Saturday, April 7, 2012

G is for Graphic Novels and Neil Gaiman

It took me almost 25 years to discover the world of graphic novels, but to this day I am ever thankful that I did. Graphic novels are very special – they’re the place where comic books and more traditional novels meet. They’re a melting pot of art and literature, a place where writers and storytellers of all different medium unite in collaboration.

Almost everyone who's ever read a graphic novel – and many who haven’t – have heard of legends Frank Miller and Alan Moore. They were the masterminds behind famous works such as Sin City, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and 300 (Miller), V for Vendetta and Watchmen (Moore).They are perhaps the most recognizable names in their field and are credited with popularizing the “graphic novel” as an distinct genre separate from comic books and print novels. Watchmen even made TIME magazine’s “100 Best Novels List”, the only graphic novel to do so.

However, Moore and Miller aren’t the only big names in the industry. Art Spiegelman’s World War II inspired Maus made a huge splash, not only in the graphic novel community, but with historians as well. In fact, the first time I read Maus was for my Holocaust history class in college. It is to date the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Since Maus, graphic novels have continued to cross boundaries between various medias. Television shows have increasingly turned to graphic novels in order to expand on their plots and characters. NBC’s Heroes for example, offered a graphic novel version to supplement the show. And Joss Whedon, already a member of the comic book-writing community, developed and wrote several graphic novels to accompany his hit show Firefly. The first, Those Left Behind, was written to bridge the gap between the end of Firefly and its companion film, Serenity. Another entitled The Shepherd’s Tale, expanded on Shepherd Book’s previously unknown, pre-Firefly history. Furthermore, many famous literary texts have been turned into graphic novels, from classics like Frankenstein and Fahrenheit 451, to modern children’s favorites Percy Jackson, The Looking Glass War and Artemis Fowl.

One of my personal favorite science fiction/fantasy writers – Neil Gaiman – jumped fields to write The Sandman, one of the most highly praised graphic novel series of all time. I’ve long been a fan of Gaiman’s work, having loved his novels Neverwhere, American Gods, Coraline and Stardust, but when a friend of mine found out I’d never heard of The Sandman, she immediately raced out and bought me the first installment (called Preludes and Nocturnes). 

When asked why he enjoyed writing graphic novels, Gaiman said, “One of the joys of comics has always been the knowledge that it was, in many ways, untouched ground. It was virgin territory. When I was working on Sandman, I felt a lot of the time that I was actually picking up a machete and heading out into the jungle. I got to write in places and do things that nobody had ever done before. When I’m writing novels I’m painfully aware that I’m working in a medium that people have been writing absolutely jaw-droppingly brilliant things for, you know, three-four thousand years now . . . But with comics I felt like – I can do stuff nobody has ever done. I can do stuff nobody has ever thought of. And I could and it was enormously fun.”
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This post is part of the Blogging A through Z Challenge 2012. My theme is (in case you didn’t already guess) science fiction. Stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet, and if you’d like to check in on the rest of the participants, simply click here.  


49 comments:

  1. Excellent post.
    I love Neil Gaiman. I'm a big fan of how he draws on a wide variety of Myths, blends them and creates something new from them. Sandman was my favorite graphic novel, especially Season of Mists. I actually think Seasons of Mists is a good place to start Sandman, then go back to the beginning. the spin off series, Lucifer, is another great title. I also loved Maus (very powerful & amazed what Spiegleman can do with pen & ink, gets so much emotion out of his 'simple' drawings)Watchman is also a classic, the letters and monologues of Rorschach are brilliant .

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  2. G is for Great post! Interesting, thanks.

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  3. I'm newish to graphic novels, but I've got a long-standing love of Neil Gaiman ever since the BBC did their best to get Neverwhere on tv. Also, I found out only fairly recently that he was a good friend of Diana Wynne Jones (one of my all time favourite authors). They bounced ideas and books off each other and it shows.

    Great post - thank you :)

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  4. I didn't know there were graphic novels to accompany the Firefly series! I'll have to look into those.

    I loved The Sandman. What great storytelling.

    Good post!

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  5. The Sandman! Neil Gaiman is awesome. Killer G post. :)

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  6. I finally read a Gaiman book a few months back - the Graveyard book. I loved the way he wove it all together - unique story. I've got Stardust waiting on my nightstand for me now. :)

    I'm so glad to see graphic novels rising in popularity. There are some great stories out there!

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  7. The only Gaimen book I've read is The Graveyard Book. It was a great read so I really want to read more of his work.

    I've read the Firefly graphic novels (but of course I have) and I desperately want there to be more. But I will always want more Firefly.

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  8. I have been wanting to get to Maus forever! My University had started a graphic novel section but Maus was always gone or stolen. My first graphic novel was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and it changed my mind as to what I thought of a graphic novel.

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  9. I just wrote a post about Neil Gaiman last month.
    Highlights:
    "1. You wish you had a rabbit named Galveston even though you're allergic to bunnies.

    2. You secretly wonder if those emo kids loitering by the 7-11 are one of the seven Endless.

    3. Every time you put on weight and your thighs rub against each other, you think of Easter.

    4. You wanna visit London for the Underground sites. And to see champion lurkers.

    5. You imagine childhood in a graveyard would be pretty cool, but you pee a little every time you see your neighbor Jack trudging up the street."

    To see the rest, read this post: http://prose-spective.blogspot.com/2012/03/you-know-youre-neil-gaiman-fan-if.html

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  10. I actually have several including the Maus one, which I gave to my son who is a teacher. Kids who hate to read could be encouraged to do more by books like these. And I do appreciate the graphic art as well.

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  11. Great posts! I've always loved graphic novels/comics!

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  12. Laughing Ferret – ah yes, a graphic novel enthusiast I see. I agree about Gaiman. His mythology uses amaze me. And Rorschach is definitely my favorite Watchmen character.

    Amanda – I loved that series too. And pretty much everything by Gaiman. He’s also really good friends with Michael Chabon, another of my favorites. Got married in his house.

    Ishta – there definitely are, and they’re amazing. Any Firefly fan should read them immediately!!

    Jemi – I actually haven’t read The Graveyard Book yet. I have it on my nightstand, ready to go as soon as I get the chance. This blog challenge is eating into my book time haha.

    MJ – Agreed. No matter how much there is, it will never really be enough.

    Junebug – I love the League of Extraordinary Gentleman. I just wish the movie hadn’t disappointed me quite so much.

    Rena – those are TERRIFIC highlights. I will be heading over to read the rest of your post asap. Glad t meet another fan!

    Loverofwords – That’s a great idea. Maybe these books would encourage non-readers to READ!

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  13. I don't read many graphic novels, and the ones I have have mostly been adaptations of novels. But Sandman is high on my TBR list. :)

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  14. im new to graphic novels, Ive beem reading the walking dead by Robert Kirkman thats been addapted to tv (thats how I found them)

    I Agree with the above comment that graphic novels could help in education perposes to get non readers into reading.

    Thanks for sharing. and hello from a fello A-Z'er

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  15. The first graphic novel I read was Watchmen. The second was Persepolis. I've read some of the Sandman books, but not all. I've told my husband that one of my dream presents would be the entire collection. :)

    Another great post!

    Erin

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  16. Great post! Graphic novels are a wonderful media. Kith, Kin, and Kind (The Good Neighbors)are my favorites(I know, big shock). I have to admit, though, Manga and Manhwa are the best!

    Happy blogging!

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  17. Graphic novels have been around a long time. Waaaay back in the 40s, 50s and 60s they were called Classics Illustrated. I read many "comic book" versions of classic literature before I sank my teeth into the real deal. It was that way for Call of the Wild. When my sister and I bought comics my mother let us buy what we wanted, as long as there was one Classics Illustrated in the bunch. It was a *rule* we had no trouble obeying. :)

    I think graphic novels are a wonderful way to introduce kids to literature, particularly reluctant readers.

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  18. I've never read a graphic novel. I watched Sin City though, does that count?

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  19. I've never read a graphic novel, though I've never been fond of comic books either, so I suppose that's why.

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  20. When I was really, really into comics, back in the 80's, graphic novels weren't as popular as they are now. I read the Watchmen, and maybe a few other super hero ones, but that's about it. I've always intended to read the Sandman stories, but never got around to it.

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  21. I feel like I should be more into Neil Gaiman than I am. The only book of his I've read is Stardust, and frankly I liked the movie better. But I've heard such great things about him. Maybe I should give him another try.

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  22. My dad is a huge Firefly fan. I'll have to get him the graphic novel for his birthday coming up because he's sad there's not more to the series.

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  23. Not to be a voice of dissension, but Gaiman didn't do novels and then cross over. He started writing in comics and, later, wrote novels. I was reading The Sandman back in 1990 when it was first coming out and have almost the full run of the series. Only later were they collected into "Graphic Novel" format. The same is true for The Watchmen. I have the original 12-issue series of that. It was later collected. Basically, the graphic novel as a distinct format only barely exists. Mostly, graphic novels are collections of individual comics put into book format, because that's cheaper and easier, often, than going back and trying to buy all the original issues. Stories that are written -as- graphic novels are a new thing. In fact, they didn't exist while I was still collecting comics, and I'm unsure of any specific ones today. They may exist, but I don't know of any.

    Anyway... like I said, not trying to start an argument, but back in the day I was big into comics (have worked in comic stores and had my own for a while), and they are a special love of mine even if I haven't collected in almost a decade. I still -wish- I collected, but they're just too expensive these days, which is why graphic novels have risen in popularity. It's much cheaper to pay $20 for a 10-issue run story line than the $50 it would cost to buy those issues individually upon release.

    Also, I just don't have any space for it. >sigh<

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    1. I know. Sigh. I kind of cheated here by talking about “graphic novels” in such general terms. I actually don’t see much distinction between comic books and graphic novels – I think the vast majority of them cross over. However, I talked about Sandman and Watchmen here because a) they were put into the “graphic novel” format where eat issue was a completed collection rather than an ongoing story (sort of like a season of a show rather than an episode) which is one way people distinguish between graphic novels and comic books, and b) because “Comic book” starts with a C rather than a G. But I guess when you cheat a little bit you have to expect to get caught haha.

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    2. LOL
      Okay, well, I'll give it to you, then. I've just known so many people that thought the graphic novel was the whole thing that I probably jumped the gun on that. It comes from having spent too much time with comics, I suppose (and having a garage full of them).

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    3. I definitely used to be one of those people. I've come late into the comic book/graphic novel world and didn't know until recently how much the two overlapped (which probably bled over a little into my post). You on the other hand, seem to know all the ins and outs already. Jealous. I'll keep reading (no hardship there) and maybe one day we'll be in the same league!

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    4. It's actually kind of interesting the way comic book people look at the whole graphic novel thing. Gaiman doesn't like to call his comic work comic work; he calls all of it graphic novels. I'm not sure if he's just denying his comic origins or not.
      Alan Moore, on the other hand, hates the term graphic novel and thinks it's full of all kinds of pretensions. He calls it a marketing tool to fool people into believing that they're reading is something other than a comic book.

      I'll try to see if I can figure out some stories that were written as graphic novels, oh, wait, Frank Miller's Elektra Lives (I think that's the correct title) was composed that way. It may not be understandable without having read his earlier Elektra stuff in Daredevil, though.

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    5. I read about that. In fact, I thought about discussing the origins of the term in my post, but it was already so long I had to cut it. I wonder if Gaiman's refusal to say he writes "comic books" stems from the fact that he's trained as a more traditional novelist. I love that Alan Moore calls everything he write comic books and refuses to use the term graphic novel. His interviews are really interesting. (And side note, I like how involved he's been with the movies his work inspired.)

      I have read some of the older Elektra and Daredevil comics, so I think I'd be good with Miller's version. I haven't read it before, but now I'm really looking forward to it.

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    6. If I end up with any extra time, I'll see if I can dig up other Graphic Novels that didn't start as a comic book series (and were good).

      I think for Gaiman, it's an issue of conceptualization. He never did any regular comic books to speak of. His stories are often like visual novels. He said he couldn't have written Stardust without Charles Vess feeding him art to go with the story. Still... The Sandman was a comic book, not a graphic novel, no matter what you call it. And the Batman story he did a couple of years ago was definitely a comic book.

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    7. I'd love that. I'm trying to make up for all the years I didn't read them because no one ever introduced me to them. And the funny thing about Gaiman and his issues with terminology is that it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you call if a graphic novel, comic book, or any other combination. They stories stand for themselves, and that's what we should focus on. Watchmen is amazing, no matter how they package it. Same can be said for Sandman. He needs to get over his aversion to the term comic book and own it - I certainly would if I were so lucky as to write one.

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    8. The very first thing I really wanted to write was comic books. I had a friend when I was in my early 20s that did art, and we worked on some stuff together, but he'd never get more than a few pages of art down for any individual story, so it ended up not going anywhere. I have to say that if I get this writing thing going and people actually pay attention to my books, I'm going to let it be known that I have some comic books stories in my head, too.

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  24. Oh, yeah, just in case it didn't come through, I'm a big Gaiman fan. Sandman was brilliant. It was something completely unique in its day, and DC evolved a whole line of comics around the concept that Gaiman put forth.

    Good Omens is awesome. One of the few books I've read more than once. The Graveyard Book is probably my favorite by him, though.

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  25. Thanks for your post. It has inspired me to investigate graphic novels. I am a huge Miyazaki fan so I really admire good drawing and story together.

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  26. Serena – I love The Walking Dead! It’s a really great premise.

    Kaye – I have to admit that I haven’t read any Manga and Manhwa, but if you recommend it then it sounds like it’s definitely something I should look in to.

    Bish – I think it’s so interesting that they’ve turned classic novels into graphic novels. I love that the media embraces classical stories in new and interesting ways!

    Annalisa – Haha, sure it counts. But I will say that the graphic novel was better in case that makes you want to go check it out…

    Rusty – I’d definitely check into Sandman. It’s really amazing and Neil Gaiman is a storytelling genius in any media form.

    Nicole – please please do. He really is one of my favorites and everyone I recommend him to thinks he’s terrific.

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  27. Most interesting and a pleasure to read.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and comment, Much appreciated.

    Yvonne.

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  28. I've read American Gods, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book, and Coraline. I have to read the rest of them.

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  29. I don;t read much graphic novels. But I do like to kill off a lot of characters in various and creative ways. So I guess I incorporate the element into my writings.

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  30. Great post and I couldn't agree more. I love pretty much all the graphic novels you mention.

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  31. I used to read more comic books than I have graphic novels. I do remember reading The Crow by James O'Barr and being so moved by it.
    Great post.
    Heather

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  32. I'm not really into graphic novels, but I have several students who love, love, love them. They like to tell me the stories, which sound pretty interesting.

    Thanks for stopping by yesterday!

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  33. Oh yes! I'm a huge Gaiman fan! Great post! My kids loved the new Holly Black graphic novel.

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  34. I haven't read a ton of graphic novels, but loved the Mauses, Watchmen (apart from that dull comic-within-a-comic shipwreck survivor story), and the first volume of Sandman. I really need to get back into those. Especially since, if I wait too much longer, I may start to go into Gaiman withdrawal.

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  35. This is the second post on Graphic Novels. Interesting. I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge blogs this month.

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  36. Brilliant post! I've never read Sandman because I didn't know where to begin. I'm all over it now! :-D

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  37. Stephen – sounds like your work would be right up my alley. I’d really like to read some!

    Heather – I’ve actually never read the Crow. Sounds like I need to do some catching up.

    Julie – The Holly Black graphic novel is on my list. I have it, just haven’t gotten to it. But I’m super excited.

    Nate – Gaiman withdrawal. It’s a common ailment. I’d recommend Sandman, stat.

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  38. I've been reading the GNs for THE WALKING DEAD. I wish I had the rest because I've already eaten up (pun intended) the first ones. I was also a fan of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Love it. I was turned on to another one but I haven't acquired it yet, The Umbrella Academy.

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  39. I've never been a huge fan of graphic novels. But after watching Coraline for the umpteenth time last night, I really want to check out that one.

    http://andisbookreviews.blogspot.com

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  40. Huzzah for Gaiman love! If you haven't read Snow, Glass, Apples -- do so! You can search it on youtube and listen to a retelling of it, too. Lovely, all around. :D

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  41. Joshua – I love The Walking Dead. I got really into it right before the show came out. And I’ve heard really good things about The Umbrella Academy, though I’ve never read it either. Dark Horse does a lot of my favorites though, so I imagine it’s wonderful. I feel a buying spree coming on.

    Andrea – You should definitely check out the novel. It’s really cool.

    Kellyloo – I haven’t, but I LOVE the title. Snow White related I’m guessing? That sounds great.

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