Get Graphic: Telling Stories with Images

Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers defines a graphic novel as a form of visual narrative in which plot is conveyed through the creative integration of text and a sequence of illustrations. The genre is continually expanding and embraces fiction, short stories and non-fiction. Graphic novels are generally more mature in tone than traditional comics. Early examples of the form include The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790–93) by the English visionary artist and poet William Blake (1757–1827), The Adventures of Tintin (1930–86) by the Belgian artist Georges Remi — better known as ‘Hergé’ — (1907–83) and Passionate Journey(1926) by the Belgian woodcut artist Frans Masereel (1889–1972). The graphic novel became more widely accepted in the mid-1970s when a number of American publishers produced innovative comic book formats, referred to as illustrated novels or graphic albums. Of particular note is A Contract with God and other Tenement Stories (1978) by the American writer and comic artist Will Eisner (1917–2005). Another breakthrough occurred with the publication of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by the comic artist Art Spiegelman (b. 1948). The two-volume work (1986 & 1991) illustrates in graphic detail how the artist's father, a Polish Jew, survived the Holocaust. A new generation of comic artists/ writers continue to explore the potential of sequential illustration and the technological possibilities of self-published works.

*graphic novel. (2012). In A. Livingston, & I. Livingston, The Thames & Hudson dictionary of graphic design and designers (3rd ed.). London, UK: Thames & Hudson. Retrieved from https://go.openathens.net/redirector/georgiasouthern.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fthgraph%2Fgraphic_novel%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D3816