LibGuides: Graphic Novels Collection: About Graphic Novels

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Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Heroes & Superheroes The second edition of Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Heroes and Superheroes, provides in-depth insight into over 140 of the most popular and studied graphic novels. Researchers will be familiar with the characters and stories included in this collection, but will gain a deeper new understanding, as the literary nature of the stories is presented in critical format by leading writers in the field of study.
Also available in print: PN6725 .C753 2018
Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: History, Theme, & Technique History, Theme & Technique collects more than eighty essays on the evolution of the graphic novel, from its conceptual beginnings to its gradual acceptance. This volume covers the unique process of creating a product both in art and in word; historical overviews track the complex development of this important art form, while the survey of key themes, genres, and events, albeit far from exhaustive, will help define the major milestones and provide an important foundation for future research.
Also available in print: PN6725 .C7536 2019
Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Independents and Underground Classics Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Independent and Underground Classics, Second Edition offers 225 essays covering graphic novels and core comics series, focusing on the independents and underground genre that form today's canon for academic coursework and library collections.
Also available in print: PN6725 .C754 2019
Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Manga Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Manga, Second Edition, provides in-depth insight for over 70 of the most popular manga graphic novels, ranging from metaseries to stand-alone books. A recent influx of translated Japanese manga into the American market has sparked a greater interest in foreign-language traditions and longform comics storytelling. this set focuses on translated works that have been particularly influential in the development of the manga tradition.
Also available in print: PN6725 .C754 2019
Dreaming the Graphic Novel Winner of the Best Book Award in Comics History from the Grand Comics Database  Honorable Mention, 2019-2020 Research Society for American Periodicals Book Prize The term "graphic novel" was first coined in 1964, but it wouldn't be broadly used until the 1980s, when graphic novels such as Watchmen and Maus achieved commercial success and critical acclaim. What happened in the intervening years, after the graphic novel was conceptualized yet before it was widely recognized?   Dreaming the Graphic Novel examines how notions of the graphic novel began to coalesce in the 1970s, a time of great change for American comics, with declining sales of mainstream periodicals, the arrival of specialty comics stores, and (at least initially) a thriving underground comix scene. Surveying the eclectic array of long comics narratives that emerged from this fertile period, Paul Williams investigates many texts that have fallen out of graphic novel history. As he demonstrates, the question of what makes a text a 'graphic novel' was the subject of fierce debate among fans, creators, and publishers, inspiring arguments about the literariness of comics that are still taking place among scholars today.   Unearthing a treasure trove of fanzines, adverts, and unpublished letters, Dreaming the Graphic Novel gives readers an exciting inside look at a pivotal moment in the art form's development.  
Faster than a speeding bullet : the rise of the graphic novel It took a few years of false starts, but now it's official: the graphic novel form is the fastest growing new area in publishing. Stephen Weiner (author of The 101 Best Graphic Novels), grabs hold of this rising meteor to offer his readers a historical tour of this format with a bit of background on comics as a whole.
The Graphic Novel This volume offers an examination and analysis of the contemporary graphic novel as literature. Specific attention is paid to the use of narrative genre in the graphic novel (e.g. superhero, crime, horror, realistic/fantastic). The most important and most frequently discussed graphic novels are also discussed, including Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, The Crow, Sin City: The Hard Goodbye, The Walking Dead:Days Gone Bye, and Road to Perdition.
Also available in print: PN6710 .G736 2014
The graphic novel : an introduction This book provides both students and scholars with a critical and historical introduction to the graphic novel. Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey explore this exciting form of visual and literary communication, showing readers how to situate and analyze graphic novels since their rise to prominence half a century ago. Several key questions are addressed: What is the graphic novel? How do we read graphic novels as narrative forms? Why is page design and publishing format so significant? What theories are developing to explain the genre? How is this form blurring the categories of high and popular literature? Why are graphic novelists nostalgic for the old comics? The authors address these and many other questions raised by the genre. Through their analysis of the works of many well-known graphic novelists - including Bechdel, Clowes, Spiegelman and Ware - Baetens and Frey offer significant insights for future teaching and research on the graphic novel.
The Psychology of Superheroes This latest installment in the Psychology of Popular Culture series turns its focus to superheroes. Superheroes have survived and fascinated for more than 70 years in no small part due to their psychological depth. In The Psychology of Superheroes, almost two dozen psychologists get into the heads of today’s most popular and intriguing superheroes. Why do superheroes choose to be superheroes? Where does Spider-Man’s altruism come from, and what does it mean? Why is there so much prejudice against the X-Men, and how could they have responded to it, other than the way they did? Why are super-villains so aggressive? The Psychology of Superheroes answers these questions, exploring the inner workings our heroes usually only share with their therapists.
Reading Graphic Novels : Genre and Narration Die Reihe Narratologia publiziert innovative Monographien und Sammelbände zur modernen Erzähltheorie und zu ihrer fachgeschichtlichen Rekonstruktion aus allen philologischen Disziplinen. Sie stellt das erste narratologische Forum dieser Art in Deutschland dar. Neben literarischen Texten stehen u. a. auch das Alltagserzählen, Wort-Bild-Texte, Erzählen im Film und in den neuen Medien sowie das Erzählen in Historiographie, Ethnologie, Medizin und Rechtswissenschaft im Fokus der Reihe. Die Publikationssprachen der Reihe sind Deutsch und Englisch. Alle Bände werden zweifach begutachtet.
Studying Comics and Graphic Novels This introduction to studying comics and graphic novels is a structured guide to a popular topic. It deploys new cognitive methods of textual analysis and features activities and exercises throughout. Deploys novel cognitive approaches to analyze the importance of psychological and physical aspects of reader experience Carefully structured to build a sequenced, rounded introduction to the subject Includes study activities, writing exercises, and essay topics throughout Dedicated chapters cover popular sub-genres such as autobiography and literary adaptation
Superheroes and Philosophy The comic book naratives of superheroes wrestle with profound and disturbing issues in original ways: the definitions of good and evil, the limits of violence as an effective means, the perils of enforcing justice outside the law, the metaphysics of personal identity, and the definition of humanity. Superheroes and Philosophy tackles these and other philosophical questions in an intellectual yet engaging way suitable for any comic book fan.
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel Dramatized sequential illustrations with dialogue--an art form once confined to production of comic strips and comic books--has recently graduated into the popular, fast-growing, and often financially rewarding genre of the graphic novel. Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel is an authoritative instruction manual suitable for formal art class or for self teaching on the part of ambitious self-starters. Beginners who have artistic and storytelling aptitudes learn the basics of graphic novel creation, from first conception of a story idea to publication of a professionally produced book. An introductory chapter describes the widely differing graphic novel sub-genres and the appropriate styles for each. They include superhero, gothic tale, adventure/action story, sci-fi, crime story, and literary fiction. A succeeding chapter discusses and shows examples of picture panels, speech bubbles, layout, and characterization of works in progress. Subsequent chapters offer advice on finding inspiration for stories and explanation of the technique of writing for graphic novels. A variety of illustration and layout styles are shown with reference to ways in which each fits a different sub-genre. A final chapter presents practical tips on getting a graphic novel published. More than 400 illustrations take students step-by-step through the process of creating a graphic novel.

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Alternate Literary Voices and Vehicles (28:50) In the novel-driven world of popular fiction, graphic novels and short-short stories haven’t had much of a place—until recently. In this program, Art Spiegelman, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus; Giller Prize-finalist John Gould, writer of 55 fiction and palm-of-the-hand stories; and others who are daring to be different share their successes with these robust genres. Topics range from the influence of manga on the rise in popularity of graphic novels to a growing respect in literary circles for compressed forms of fiction. Portions of graphic novels by Spiegelman and others and readings by Gould are included.
The Art of Spiegelman: From Raw, to Maus, and Beyond (43:40) “Every time I’m about to do a strip, it’s because I can’t avoid it, either because I need the money—in the old days—or now, because I just need to think something through, make it manifest.” In this program, Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman—humble, humorous, and completely honest—talks about his life history and his creative process using New York City as a backdrop and family photos, clips from home movies, and panels from comic creations such as Maus, Raw magazine, and In the Shadow of No Towers as props. Françoise Mouly, Spiegelman’s wife and cover editor at The New Yorker, is interviewed as well. Contains instances of explicit language and imagery.

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