Hi bookish friends,
This is Juli from ich lese where I discuss my literary shenanigans and present you with very opinionated reviews. You can also find me on Twitter @evilbibliotaph – equally opinionated but less frequented (something I should probably change). I’ll be joining you guys here on Dewey’s blog and on the official Dewey’s Twitter account for the next two hours.
One thing I’ve been wondering about, and what was recently posed as a question to me by a friend, …. what in the world is the difference between a comic and a graphic novel?! Gut-feeling-wise (that’s probably not a word, but whatever), I always thought of graphic novels as self-contained stories with illustrations as opposed to comics, which are released periodically and have continuing plots. Yet, when I researched the topic with the help of my trusty friend Google, I found an article that mentioned that Watchmen was originally a comic released sequentially over some time and later published as one bound piece of work, thus switching from comic to graphic novel. So, what gives? Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Series, for example, lives in my mind as a series of graphic novels but really might be a comic compilation?
Another article proposed that the term graphic novel was only coined to indicate that reading comics is READING trying to help comic enthusiasts to be accepted in literary communities as readers and I gotta be honest I hear a lot about graphic novels on Goodreads for example but never anything about comics, so maybe that article is correct.
What do you guys think??? I personally believe reading is reading and think that comics are just as valuable as classic fat tomes. Especially during our 24hr readathon, I encounter a lot of people who read graphic novels (or maybe they are actually comics – who really knows the true definition anymore) and I am one of them. I truly enjoy diving into this illustrated world as it adds a new dimension to my reading experience.
Let me know what y’all think in the comments below.
Cheers,
ich lese
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Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon 
I consider them the same thing. I am just now venturing into both.
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I wasn’t sure what the difference was and kinda thought they were either the same thing or that comics were more cartoonish art and graphic novels were more realistic art, if that makes any sense. But when I picked up the only comic/graphic novel I own the back cover says its a collection of comics so I’m back to who knows any more. Good to read though, makes for a nice change from all that text on white paper
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I love reading graphic novels during the readathon. I think the difference (in my head) is that a GN is a compilation of a few comics. It’s one volume with a few of the issues combined. No idea if that’s right. I’m in the middle of one of the Sandman volumes right now.
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I have no idea about the difference, but for the first time I added two graphic novels to my TBR list. I even signed up on mu local library so I could request the two volumes! They are usually easy reads and bring us a comfortable feeling, and that we accomplished something.
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I am reading Science Comics Solar System: Our Place in Space by Rosemary Gosco and John Chad- a discovery from the children’s NF section. A great way to learn about topics quickly that I never really made much progress or desire on when I was a kid. It’s fun!
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