have to say I'm intrigued by them.  Graphic novels aren't new, just new to me.  So, excuse me while I lay back and let my eyes feast on Shakespeare in the graphic format.  Of course, that's after I've flipped through one of the never say die super hero stories.

The Young Adult Library Services Assocation (YALSA) comes out with a yearly top ten for graphic novels.  I guess the library likes them too.  Here's their latest list for teens:

Amir and Khalil.  "Zahra's Paradise."  First Second, 2011
Bendis, Brian Michael and Alex Maleev.  "Scarlet."  Marvel/Icon Comics, 2011.
Brosgal, Vera.  "Anya's Ghost."  First Second, 2011.
Gladstone, Brooke, Josh Neufeld, and others.  "the Influencing Machine:  Brooke Galdstone on the Media."  W. W. Norton and Company, 2011.
Langridge, Roger, Chris Samnee, and others.
"Thor:  The Mighty Avenger V.1." Marvel, 2010.
"Thor:  The Mighty Avenger V.2." Marvel, 2011.
McLeod, Kagan.  "Infinite Kung Fu."  Top Shelf, 2011.
Mori, Kaoru.  "A Bride's Story V.1."  Yen Press, 2011.
Nicolle, Malachai and Ethan Nicolle.  "Axe Cop V.1."  Dark Horse, 2011.
Ralph, Brian.  "Daybreak."  Drawn and Quarterly, 2011.
Shimura, Takako.  "Wandering Son V.1."  Fantagraphics Books, 2011.

So, last week I introduced my cartoon.  "The Adventures of Pork Chops and Steelyballs."  I thought having studied art, drawing cartoons would be easy.  Well, I haven't found that to be true.  But, it certainly has been fun.


With our attention span growing ever smaller, do you think graphic novels will eventually replace plain old books?  What do you think of graphic novels? 

Till next time,
Elizabeth

6 comments:

Dan Wright said...

I think graphic novels have always been considered fantastic story telling ideas for a long time. The Watchman graphic novel is often listed as the greatest graphic novel of all time and is often placed alongside such great novelists as Stephen King and Anne Rice as one of the greatest works of art ever. So I will always have a place in my heart for them.

Funnily enough, I did actually find a series of graphic novels based around Shakespeares work - the last one I brought was Macbeth in comic format. And they actually released it in two versions. One in the original shakespeare dialogue and the other in modern day english! That's a great idea and I can't believe no one had thought of it before then.

Oh yeah, and good cartoon by the way! Made me chuckle

EW Gibson said...

Dan,

I will have to look at the "Watchman" sounds like just what I'm looking for.

I've only see the Shakespeare graphic novel with modern day english. Using the original language I imagine it must be much longer. Is it? I played Lady Macbeth in college...still can't get out the damn spot. LOL.

Thanks for stopping in by.

Elizabeth

Ella Gray said...

Well, you know from my previous posts that I feel comics and graphic novels are woefully under-rated. Adding to Dan's recommendation, Maus is another acclaimed book that deserves a read. I also love Frank Miller's titles, Gaiman's Sandman series, and the Preacher books.

Honestly, a lot of what I read is indie stuff that's not always easy to find or to everyone's taste. It's still pretty great that you can find graphic novels now of original serial comics. Keep reading, Elizabeth!

EW Gibson said...

Ella,

Thanks I will add those to the list.

It's interesting to note after reading the text version of a novel and than seeing and reading a graphic novel how what I imagined is simillar to the author or not. Looking at Scott Westerfield's Levithan as an example.[ http://scottwesterfeld.com/] The characters are not what I imagined and the creatures are I would never have imagined. Neat how that works.

Elizabeth

Tom Kepler said...

I see on your "You might also like" you have the Alphasmart listed. I used them about 8 years ago at the school I worked at. A great little device--simple, light, and cheap!

EW Gibson said...

Tom,

And no distractions! Thanks for taking the time to post. :)

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