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What was the first true graphic novel? Post examples!

Started by Theagenes,

67 posts in this topic

Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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I don't know about It Rhymes With Lust -- was that just a genre romance like so many comics of that time period or something aspiring to be more?

 

It's not a romance novel -- there's a whole story involving corrupt power-plays in a steel town, etc. Here's what it says in the Wikipedia entry about "It Rhymes With Lust":

 

(By the way, notice how the article defines it -- as "one of the most notable precursors of the graphic novel." That's a pretty reasonable way to describe it.)

 

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It Rhymes with Lust is a book, originally published in 1950, considered one of the most notable precursors of the graphic novel. Called a "picture novel" on the cover and published by the comic book and magazine company St. John Publications, it was written by Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller (together using the pseudonym "Drake Waller"), with black-and-white art by Matt Baker and inker Ray Osrin.

 

Publication history

 

According to Drake, he and Waller created the concept of "picture novels" in 1949 while in college in New York City, conceiving "a more developed comic book — a deliberate bridge between comic books and book books. ... What we planned was a series of picture novels that were, essentially, action, mystery, Western and romance movies on paper". Armed with a two-page sample of an example story, One Man Too Many!, Drake and Waller convinced Archer St. John of St. John Publications to launch a line of mass market paperbacks containing original comics work that would appeal to the general public.

 

It Rhymes with Lust is an adult-oriented story, influenced by film noir and pulp fiction, that depicts life in a steel town and stars a manipulative woman named Rust. Comics writer-artist Michael T. Gilbert wrote in liner notes for 2006 reprinting in The Comics Journal that it "reads like a B-movie potboiler, bubbling over with greed, sex, and political corruption". The cover tagline reads: "She was greedy, heartless and calculating. She knew what she wanted and was ready to sacrifice anything to get it".

 

St. John published a second book in the line, the mystery novel The Case of the Winking Buddha, by pulp novelist Manning Lee Stokes and illustrator Charles Raab. Neither book sold especially well, and the line was quietly cancelled.

 

It Rhymes with Lust was reprinted in its entirety in the 30th-anniversary issue (#277) of The Comics Journal. In March 2007 Dark Horse Books (Dark Horse Comics' book publishing arm) published a softcover reprint with a new afterword by Drake.

 

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I also found this great PopMatters article about Arnold Drake and "It Rhymes With Lust" -- here is the link. Some sample quotes:

 

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"Before co-creating at least two of the strangest superhero comics in history, Arnold Drake co-wrote one of the leading contenders for the title of “first graphic novel”: 1949’s It Rhymes with Lust."

 

"The tale of thoroughly corrupt Copper City, its competing criminal overlords, a cynical newspaper editor and the women who compete for his heart and soul, Lust brings to mind Dashiel Hammet’s Red Harvest and The Glass Key, and seems to share qualities with the 1952 movie Deadline USA. It isn’t on par with those classic crime stories, but Lust‘s non-stop seediness and garish immorality, combined with an almost Douglas Sirk-level of melodrama, make it a strange classic in its own right."

 

"The titular “It” that rhymes with lust is Rust Masson, a sexy and powerful femme fatale who is also a ruthless criminal leader. She just might be one of the greatest female pulp antagonists: a ruthless manipulator whose sole purpose seems to be securing power for herself, she’s entirely self-created, right down to choosing her own name. There are even suggestions throughout the story that her use of sex (or the promise of it) is pathological, and possibly a form of psychological self-defense in a world populated by thugs."

 

... (snip) ...

 

"Back in 1949, the idea for the project developed while Drake was attending school under the GI Bill of Rights, and supplementing his income by writing comic book stories. Under the pseudonym “Drake Waller,” Drake co-wrote Lust with novelist Leslie Waller."

 

"“Ten million comics a month were read by GIs,” Drake writes in his afterward to Lust. “With half of the soldiers now at college, leaping from Batman to Beowolf, we guessed that most would never read more than their textbooks. Then why not a bridge between comic books and book-books, stories illustrated as comics but with more mature plots, characters, and dialogue. We called them ‘Picture Novels.’”"

 

"The book featured artwork by Matt Baker and ink by Ray Osrin. Drake would later go on to co-create Deadman and The Doom Patrol, and like that collection of misfit heroes, the Lust team was a fascinating and unusual gang of artists who collaborated perfectly on a single project."

 

... (snip) ...

 

"Lust is as melodramatic as it sounds, and at times, the story approaches romance territory. Much of it could be read as dated by today’s standards, but there’s a vitality and plot-hungry drive that lifts this “picture novel” above the level of cliche or ironic stereotype."

 

... (snip) ...

 

"This “picture novel” brims with confidence and excitement, and even though its claim to be the first graphic novel is open to debate, it feels as if it was created with the passion of people who believed they were onto something new. "

 

 

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Theagenes

Theagenes

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I'm not sure it's all that useful to identify the first graphic novel. It's potentially such a small evolutionary step that it may not be that meaningful.

I'm rooting for "It Rhymes With Lust" because I own a copy and want it to be worth more! Go, Lust, Go!

 

I think there's no doubt that "Lust" is every bit a true graphic novel in every sense that we use term today.

 

Post your copy! :popcorn:

 

 

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Theagenes

Theagenes

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Early graphic novels of the modern era are Gil Kane's "His Name is... Savage" which was published in 1968.

 

HisNameIsSavage.jpg

 

 

...and Blackmark which was published in 1971.

 

blackmark.jpg

 

That's what this thread needs---more pics! :applause:

I want to see some of BOOT's early books.

 

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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By the way, here are all the 1950 graphic novels (or "picture novels") that I am aware of:

 

(1) "It Rhymes With Lust" -- St. John publisher

gn1-lust.jpg

 

This is often cited as the first graphic novel, and it seems to have been released early in 1950, maybe March. Cover and art are by Matt Baker. I found a really cool article that gives more backstory of its production on the ComicArtVillle website, located at this link.

 

(2) "The Case of the Winking Buddha" -- St. John publisher

gn2-buddha.jpg

 

This is the 2nd in the series from St. John, and the last due to lack of sales. Art is by Charles Raab, story by pulp writer Manning Lee Stokes. (The back cover uses the same format as "Lust" above, but I couldn't find an image of it online.)

 

(3) "Mansion of Evil" -- Gold Medal Book 129

gn3-mansion.jpg

 

This is a gothic murder-mystery story by Joseph Millard. It seems to be the only "picture novel" published by Gold Medal at that time. I know little else about it, but there are numerous copies for sale online, ranging from $75 to $300.

 

(4) "Four Frightened Women" -- Dell

gn4-four.jpg

 

This is the first Dell entry in the "picture novel" realm, a George Harmon Coxe adaptation of a Kent Murdock murder-mystery. The cover art is pretty cool.

 

(5) "Twice Loved" -- Dell

gn5-twiceloved.jpg

 

This is Dell's 2nd attempt at a picture novel, in this case a romance. I guess the sales were poor, so it was the last such book Dell published, even though they had 4 planned for release.

 

(5b) Honorable mention: "I Met a Handsome Cowboy" -- Dell (Four Color #324 comic book)

gn5-handsome.jpg

 

This would have been Dell's 3rd picture novel, but the idea was shelved even though some or all of the artwork had already been completed. Instead, it was used for Four Color #324, and released in 1951. (The 4th picture novel was supposed to be something called "Rich Girl, Poor Girl," but it apparently never made it past the drawing board stage.)

 

(6) "Honeymoon Romance" -- Artful Book #1

gn6-honeymoon.jpg

 

I have heard this referred to as a graphic novel, but I think that might be inaccurate. The Antique Trader Collectible Paperback Price Guide refers to it as an anthology with color comics inside. Nonetheless, I am including it here because it is digest size and came out in 1950, so it does seem to fit in with that year's trend of releasing comics in a book format. The publisher is Canadian though aimed at a U.S. market. There were additional releases such as Honeymoon Romance #2, and Confessions of Love #1 and #2. I've seen the cover art credited to Matt Baker, but other sources just call the art "Bakerish." (It looks like it could be the same Bakerish artist who did covers for a number of Superior Comics titles at around the same time. Also, at a glance it looks like a Fox Feature Syndicate romance such as those with Kamen or Hollingsworth covers.) These four books are as scarce or scarcer than "It Rhymes With Lust."

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rjpb

rjpb

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Les Aventures de Tintin, reporter du "Petit Vingtième", au pays des Soviets (Tin Tin in the Land of the Soviets) came out in 1930. Though originally serialized, it is a complete story, not a mere collection of strips.

 

As to the argument as to wether pictures without words can be consider a comic book or strip I'd have to say yes - especially if they are clearly sequential panels. Storytelling with sequential art that includes text as part of the illustration counts even if the text appears as a block inside a panel, but text is not a necessary component. You can't tell me Thomas Ott is not a comic book artist.

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tb

tb

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Les Aventures de Tintin, reporter du "Petit Vingtième", au pays des Soviets (Tin Tin in the Land of the Soviets) came out in 1930. Though originally serialized, it is a complete story, not a mere collection of strips.

 

As to the argument as to wether pictures without words can be consider a comic book or strip I'd have to say yes - especially if they are clearly sequential panels. Storytelling with sequential art that includes text as part of the illustration counts even if the text appears as a block inside a panel, but text is not a necessary component. You can't tell me Thomas Ott is not a comic book artist.

 

Good point, that's exactly what I was thinking. Totor goes back to 1926 and I suspect our French or Belgian friends can find highly relevant material that dates back even further. If American artists had seen Herge's work, the concept of a graphic novel does appear fairly incremental to me.

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BOOT

BOOT

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By the way, here are all the 1950 graphic novels (or "picture novels") that I am aware of:

 

Amazing post! Thanks very much!! (worship)

 

Here are a couple of Lynd Ward's wordless novels in woodcuts...

 

Madman's Drum and Vertigo (with dust jacket)

118105.jpg.616e65b58e7b1cc79f4316d4cb94e294.jpg

118106.jpg.c8b5e70c1c6bc03de34cfc6446a7be41.jpg

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jdjunker

jdjunker

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You keep moving the goal posts. Originally you said it needed to be conceived as a complete novel. Now it also has to be conceived and completely finished prior to publication? ...

 

At the same time you've narrowed your definition of graphic novel so much that many of the books that everyone considers to be graphic novel (like Watchmen e.g.) would not fit your definition.

 

 

Our only point of disagreement at that point is that I don't view Watchmen as a "graphic novel" in the true sense of the word. It was a comic book series that written and drafted for monthly publication, and only was "collected" as a book due to marketing impetus after the fact. To me, a true "graphic novel" must be conceived and published in that format in the first instance.

 

Otherwise, everything is a "graphic novel" if you just change the format. That makes the term meaningless. There should be a distinction between a collected edition and a "graphic novel." Spirit Archives v. 1 is a collected edition. A Contract With God is a graphic novel.

 

 

This really seems to be splitting hairs to me too. So a Eisner's A Contract With God is a graphic novel, but his A Life Force isn't because it was serialized in Will Eisner Quarterly before it was published in a single volume? Ridiculous, for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that A Life Force is a single narrative while A Contract With God is in fact made up of four short stories. They are both masterpieces and they should both be considered graphic novels under any useful criteria.

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Doohickamabob

Doohickamabob

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I was just browsing Heritage's auctions this week and noticed it appears somebody is basically selling off their whole collection of 1950's "graphic novels" and related stuff (like those Bold Stories digests). Mansion of Evil, Four Frightened Females, Case of the Winking Buddha....lots of the stuff we have been talking about in this thread.

 

I only mention this because I have no stake in the auctions (don't know who's selling them, etc.) so no, I am not shilling -- I just think people who are interested in these books should know about the auction, because it should be very fun to watch and see what the market value of these turns out to be.

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JvR11

JvR11

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I'd love a copy of the Honeymoon Romance or Twice Loved...I'll have to check it out and see if these are up for bid. I know that there was a nice Confessions of Love just sold recently now it's on ebay for over double the price.

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