Graphic novels gaining acceptance (article)

[Joanna]

Posted on Mon, May. 05, 2003 story:PUB_DESC

Novel concept

Comic books for adults are finally earning some respect.

BY RICHARD CHIN

Pioneer Press

 

Twenty-five years after their invention, graphic novels — comic books that are really books in length and not comic in content — seem to be reaching mainstream America.

 

Signs that they've achieved respectability include an explosion in graphic novel collections in public libraries, bookstores aggressively marketing them and Hollywood taking notice of them.

 

Along with the wave of comic book superhero movies like Batman, Spiderman, X-Men and Daredevil, we're seeing movie treatment of such graphic novels as "From Hell," "Ghost World," "Road to Perdition," "Bulletproof Monk," "American Splendor" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

 

Other media are pitching in. Columns and reviews about graphic novels have recently been started in trade journals for librarians, booksellers and the publishing industry. Trade conventions feature seminars on how to buy and sell graphic novels. Last December, a cover story in the New York Times Book Review was a review by best-selling print novelist Nick Hornby of six graphic novels.

 

"It's not something that's happening overnight," said Chris Oliveros, publisher of Drawn & Quarterly, a Montreal-based company specializing in literary comic books and graphic novels. "It's reaching people who never, ever thought an interesting story could be told in comic book form."

 

"It certainly looks better than it ever has," said Calvin Reid, an editor of Publishers Weekly.

 

NOT JUST KIDS' STUFF

 

The modern graphic novel was invented in 1978 with the publication of "A Contract With God," by Will Eisner. Eisner had made a career drawing masked crime-fighter comics. His graphic novel was a departure from traditional comics: a book-length suite of gritty stories set on a tenement street.

 

In 1986, the media declared that comic books were no longer just for kids when "The Dark Knight," a bleak graphic novel take on the Batman comic, became a hit, along with "The Watchmen," another post-modern superhero graphic novel.

 

Real respectability also arrived that year with the publication of the first of the "Maus" graphic novels by Art Spiegelman. Described as the first masterpiece of the form, "Maus" depicted the experience of Spiegelman's father as a Holocaust survivor.

 

"Maus" ended up winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, confirmation in the eyes of graphic novel fans that comic books were being recognized as serious literature.

 

"When 'Maus' and 'Watchmen' and 'Dark Knight' came out all in the same year, it looked like comics were going to conquer modern culture," said Peter Gross, a comic book artist and instructor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

 

But that promise faded. As it turned out, even though comics had grown up, it would be years before the medium began to leave the home of the comic book store.

 

GOING MAINSTREAM

 

One problem, according to many observers: There weren't other high-quality graphic novels in the pipeline in the years immediately following "Maus."

 

But signs of change started to appear in the past few years. Comic book publishers learned to market to general bookstores as many comic book stores ran into economic hard times and closed their doors. Bookstores and distributors recognized that graphic novels, especially the exploding popularity of manga — Japanese comic books — were a bright spot of growth in the publishing industry.

 

At the Barnes & Noble store at the Har Mar Mall, for example, graphic novels have gone from a few shelves to 24 linear feet, said Hannah Oman, a lead bookseller at the store.

 

At the BookExpo America convention later this month in Los Angeles, there are three seminars on selling graphic novels. Drawn & Quarterly has created a pamphlet aimed at educating bookstores about graphic novels and has lobbied the book industry to give graphic novels their own sections and subsections.

 

Librarians also have gotten into graphic novels.

 

"In the last year, it's just exploded," said Sheila Winderlich, materials selection librarian for the St. Paul Public Library. Winderlich said the library started to seriously collect graphic novels in the past nine to 12 months as demand, availability and reviews of works have increased. Jim Vogt, another St. Paul librarian, estimated that the St. Paul system has more than 100 graphic novel titles intended for adult readers.

 

"Graphic novels are one of the hottest areas of development in public libraries right now," said Stephen Weiner, a Massachusetts library director and the author of two books about graphic novels. An e-mail list for librarians who want to discuss graphic novels has more than 600 subscribers, he said.

 

Making this possible is a growing body of work of serious graphic novels. Along with superhero titles and Japanese manga, comic book critics say there are now 50 or 60 titles that deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph as "Maus."

 

"They're worth the time of people who don't generally read comics," Weiner said.

 

The books include what some observers describe as literary graphic novels, serious, even bleak, character-driven works like "Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth," a long and densely textured story of three generations of fathers and sons. There are non-fiction works, like biographies of Martin Luther King Jr. or a history of the assassination of President James Garfield.

 

Graphic novel journalism includes accounts of strife in Bosnia and Palestine. And there are graphic novel autobiographies, intensely personal memoirs about struggles with cancer or careers or relationships with friends, lovers or parents.

 

The range of topics supports comic book fans' argument that the works are part of a medium, not a genre.

 

When done well, graphic novels combine the visual vocabulary of a movie with the physical and intellectual engagement of reading words, flipping pages and creating a character's voice in your head.

 

"Comics are the rare blend of words and pictures, and it's a really powerful blend," said Gross.

 

"Your head is functioning from both sides of the brain. I think it's a unique reading experience," said Frenchy Lunning, a professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. "I'm in my 50s, and I'm still reading this stuff."

 

[Ares]

I thought dark knight was a mini series not a Novel.

[blowout]

Graphic Novels are they way for the comic book storytelling form to survive into the future.

Its good to see so many great comic book tales reaching the mainstream book buying public.

[Bronty]

It sure has worked in japan (manga gn's)...

[awe4one]

First, the writer of the article, Richard Chin, if the same person, used to haunt the comic newsgroups on USENET and it's notable that one of the major contributors is Drawn and Quarterly a publisher who specializes in comics so there might be some bias involved. With that said, graphic novels seems to me a great way to get people to read stories in comic format who might not necessarily buy the monthlies. And there lies the problem.....

 

One of the reasons new monthly comics are not user friendly to new readers is because they're being increasingly written for the express purpose of being collected later as graphic novels. A new reader in most cases cannot pick up an issue and immediately get into the story because they are starting in the middle of a 6 issue story (the preferred length for collection). Also, I seriously doubt those readers that do enjoy the "novels" will actively seek out back issues or even start reading their monthly companions as they will be content on searching the graphic novels aisle at the bookstores for any others that may catch their fancy. What does this mean for back issue collecting? I think it's significant as it's another hurdle for getting new readers of the monthlies aboard and their involvement in back issues. It's already happening....a growing list of readers will wait for the trade paperback to come out vs. buying the individual issues at the comic store.

 

So the introduction and moderate success of graphic novels in bookstores is a positive step in gaining new readers to comics but I think it's at the expense of individual issue collectors and threatens gaining new blood into back issue collecting. Current back issue collectors are not getting any younger and new blood will be needed to maintain current momentum. Is this shift good for the hobby? I'm starting to think not.....

 

 

Jim

[Joanna]

Awe,

 

Yes, there might be some bias, but the article was sent to me by a friend who works in publishing. She knows my interest, so she's been tracking the industry buzz for awhile. This is just one of many articles she's sent me about it. It is legitimately becoming a very 'big thing' in the publishing world. One of the keys here is the libraries. When libraries stock things, it has a legitamizing effect on publishing. And libraries are ordering heavily. There are numerous websites out there with, for example, suggestion lists for librarians (in case the librarian isn't up on what's going on in graphic novels and needs a quick education, these sites help them recognize various publishers, subjects, target audiences -- they have reviews, etc).

 

As for whether it'll help or hurt, I tend to think it will help simply because any reader is a good reader. If someone checks out Dark Knight in the library, enjoys it and wants more -- why do you think this person will never consider buying an issue of Batman? I think it's a far greater chance that he won't if he never has access to any of the stories. But given access, and finding an affinity for it, chances improve greatly that he'll consider pursuing it beyond the walls of the library (and the limited issues available in the graphic novel format).

 

-- Joanna

[awe4one]

It is legitimately becoming a very 'big thing' in the publishing world.

 

That I have no doubt....

 

One of the keys here is the libraries. When libraries stock things, it has a legitamizing effect on publishing. And libraries are ordering heavily.

 

And that's also a good thing considering libraries would treat comic related periodicals as unfit to grace their shelves in the not to distant past. I also think libraries are stocking their lists with graphic novels for another reason separate from gaining respect. They recognize the need to get people to go into libraries again after sharp declines over the last 20 years. Some have figured out that young kids are more apt to enjoy something that is graphically depicted to them vs. words on a page (some blame MTV ). They are desperate to get people in their doors and are starting to think "out of the box". Doesn't necessarily mean that GNs are gaining widespread respect in the librarian community. It's a start though...

 

As for whether it'll help or hurt, I tend to think it will help simply because any reader is a good reader. If someone checks out Dark Knight in the library, enjoys it and wants more -- why do you think this person will never consider buying an issue of Batman?

 

Sure some will...but then he gets the current copy and finds he's in Part 6 or 7 of a 12 issue storyline. Immediate turn-off and a lost reader. That's the problem. Stories in the monthlies are written with the GN in mind with such frequency that some don't even recap the previous storyline, or even the last issue, leaving a new reader completely lost and unaffected by an otherwise great story. There's a potential new reader that turned off and possibly will never to return. One format and the anticipation of further revenue by the publishers is hurting the monthlies and the entrance of new readers into the hobby in my opinion.

 

 

Jim

[chrisfuccione]

This is from a non-collector and sometime reader. I love the graphic novels. It is much easier and cheaper to buy one book than it is to have to run around trying to find six issues of a title when the store is out of all of them. I don't have to deal with pages of ads. CHRIS

[chrisco37]

Nice article, but how can you talk about graphic novels and not even mention "Sandman"???

 

Chris

[Kevin Boyd]

We've discussed this before, but I do feel that Graphic Novels are the true future of this medium.

 

Monthly comic book pamphlets are not accessible or markettable to the general public as they are not sold anywhere else but in comic shops. In order to get new readers the companies must go beyond the comic shops and get people interested in the material first and foremost.

 

Regardless of whether or not the issue is part of a continued story or a stand-alone one, the standard format comic book is ridiculously overpriced and there is little likelihood that prices will ever go down.

 

I just wish they would stop bothering with mini-series outright. Why not just publish as an original Graphic Novel. For instance, the Spider-Man Blue Hardcover ships this week - it could just have been published as a stand-alone hardcover first, then a trade paperback (sort of like the JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice HC).

 

Kev

 

[Zonker]

Yes, Kev, this is a perennial topic. Question: What is the page count and cover price for Spider-Man:Blue? I'll post the same for the JLA hardcover when I get home. I suspect we'll see that those expensive monthly books are subsidizing the cost of the hardcovers (meaning the price will go up for original graphic novels if there is no monthly serialization preceeding it as a first publication).

 

Cheers,

Z.

[Ares]

I say if its an orginal story ita graphic novel.

If a collection of previously published issues its a trade pepersback, harcover or not

[Zonker]

Yes, Kev, this is a perennial topic. Question: What is the page count and cover price for Spider-Man:Blue? I'll post the same for the JLA hardcover when I get home. I suspect we'll see that those expensive monthly books are subsidizing the cost of the hardcovers (meaning the price will go up for original graphic novels if there is no monthly serialization preceeding it as a first publication).

 

JLA/JSA Virtue/Vice: 94 story pages, US$25

Spider-Man: Blue collects 6 22-page issues, originally sold for $3.50 each

 

So, assuming similar production values and that Loeb/Sale got at least as sweet a royalty deal as Goyer/Johns/Pacheco, then a straight-to-hardcover Blue (132 pages remember) would set you back US$35, or 67% more than the price of buying the comics individually.

 

People often overlook the double-revenue stream the publishers get by selling the same material once in serialized form and again to the bookstore crowd.

 

Cheers,

Z.

[Ares]

Are they straight reprints or are there added materials.

Origin was released as a hardcover but there were extras added that you could not get in the Individual issues.

[Kevin Boyd]

Except that when your comic orders are decreasing rapidly and your book orders are increasing dramatically then your comic orders are doing little more than covering your initial production costs. They are little more than advance previews for the comic buyers of a finished work that will be consumed by a much larger audience at almost exactly the same price.

 

As it stands, consumer costs for the same material are

 

Spider-Man Blue - 6 issues x $3.50 = $21.00 cover

Spider-Man Blue Hardcover (advertised at 160 pages) = $21.99 cover

Spider-Man Blue TPB = $14.99 cover

 

Frankly, I don't want to subsidize the eventual hardcover by buying the individual issues first simply because I don't want to wait a year to read a story I want to read in my format of choice. That means that I might be spending $42.99 on the same material (if I bought the issues and then the hardcover) and trying to recover my lost $21 by trying to sell the issue back to the secondary market to people who probably don't want the issues anymore.

 

I would RATHER pay the additional premium to get the hardcover FIRST. After that they could serialize the hell out of it. TP it, release them as individual comics whatever.

 

This is the way it works in the traditional book market. They release the work in hardcover, then in softcover. As usual, comics publishers do things back end first. Hardcovers are only produced if the series was popular enough to merit the high-end reprint.

 

Kev

 

[Zonker]

No problem, Kev. Just understand in the scenario you envision, that straight-to-hardcover Spider-Man:Blue would likely cost you $35 rather than the $21.99 that it goes for as a hardcover reprint. Sounds like it's worth it to you, so fair enough.

 

But now image a world without the monthly comics-- where will the next generation of creators to follow Tim Sale or Bryan Hitch practice their craft until they get good enough to merit a hardcover deal?

 

Personally, I'd like to have both a healthy bookstore market and a healthy monthly newstand/comics shop market. And in the really old days, lots of popular fiction was serialized first in magazines before being collected in a hardback. Was done consistently with science fiction pulps up at least into the 1970s. And Tom Wolfe did it as well when he serialized Bonfire of the Vanities in Rolling Stone prior to first book publication.

 

Cheers,

Z.

[Kevin Boyd]

I do understand that I would have to pay more, thanks. I thought I said quite clearly that I would. I just think that the hardcover or TPB should come first, not last, and if that means I have to pay a higher cover price then I'm interested.

 

I think that the monthlies have a place... but why are Marvel and DC publishing so many standard comics a month, over half of which are INTENDED to be reprinted in a mass-market format like a tpb or hardcover?

 

Maybe the monthlies would be more successful if there were fewer of them and more original graphic novels. We have a monthly Wolverine title, why do we need Wolverine Xisle coming out every week to be followed by the TP collection? Why not just release a single original GN of Wolverine Xisle and get it over with? We have Hulk, why do we need Hulk: NIghtmerica? Or Spidey: Blue? or Punisher: Born? or Captain America What Price Glory? or the Truth? I think it would be more advantageous to skip the lackluster orders on these minis and get the graphic novels out onto the bookshelves - as they are going to published in that format eventually anyway.

 

Kev

 

[awe4one]

But now image a world without the monthly comics-- where will the next generation of creators to follow Tim Sale or Bryan Hitch practice their craft until they get good enough to merit a hardcover deal?

 

Personally, I'd like to have both a healthy bookstore market and a healthy monthly newstand/comics shop market.

 

That's my vision of the future of comics as well. Sadly, I don't see that becoming a reality based on current trends. The question is also what will become of the back issue market if/when grahic novels become the norm over monthlies. I can't see any good upsides for back issues in this scenario.

 

 

Jim

[Kevin Boyd]

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Topic: VIZ ENDS MONTHLY COMIC-SIZED PUBLISHING

posted May 09, 2003 10:57 AM at Newsarama

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Confirming rumors that have been floating for months, Viz has officially discontinued its monthly manga comics, opting to publish all materials in trade form. This is the second major change in the publisher’s operations; following its recent resizing of its graphic novel line to match the TokyoPop trim size.

 

The switch means that there will be a lag between the ending of the monthly series and the resumption of the storyline in the graphic novel series.

 

The changeover will be complete by the end of June, and the publisher will release only graphic novels from July on.

 

Currently, Dark Horse is the only publisher reprinting manga in comic book-sized format.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

So it begins.... albeit with manga it absoutely makes sense to make the switch as the small GNs are what they are buying (in droves).

 

However, I could see companies like Crossgen opting to do the same thing down the line. Since sales are in the dumpster for all but the top titles at Marvel and DC, this may be the only the beginning....

 

Kev