Graphic Novels

Okay, I must do my duty as a librarian, but more importantly, as an educated member of society, an English major, and someone who literally sees the dumbing-down of society in action. Realize that these are my opinions. Nonetheless, I feel very strongly about this topic.

What is a graphic novel? Well, at first I thought it was a new title we in the library field were giving to things like Harlequin romance books; you know, books with lots and lots of explicit (and therefore graphic) material. However, that is not what a graphic novel is. A graphic novel is basically a glorified comic book. How that qualifies as a novel is beyond me. Now, I have never had a problem with comics or comic books. However, I feel there is a time and place for comic books and I do NOT think they should be considered to be on equal ground as novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Where the Red Fern Grows, or even something like Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

I am a firm believer that reading increases one's vocabulary. We learn new words using context clues to figure out their meanings, we learn what words LOOK like (i.e. how to spell them). I'm sitting here trying to think of an example in my life, because I know I have several (an example in which I learned a new word because I saw it while reading a book). I cannot come up with one, though, although it would be neat if anyone who can think of one would include the word in a comment to this blog (and what the word means, and which book you happened to be reading when you learned it, if you remember). Obviously, I'm not really expecting anyone to remember specifics, since I can't do it myself. But suffice it to say that I do know it has happened to me. I have learned new words by reading.

So, comic books/graphic novels (from now on, just assume I have grouped these two genres together) are reading, you say? Okay, I'll grant you that. But the very idea behind a comic book is that the story is mostly told through the pictures and the only actual READING being done is by reading the dialogue. Which, you have to admit, could be ignored and the reader would still get the gist of the storyline, right? Now, a comic book might be helpful in teaching onomatopoeia (when the written word mimics the sound one would hear, like BAM! BOOM! SMASH!). But because real descriptive words that cause the reader to picture the scenario in his or her mind are not necessary (there's already a picture to do that for you), no new words are really learned. For example, a cartoonist could draw a picture of a kid smelling freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies with the caption "smells good." But without that picture, a novelist would have to describe the chocolate chip cookies and the aroma that would fill the room. The character could still say something as inane as "smells good," but the reader has just been exposed to an entire paragraph of words describing something the author was picturing for that scene. And I'll tell you, "smells good" alone would not cut it, because the reader would have to ask, "WHAT smells good?" Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but is it really worth the limiting of our colorful and extensive vocabularies?

Because of my professional field, I know that graphic novels are becoming more and more prevalent and they are starting to win coveted awards (like Newbery, etc). And what this means is that these award-winning books, like the others before them, will go on "required reading" lists in classrooms. And I do not agree with that. Am I saying graphic novels should be burned and discarded?? NO! I'm a librarian. I don't believe in burning books :). But like I said before, they have their time and their place. They should be for entertainment only and should not be regarded as great literature in any sense of the word. Think about it: You're in 8th grade, and you have a book report due and you have to pick one of the books on a supplied list of books. Several of them are graphic novels (and I'm telling you from experience that it takes about 1 hour to get through a 600+ page graphic novel, because there's really no thought involved there). The rest on the list are 150 to 200 page novels. What are you going to pick? Well, I'll tell you that when I had to read 30 Young Adult books for my class in the spring, and when it got down to crunch time and I needed to finish the 30 books, I went and found about 5 graphic novels. Why? Because it was easy, and because it was quick. I was running out of time. And an 8th-grader will do that too. Because it's easy and he doesn't have to think too much about it.

I have done my share of reading. I have read some really crazy stuff for my undergraduate degree (like Buried Child), I've read some stuff I hated (like The Oxbow Incident in 11th grade), I've read stuff that depresses me (like Death of a Salesman), I've read stuff that makes me laugh (like Home to Harmony), I've read stuff that makes me think (like The Giver and 1984), and I've read tons and tons of classics that I just wanted to read because they are on the "classics" list (like Wuthering Heights). Have I liked them all? NO. Have I been glad that I read them? YES. Have I expanded my knowledge by so doing? YES. There is value in books. Value that goes beyond entertainment. And yes, I think comic books, and graphic novels, are legitimately enteraining. I do not think they should ever be considered in place of a traditional novel. And so, therefore, I think they should not call them graphic novels, but instead maybe they should be called "Book-length comic books."

And P.S. Please read to your children. Let them see YOU read. This is the way they will develop a love of reading. Oh, and reading aloud helps them HEAR new words and how they are pronounced... So, books educate people all the way around!!!

Ah... let me step off my soapbox now...

And sorry for writing a mini-novel here. I didn't mean to get this involved in this topic. Can you tell I feel strongly???