The first graphic novel that I ever read was Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Like many people not weaned on comics, I had little exposure to the genre until this fantastic breakout artist turned me on to what was going on in comic books. Graphic novels, if you don’t know, are longer comic books. Some of them are made as complete stories in and of themselves, while others are simply compilations of several comic books into one trade paperback. What I didn’t realize at the time was how diverse graphic novels can be. I had always assumed that there were the high-quality graphic adult novels dealing with complex themes and relationship, and the more simplistic popcorn ones made for kids. I didn’t realize that the genre was a lot more varied than that.

The interesting thing about comic books in general, and graphic novels In particular, is how often they can defy genre. Books marketed to kids have sophisticated political commentary that can be truly appreciated by adults. Similarly, adult graphic novels often have very childlike physical humor, superhero themes, and a simplistic moral universe that can be appreciated by almost anyone. For some people, this makes the graphic novel absolutely infuriating. For fans like myself, however, it is definitely a draw. It is one of the things I like so much about the genre.

It is amazing how many people still have not heard of graphic novels despite the fact that many of the most popular comic book movies out nowadays have their origin in this art form. V for Vendetta, Sin City, Batman, Hellboy, and many other movies all had their start in comic books. Alan Moore in particular it is the author of several books that spawned Hollywood blockbuster films. The funny thing about Alan Moore in particular is that he has always had a very tenuous relationship with Hollywood. He has actually disowned several of his movies, refusing to talk about them and writing off the studios completely. It is only his brilliance that keeps people working with them.

In addition to these blockbuster names, there are plenty of independent publishers of graphic novels which make interesting and alternative views of the world available to the public. Many of these are published online, while others are sold in neighborhood comic stories for little money. Internet publishing has made it possible for independent publishers to make their works available for very little while doing an extremely professional job of producing them .I highly recommend checking some of these books out.

posted by weldonbrats at 3:20 pm & filed under Books | |