Thursday, May 07, 2009

Booking Through Thursday: Graphic

May 2 (last Saturday) was Free Comic Book Day. So this week's BTT topic is in celebration of graphic novels and comic books:
  • Do you read graphic novels/comics? Why do/don’t you enjoy them?
  • How would you describe the difference between “graphic novel” and “comic”? Is there a difference at all?
  • Say you have a friend who’s never encountered graphic novels. Recommend some titles you consider landmark/”canonical”.
I don't believe I've ever read a graphic novel. Not one that I can remember, anyway. So I can't recommend any. And I guess I really shouldn't have a firm opinion about them until I've tried one. But I love illustrated books, so I'm thinking I'll probably like graphic novels when I do try them.

Are they the same as comic books? Well, to me, yes they do seem very similar. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, though. I've always loved comic books; as a child, some of my earliest reading matter was comic books – much to my mother's chagrin. And I still have a large collection of classic Little Lulu and Bugs Bunny comics. I really identified with Lulu when I was a tyke. She was funny and feisty and resourceful, and was always getting punished for "no reason at all." And her curls were never out of place.

Hmmmm. I seem to have strayed from the subject a bit. So I should shut up and start reading all the other BTT posts – maybe I can find some good recommendations for a graphic novel to start with.

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7 comments:

  1. JessMay 7, 2009 at 11:30 AM

    I don't read a ton of graphic novels, but I loved Epileptic by David B. It was incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. zetorMay 7, 2009 at 3:37 PM

    I have fond memories of childhood comics too.

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  3. Jo-JoMay 7, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    I haven't read a graphic novel yet either, but loved comics when I was young.

    ReplyDelete
  4. SmilingSallyMay 7, 2009 at 3:57 PM

    This was another BTT I passed up. I never heard/read a graphic novel. Whatever happened to the questions that took some (but not a bunch) of thought?

    ReplyDelete
  5. KatMay 7, 2009 at 6:53 PM

    In the manner of how they were created, graphic novels are comic books, though how they differ or are the same is something I'd leave for others to argue hehe. Although compared to Little Lulu and Bugs Bunny, you'll find that graphic novels are far, far different. Some of them deal with mature themes that even an adult may find hard to read (I know I do). For starters, try reading Neil Gaiman's Stardust then venture out to his Sandman series. I also have a few Japanese comic recommendations in my post if you want to check them out. Cheers! :D

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  6. gautami tripathyMay 8, 2009 at 3:35 AM

    I think they changed the nomenclature from comic books to graphic novels to include varied genres..

    I might be wrong though.

    :D

    My BTT post

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 8, 2009 at 8:04 AM

    I keep hearing about Maus, but haven't tried one either.

    ReplyDelete

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