A Graphic novel is a type of text combining words and images—essentially a comic, although the term most commonly refers to a complete story presented as a book rather than a periodical.
Most graphic novels begin as single issues, or have a strict number of issues. When that series of issues has ended, they are republished and distributed as graphic novels.
They are designed to last longer than a comic book and to be the length of most novels.
Most graphic novels have a beginning, a middle and an end with characters that develop over time. A graphic novel can also be fiction or non-fiction, or what has become a growing popular trend with graphic novels, a memoir.
| bleed | when an image goes beyond the borders of the page |
| caption | a box or section or text that gives details on the background and setting of the scene. It sits separately to speech and thought bubbles, often at the top or bottom of the panel |
| close-up | an angle that zooms into an image, like a character's face, to allow for closer view. This technique is sometimes employed to convey a feeling of intimacy between the reader and character, such as when a character reveals their thought or revelations |
| frame | the border that surrounds and contains the panel |
| gutter | the space the lies between panels |
| graphic weight | the heaviness or intensity of a line or block of shading for visual focus. The bolder the graphic weight, the greater the visual focus, making that element more salient in the scene |
| layout | the configuration of all the elements on the page; they way in which the frame, panels, speech bubbles etc are arranged to tell the narrative |
| panel | the box or segment that contains the image and text |
| special effects sounds | words that give a sense of sound on the page (e.g. Bang! Thump!) To heighten their impact, the words are either bolded or have a special graphical treatment to make it stand out on the page |
| speech bubble | contains the dialogue spoken by different characters within a scene. It's usually enclosed in a bubble or another shape; otherwise can stand on its own, close to the speaker |
| thought bubble | similar to the speech bubble, this contains the internal dialogue of a character and is usually shaped like a cloud, coming from the character's head |
Information sourced from Penguin Random House Australia. (2017). Getting to Know Graphic Novels : a guide to using graphic novels in the classroom
Why Comics and Graphic Novels?
Outlines the benefits of using Comics and Graphic Novels for literacy
ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics.
Pilgrims in a foreign land: Teachers using graphic novels as classroom texts
In this research article, Dr Di Laycock explores the experiences of teachers as they implement graphic novels into the classroom and highlights challenges they faced in teaching with graphic novels.
How Graphic Novels Help Students Develop Critical Skills
Teachers and students alike often ask if graphic novels have a place in the classroom. Let’s examine their many benefits and how they can be used in your classroom.
Resilient Educator.
How to study Comics & Graphic Novels : a graphic introduction to comic studies
The Oxford Comics Network has published a great introduction to comics studies in the form of a comic. This is a perfect resource for teachers at secondary college, lecturers in tertiary education and book club coordinators considering introducing graphic novels to their book club.
Reading Australia Study Guides : Graphic Novels
Reading Australia publishes study guides that are perfect to use with students. This is a link to their Graphic Novel Study Guides
Raina Telgemeier's Smile : Study Guide
A study guide for Smile from The Classroom Bookshelf.
Graphic novels are a great way to inspire students of all ages and abilities about English literature and language. This article includes tips for teaching graphic novels to primary and secondary students.
The Guardian.
ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics Blog
ALIA Graphic's 2021 Notable Australian Graphic Novels list
As part of our commitment to raising the profile of Australian creators in libraries, ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics have compiled a list of notable comics and graphic novels by Australian creators published in 2021.
Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.
When Alice follows a white rabbit into his burrow, she enters a fantastic world of weird and wonderful characters. Follow Alice's amazing adventures in this beautifully illustrated graphic version of Lewis Carroll's timeless fantasy.
In this new graphic novel edition of the very first Baby-Sitters Club book, Raina Telgemeier captures all the drama of the original in warm, spunky illustrations. Witness Kristy's eureka moment, when she gets the idea for a "baby-sitters club" and enlists her best friends, shy Mary Anne and artistic Claudia, in an exciting new venture. But the baby-sitting business isn't the only thing absorbing their attention: Kristy is having a hard time accepting her stepdad-to-be, and the newest member of the gang, Stacey, seems to be hiding a secret.
Emily's and Navin's mother is kidnapped and dragged into a strange and magical world where, it seems, the children's great-grandfather has been before. It's up to the children to set things right and save their mother's life.
Drawing on the unique historical sites, archives, expertise, and unquestioned authority of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, New York Times bestselling authors Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón have created the first authorized and exhaustive graphic biography of Anne Frank. Their account is complete, covering the lives of Anne's parents, Edith and Otto; Anne's first years in Frankfurt; the rise of Nazism; the Franks' immigration to Amsterdam; war and occupation; Anne's years in the Secret Annex; betrayal and arrest; her deportation and tragic death in Bergen-Belsen; the survival of Anne's father; and his recovery and publication of her astounding diary.
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of 'Moon Over Mississippi', she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen - and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!
This book memorializes Spiegelman's father's experience of the Holocaust - it follows his story, frame by frame, from youth and marriage in pre-war Poland to imprisonment in Auschwitz. The 'survivor's tale' that results is stark and unembellished.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, best friends Wally and Roy, and new mate Tom, are among the first to enlist. But their great adventure soon turns to disaster. The day after their landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, more than 2000 of their fellow Anzacs are dead and the bold attempt by the Allied commanders to knock the Turks out of the war becomes a stalemate. As the Gallipoli campaign drags on, Wally, Roy and Tom find themselves locked in a combat with a formidable enemy, a ferocious landscape, flies, fleas, cold and disease.
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others.
Known for being engaging with age-appropriate reading materials, Graphic Novels are one of the best solutions to get reluctant and struggling readers into the world of reading.
Run Time : 1:49 mins
Graphic novels may look like fancy comic books, but they are more than meets the eye. Watch on to see the overlaps these depth-filled texts have with other pieces of literature and with film!
Run Time : 12:52 mins
Details the history of the graphic narrative around the world, including the concepts prior to the first comic or graphic novel; examining the relation between literacy, print technology, and developments in narrative art; and sampling works from various artists.
Graphic narrative art is a fascinating phenomenon that emerged centuries ago with the expansion of literacy and the publication industry. The earliest example of a repeating comic character dates back to the late 1700s. By following the growth of print technology in Europe and Asia, it is possible to understand how and why artists across cultures developed different strategies for telling stories with pictures. This book is much more than a history of graphic narrative across the globe. It examines broader conceptual developments that preceded the origins of comics and graphic novels; how those ideas have evolved over the last century and a half; how literacy, print technology, and developments in narrative art are interrelated; and the way graphic narratives communicate culturally significant stories. The work of artists such as William Hogarth, J. J. Grandville, Willhem Busch, Frans Masereel, Max Ernst, Saul Steinberg, Henry Darger, and Larry Gonick are discussed or depicted.
The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels is the ultimate companion to the expanding world of the 'literary comic book'. Written by comic industry insider Danny Fingeroth, it includes the mediums history, from sequential art in Egyptian tombs, through the superhero boom of the 1940s to the birth of the graphic novel movement and the latest online offerings. All you need to know about the best and rest with 60 must-read graphic novels, including the genre-defining Mausand A Contract with God, plus modern classics-in-the-making Fun Homeand Alice in Sunderland. The guide profiles the movements legends including Harvey Pekar, Chris Ware, Denis Kitchen and other amazing illustrators, writers and publishers who've helped win respect for this once marginalised art form. And everything else you need to know from 'how to make a graphic novel' to Persepolisand the latest film and television offerings, manga, documentaries, conventions, books, magazines and websites.
Everyone loves to draw, from characters to cars, space to sports, just about everything can be recreated in fun and simple graphic novel style drawings. Whether you want to draw them professionally or design special graphics for friends and family, this is the book for you. Complete with easy to follow steps and guidelines, this book will make you a graphic novel guru before you know it.
Offers advice to aspiring graphic novelists on such elements as characters, script, and pencilling and includes profiles of two popular graphic novelists.
This is an in-depth primer on the tools and techniques used by top sequential artists. It uses detailed instruction and step-by-step examples to teach key artistic methods. It is based on SCAD's world-famous sequential arts curriculum with examples of professional comic book art from their staff and alumni. John Lowe, Dean of the School of Communication Arts at SCAD, presents an in-depth primer on the tools and techniques used by top sequential artists to create comic books, graphic novels and other sequential art forms.
References
ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics. (2022, February 17). ALIA Graphic’s 2021 Notable Australian Graphic Novels. https://aliagraphic.blogspot.com/2022/02/alia-graphics-notable-australian.html
ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics. (n.d.). Blog. https://aliagraphic.blogspot.com/
ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics. (2019). Why Comics?. ALIA Graphic Novels. https://aliagraphic.blogspot.com/p/comics-and-literacy.html
Cabero, Enrique & Goodrum, Michael & Morlesín, José. (2021). How to Study Comics & Graphic Novels: A Graphic Introduction to Comics Studies.
Enriquez, G. (2011, April 18). Smile Study Guide. The Classroom Bookshelf. https://www.theclassroombookshelf.com/2011/04/smile/
Knutson, S. (n.d.). How Graphic Novels Help Students Develop Critical Skills. Resilient Educator. https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/graphic-novels-visual-literacy/
Laycock, D. (2019). Pilgrims in a foreign land: Teachers using graphic novels as classroom texts. Scan 38(2).
Niemtus, Z. (2015, November 30). How to teach graphic novels. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/nov/30/how-to-teach-graphic-novels
Penguin Random House Australia. (2017). Getting to Know Graphic Novels : a guide to using graphic novels in the classroom
Reading Australia. (n.d.). Graphic Novels. https://readingaustralia.com.au/book_category/graphic-novels/
Scholastic Asia. (2020, December 24). What are Graphic Novels? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Bgev8MGCUFA
WarnerJordanEducation. (2020, October 1). How to Read Graphic Novels [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UsUb9KqFAs&t=143s
Cover Image Credits
Jordan, B. (2020). [Comic illustration] [Photograph] Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/FB2yVV42jD0
Laaksonen, M. (2018). [Girl reading a comic] [Photograph] Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/nUL9aPgGvgM