Graphic Novels

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In 1969, John Updike wrote,"I see no intrinsic reason why a doubly talented artist might not arise and create a comic-strip novel masterpiece." Updike would see his prediction come true less than a decade later with the publication of Will Eisner's pioneering graphic novel, A Contract With God.

The graphic novel, a swiftly developing, high-low cultural hybrid, has a many-stranded past. Major influences include the caprices of 19th-century European caricaturists; the dazzling sketchbooks of Hokusai and, subsequently, Japanese manga (comic-strip narratives); and the underground comix that culminated in Art Spiegelman's Maus. The triumph of Maus allowed a generation of artists to pursue far-flung ideas and personal obsessions.

Increasingly, many have done so in books with special appeal for young readers. As a more grown-up version of comics, the graphic novel has proven to be an art form ideally suited to the coming-of-age story, as in Craig Thompson's Blankets. For beginning and "reluctant" readers, these illustrated books can be gateways to literacy as well.


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Maus

Written by Art Spiegelman

1986

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Blankets

Written by Craig Thompson

2003

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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi

2004

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Kerlan Features

Babymouse Queen of the World

Written and illustrated by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

2005

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American Born Chinese

Written by Gene Luen Yang

2006

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The Arrival

Written by Shaun Tan

2006

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Reproduction of: A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories

Written by Will Eisner

2006

Originally published in 1978

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Written and illustrated by Alison Bechdel

2007

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Smile

Written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier

2010

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Nimona

Written and illustrated by Noelle Stevenson

2015

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The Witch Boy

Written and illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag

2017

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New Kid

Written and illustrated by Jerry Craft

2019

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Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me

Written by Mariko Tamaki

Illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell

2019

Art of the Picture Book
Graphic Novels