Graphic Novels

• Graphic Novel - books writen and illustrated in the style of a comic book
• Graphic Novel - story is told using a combination of words and pictures in a sequence across the page
• Graphic Novel - subgenre of comics
• Elements of a Graphic Novel

  • Panels
  • Gutters
  • Description
  • Narration
  • Word Balloons
  • Sound Effects
  • Motion Lines
  • Art
• Panels - the borders that wraps around a single moment in a comic
• Panels - job is to contain an illustration that puts forth an idea
• Gutters - spaces in between the panels that indicate changes/progress in the story
• Description, Narration, and Word Balloons - words that supplement the images drawn in the panels
• Description, Narration, and Word Balloons - they either give a narration/description of what is happening
• Description, Narration, and Word Balloons - they can also contain thought and conversations between characters
• Sound Effects - set the scene, signal something off scene, and add another layer to each story
• Motion Lines - indicate how characters/objects are moving
• Every creator has their own style
• Art - graphic novels can appear realistic, cartoony, harsh, colorful, monochromatic, light,/dark
• Misconeception:

  Some parents and educators may feel that graphics novels are not the type of reading material that will help young people grow as readers
• Reality:

  Graphic novels have come to be accepted by librarians and educators as a method of storytelling on a par with novels, picture books, movies,/audiobooks
• Misconception:

  Graphic novels are too simplistic to be regarded as serious reading
• Reality:

  Graphic novels demand the same skills that are needed to understand traditional forms of literature. They require you to be actively engaged in the process of decoding and comprehending visuals and texts
• Importance of Graphic Novels

  • Motivation
  • Unique Art Form
  • Deduction and Guessing
• Motivation - graphic novels powerfully attract and motivate kids to read
• Motivation - reluctant readers can be pulled into a story by the visual elements of graphic novels
• Motivation - graphic novels with rich, complex plots and narrative structures can also be satisfying to advanced readers
• Unique Art Form - graphic novels combine novels, movies, and images in their own unique way
• Unique Art Form - are like prose in that they are in a written printed format, but they are also like film in that they tell a story through dialogue, and through visual images that give the impression of movement
• Deduction and Guessing - students can compare the different experiences of receiving information through written narrative, versus receiving it visually without words
• Deduction and Guessing - students can also discuss how in graphic novels, as in movies, readers can often deduce what happened-but was not explicity stated-in the interval between 1 image and the next