THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

WHAT IS A GRAPHIC NOVEL? “a fictional story presented in comic-strip format and presented as a book” -Uses the format of a comic strip -Tells a stand-alone narrative, much like a novel -Sometimes anthologies of comics which follow a single story arc are also considered graphic novels -Different from comic strips and manga

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS -Comics are shorter works that typically contain one or two story arcs, and require several comics in order to tell a longer narrative piece -Graphic novels, on the other hand, are typically longer stand-alone narratives, utilizing many of the same techniques as a novel. -Comics’ audiences are typically children and young adults, while graphic novels tend to target older audiences. This is mostly due to darker themes and scenes of violence.

HOW DO WE READ A GRAPHIC NOVEL? Some graphic novels, like The Arrival, are written entirely in images. Each separate drawing or “window” in a graphic novel is called a frame. When three frames are in a row, they are called a panel. How many frames do you see in the following illustration from the graphic novel Watchmen? A few famous graphic novels:

The graphic novel artist can change every element of his or her graphic novel to mean something different, including color, the size of the panels, and word bubbles. Most graphic novels are read from left to right, up to down, as in the following example:

“THE ARRIVAL” -Written by Shaun Tan -Published in Primarily about the feeling of isolation, alienation, and hope of refugees in Australia -Wordless graphic novel -Set in an alternate world

SHAUN TAN -Born 1974 (aged 40) -Fremantle, Western Australia -Illustrator and author of children’s books -Has won an Academy Award (2011 Best Short Film), multiple Ditmar Awards (Australian Excellence in Science Fiction), and over 40 other awards for children’s literature and science fiction.

AUSTRALIAN REFUGEES -Most refugees come from Indonesia or Malaysia as a result of armed conflict and human rights’ abuses occurring in those areas -In the last 5 years alone, over 70,000 people have come to Australia as refugees -Recent actions by the Australian government have made it harder for people to seek asylum on the continent, as they force many boats back out to the ocean and even imprison some people almost immediately after they arrive. -Many refugees do not speak English, and have a hard time adapting to the new society.