1. The Graphic Novel:
A Brief History
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2. When did American comics begin?
1890s - U.S. newspapers featured weekly drawings that were funny, but without words
Katzenjammer Kids had words presumably spoken by characters.
Soon word balloons appeared in other cartoons, arranged in a series to form a strip.
Mutt and Jeff became the standard comic strip

3. Katzenjammer kids

4. Mutt and Jeff

5. The Birth of the comic book
1910s - Sunday comics were so popular newspapers would publish small books containing reprints of past strips and hand out for free
In 1934, Eastern Color Printing Company decided to sell these books directly to the public for 10 cents each.

6. Comic Books and Superheroes
Late 1930s and early 1940s - many now-famous superheroes made their first appearances
Comic book sales soared as good triumphed over evil.
Such heroes include:

7. Superman (1938)

8. Batman (1939)

9. The Flash (1940)

10. Green Lantern (1940)

11. Captain America (1941)

12. Superheroes go out of fashion
By the early 1950s, readers grew tired of superheroes
Publishers turned to crime and horror stories with graphic illustrations
Some felt this material was unsuitable for children
The comic book industry came under federal investigation in 1954.
Response - Standards of Comics Code Authority.

13. Example of Cover Prompting CCA

14. The Silver Age of Comic books
In the late 1950s, superheroes started to come back into fashion.
The Silver Age of Comics ( ) brought about some of today’s most popular versions of superheroes.
They include:

15. The Flash (1956)

16. Green Lantern (1959)

17. Spider-Man (1962)

18. Hulk (1962)

19. The X-Men (1963)

20. Iron Man (1963)

21. The Graphic Novel
The term “graphic novel” existed even in the early 1970s
It wasn’t until Will Eisner used it on the cover of his book, A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories in 1978 that it began to be used widely.

22. A Contract With God by Will Eisner

23. What is a graphic novel?
A graphic novel is a work in which the story is given to the reader using sequential art
The term is used in a broad manner

24. Where do you find graphic novels?
They are generally sold in bookstores and specialty comic book shops.
Graphic novels have even gained increasing acceptance as desirable materials for libraries
Once ignored comic books.

25. About That Term …
Most creators within the industry don’t like the term “graphic novel”
They feel it is trying too hard to be something it’s not
Some have suggested using the term “illustrated novel” or “comic-strip novel”

26. Tomorrow … We’ll explore how graphic novels are made.
We’ll investigate the types of graphic novels on the market.
We’ll also discuss the most influential graphic novels of the last twenty-five years.