Well, my little graphic novel digression sparked a very interesting conversation with Elzey over at the excelsior file, and I encourage anyone interested in this topic to go check it out. The discussion has made me want to dip my pen into this well a little deeper.
In his well-reasoned and well-documented post he points out that this whole “children’s graphic novel trend” is really at least 20, and perhaps more like 50 years in the making, and I have to agree with him. On the shoulders of giants, as it were.
As someone who has always been drawn to graphic work–(starting with Wonder Woman, Tintin and Asterix, and continuing down the shelf to things like Optic Nerve, Ghost World, and Dave McKean’s Cages)–I have a great appreciation for the groundwork laid by everyone from Windsor McCay and Hergé, to Will Eisner and Art Spiegelman, as well as more contemporary voices like Chris Ware, Adriane Tomine, Joe Sacco, Daniel Clowes, and Jamie Hewlett.
Current success stories like Marjane Satrapi, and the recent graphic adaptation of the 9/11 report by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon continue to raise the visibility and credibility of graphic novels in the mainstream book buying market. (The fact that Jacobson and Colon are also the industry veterans behind Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost makes the whole 9/11 project just that much more brilliant for so many reasons beyond their great artwork.)
It was not my intention to suggest below that this whole children’s graphic Trendwatch is coming from nowhere. There’s no such thing in culture as the virgin birth. In fact, I would argue that what’s happening here isn’t so much that there’s a new genre in town, but rather, that mainstream publishing is finally catching on to something the underground has been into for years.
Here’s what IS new
- Libraries and bookstores are carving out dedicated sections for graphic forms IN THE CHILDREN”S SECTION. (Previously, something like Tintin or Little Lit would wander between the picture book section and the comic anthologies over near humor somewhere)
- Mainstream publishers are launching graphic imprints at an astounding rate
- Adult graphic novels are suddenly being edited and published in the regular fiction lists of big publishing houses along side the next Oprah pick
- Children’s graphic novels are being reviewed by traditional awards committees and winning, like Gene Luen Yang’s recent Printz for American Born Chinese
- Graphic novels are inspiring pleasant dreams of $$ for the upper management in big publishing houses in a market that has been flat
- Suddenly my mother knows what a graphic novel is
I have noticed a funny thing about cultural ideas that suddenly hit the mainstream like this. There seems to be a direct inverse relationship between the number of times a buzzword is used in the press, in marketing meetings, and at cocktail parties, and the corresponding depth of people’s actual knowledge of the word. It’s like the word or concept gets stripped of its nutritional value, and all we know of it is its candy coated shell. Tastes great, but not much fiber inside.
What really interests me in this whole discussion is why now? What’s the tipping point—(thanks Malcom Gladwell)—that’s pushing this over the edge? Is there really an honest demand on the part of children for this, or are we creating our own market and making it so? I do think there is something to the idea that the post-computer, post-gameboy generations are more primed to relate to the world on a fast moving visual basis. I also think there’s something to the idea that publishers have latched onto this trend as the next “big thing”, and are milking it for all that it’s worth.
Toward the end of his recent post, Elzey makes some really important points about the precarious place we find ourselves in right now regarding the future of this “trend” in the children’s market:
- Everyone seems to agree that graphic novels are a valid literary form, but there’s much confusion over what constitutes “good or worthy graphic literature”.
- In an effort to cope, “Booksellers either don’t carry graphic novels because they don’t understand the genre or, as with the larger chains, they carry large amounts of what is carried by the major publishers in a scattershot somethings-bound-to-click-with-the-public manner.”
- It’s not a graphic novel just because you take a book and draw it out rather than write it out. Especially if it’s bad to begin with. Likewise, re-purposing existing property by putting it in a graphic format—read: Nancy Drew, The Time-Warp Trio, Goosebumps—does not a quality graphic novel make.
- If we’re going to consider graphic novels as literature, we need to apply some rigorous criteria to determine what is good. This is especially true as publishers gear up to flood the market. As someone who represents independent booksellers, I would welcome this, as would my overworked constituents.
- If we’re going to give away awards to graphic novels, let’s not get into the tricky business of comparing them in the same category as written fiction. In Elzey’s words “I think we need to give them their own category and not spend a lot of time wringing hands over comparing apples to oranges.”
For sure, there’s some really great work being done in this field right now, and I hope it gets its just rewards. Some of the most promising new launches are being done with vision and passion, (see my comment about 01:First Second below), and the great graphic imprints like Drawn and Quarterly and Fantagraphics continue to stick to their mission. Artists like Regis Faller are making wonderful books for children that bridge the genre gap, and backlist classics that were way ahead of their time are no longer orphaned. They now have a home in a dedicated children’s graphic section.
What lies ahead? I expect the usual rubber-band effect. For awhile there will be a real glut of graphic work for children, and much of it will be marginal to awful. The gems will be there, and discerning booksellers and librarians will find them, and hug them to their collective bosoms. Those gems will join the classic backlist to form the bones of a really good children’s graphic section, and those great new works will be wonderful publishing success stories. After saturation, there will be a cooling both of the market, and of upper management’s enthusiasm, and we’ll be back on the ground, further ahead than we were when we started, with some great books to show for the effort.
I still think it’s a tremendous time for graphic novels and other visual media. I hope that the most worthy artists will be able to take advantage of the favorable climate to kick some creative butt.
I also hope we, as an industry, develop a reputable yardstick for measuring quality very soon, before the fire goes out from too much kindling and not enough air.
Thanks, Elzey for giving me some excellent food for thought.
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Postscript 3/14:
Here’s a couple of really useful links for keeping on top of information on Graphic Novels and Comics for the kid_lit set:
Comics in the Classroom.net – great round up site of news and reviews on graphic media for children written by a teacher from New Brunswick, Canada.
The Graphic Classroom – reviews of graphic media suitable for the elementary classroom
2 comments
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March 15, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Camille
As a practitioner, in the trenches, so to speak, I see kids every day who want to read but do not have the skills to manage it. Then there are the kids who read fairly well but for some reason the “movie” does not play in their imagination as they read the story. They are the kids who often retreat to the I Spy books or How to Draw books in a school library. Comic books and graphic novels all support those kids and help them “see” the action.
Kids just love the storylines too. I cannot tell you how many library bound editions of Sprited Away have been read to absolute pieces. Follett guarantees the bindings so they just keep replacing them for us.
May 1, 2007 at 9:13 am
John Shableski
Hello! I was quite excited to read your piece on graphic novels and I do understand the condrum this poses for most folks who are new to the format. Please note graphic novels should be described as a format and there are plenty of genres within the format-biographies, superheroes, fiction and nonfiction.
You are correct on your theory of buzzwords and you can tell who, in the crowded room, is true if they mispronounce Manga. No big deal really because now they actually want to talk about graphic novels.
The tipping point is not so much a title winning a major award or recognition from the ‘literary world’ it is sales figures. In 2001 gn sales in the U.S. were about 43 million dollars and in 2006 330 million with the library market spending 30 million of that amount. I would bet that, due to the ignorance of the general retail market, a good portion of thsoe sales were from the internet.
There is a real and growing demand for children’s graphic novels and this is due, in part, to the misperception by many that the superhero genres are for kids. Lo and behold the surprised retailer who buys Preacher or Constantine for the kiddies…meanwhile the younger kids see all the color splashed over the covers and just assume the book is for them.
Librarians have been doing an excellent job of sorting this out and have actually shelved a majority of the titles into the YA section while the adult or mature titles get shelved in the appropriate section.
With the quality of books in development it really isnt at all difficult to devine what is a good or great story. You see it faster in a graphic novel than you would traditional prose. If a picture can say a thousand words then you get it all when you open to the first page.
Why havent graphic novels done more in the U.S. market until now? That’s due in part to the costs of printing, distribution by more than one supplier, and the residual backlash from the Wertham trials in the 1950’s because of Dr. Wertham (who was the Dr Phil of his day) many librarians and teachers were taught that comic books were a waste of time. Only now are they seeing that these books work for readers of all skill levels.
What’s next? Hmmmm…i know that answer and it’s worth a lot of money!
I recommend the following books for the unitiated: Pride of Baghdad, Mom’s Cancer, American Born Chinese, Infinity Crisis, The Arrival, Flight (anyone of them) Beowulf, and Emily the Strange….just to name a few. Read these and you cant help but recognize the rising tide or tsunami that is about to hit full force
Best wishes
John Shableski
Graphic Novels Coordinator
Brodart Co