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Unflattening ">Doctoral Dissertation as a Graphic Novel: Read a Free Excerpt of Nick Sousanis’ Unflattening

in Comics/Cartoons , Education | June 23rd, 2015 Leave a Comment

My circle of friends includes more than a few grad students, but few of them seem very happy, especially those who’ve already put every part of the process behind them except their dissertation. As they struggle to wrestle that daunting beast to the ground, I — as a non-academic — try to provide whatever perspective I can. To my mind, a dissertation, just like any other major task, demands that you break it down into small pieces and frame each piece in your mind just right, so I naturally think Nick Sousanis made the right choice by writing his dissertation, panel by panel, frame by frame, as a graphic novel.

Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow recently wrote about Unflattening , Sousanis’ “graphic novel about the relationship between words and pictures in literature” that doubled as Sousanis’ dissertation in education at Columbia University . Doctorow quotes Comics Grid ’s Matt Finch , who describes the work as one that “defies conventional forms of scholarly discourse to offer readers both a stunning work of graphic art and a serious inquiry into the ways humans construct knowledge.” Uniting the perspectives of “science, philosophy, art, literature, and mythology, it uses the collage-like capacity of comics to show that perception is always an active process of incorporating and reevaluating different vantage points.”

A bold claim indeed, but one you can evaluate for yourself by reading the fifteen-page excerpt of Unflattening now available for free , or purchasing your own copy of this groundbreaking dissertation online . It will give you an idea, making reference along the way to astronomy, ancient Alexandria, modern Manhattan, Gilles Deleuze, Sousanis’ dog, Ulysses , Buddhism, and the medium of the comic book — or the graphic novel, or sequential art — itself. You can find out more about this impressive work of art, scholarship, or however you prefer to regard it at the Harvard University Press site or Sousanis’ own .

via Boing Boing

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Research re-imagined

As academics experiment with the graphic novel form, their research is reaching – and influencing – new audiences.

A fter successfully defending her PhD in human ecology in 2009, Patti LaBoucane-Benson was encouraged by her supervisory committee at the University of Alberta to publish her dissertation as a monograph.

She had a different idea. A voracious comic book reader, she envisioned her research – on how trauma-healing programs for Indigenous offenders build resilience in families and communities – taking the form of a graphic novel.

“I wanted to talk to everyday Canadians about what I had learned, and about the reality of what historic trauma is and what we need to do to heal,” says Dr. LaBoucane-Benson, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2018. “I wanted to push that message out to a broader population.”

She reached out to Edmonton illustrator Kelly Mellings and the two went on to reimagine her research as a piece of creative non-fiction, publishing The Outside Circle with House of Anansi Press in 2015. The graphic novel, which also includes the work of artists Allen Benson and Greg Miller, is about two Indigenous brothers trying to overcome centuries of historic trauma, and is an award-winning bestseller.

More academics are recognizing the power of the graphic novel medium to communicate their findings to a broader audience and to engage with readers much differently than they would through peer-reviewed articles and academic books. Some are publishing their PhD dissertations as graphic novels, even using them to replace a traditional thesis, while others are developing fictional stories based on their research, or integrating comics as tools in their research process.

What exactly is a graphic novel? Through text and illustrations, graphic novels tell stories. They’re similar to comic books but differ in length; graphic novels are typically longer and contain complete stories instead of serialized narratives.

Dr. LaBoucane-Benson, who is Métis, describes being able to share her research in this untraditional format as “amazing.” Just as she had hoped, the graphic novel form allowed her to reach a broader audience. Her book is used in junior high, high school and university classrooms. It’s a heavy and layered story, yet also so readable that it can be completed in one sitting. Dr. LaBoucane-Benson recounts a visit to a school in northern Alberta where she spoke to a Grade 10 class of primarily Indigenous students. The boys who had been labelled as reluctant or resistant readers were the first to finish the novel. They identified with the characters, she says, which led them to ask the hardest questions.

The story has also reached many readers outside classrooms. “I think that the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is transforming as we speak, but we still have a lot of work to do, and I find the graphic novel is a powerful tool to engage in those conversations,” Dr. LaBoucane-Benson says.

Coleman Nye, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s department of gender, sexuality and women’s studies, also understands the immense potential of this format. “There’s so much that these stories can communicate with a combination of text and images that you just don’t get across with text alone,” says Dr. Nye, who is currently working on a book for academics about how to incorporate comics into research.

Dr. Nye is the co-author of the graphic novel Lissa: A Story about Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution . Published in 2017, Lissa was “a big experiment,” Dr. Nye says, and the debut graphic novel in the University of Toronto Press’s (UTP) ethnoGRAPHIC series , which adapts ethnography into comics. The book tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two young women who go on to face major medical decisions against the backdrop of Egypt’s Arab Spring.

The project started at Brown University as Dr. Nye, then a PhD student researching cancer genetics, and co-author Sherine Hamdy, a professor examining organ transplants in Egypt, looked for ways to collaborate. Both were familiar with the field of graphic medicine in which comics are used in medical education and patient care. Dr. Nye found that any comics-based storytelling she shared in her medical anthropology courses resonated deeply with students. “There’s a lot of reader participation and imagination that goes into the comic page,” she says, adding that the lightness of comics can also make it easier to access particularly difficult subject matter.

They decided a graphic novel was the ideal way to combine their work on very different medical decisions while permitting them to delve into the similarities (such as how a patient’s experience with illness and treatment is deeply shaped by social, political and environmental contexts).

“In a piece of text, you have to read line by line – it’s linear. In a comic, the page is a world,” Dr. Nye says. “You can combine and juxtapose and layer different times and places and experiences and perspectives, all into the same page even. The possibilities are really exciting.”

Dr. Nye and Dr. Hamdy began by writing a piece of fiction based on their research. They then reached out to the nearby Rhode Island School of Design and connected with student-illustrators Caroline Brewer and Sarula Bao. The team also brought on visual editor Marc Parenteau, who helped them understand the intricacies of creating comics, from paring down dialogue to rethinking pacing.

Lissa ’s authors decided to share the details of their publishing experience and advice to interested academics through a website, a documentary and several appendices in the book. They contend that the benefits of illustrated scholarship are plentiful, from protecting the identities of research participants to bridging disciplines. “Comics allowed us to do so much,” Dr. Nye says. “It’s remarkable.”

Lissa is now taught in different courses at universities around the world, including in classes on medical anthropology and the Middle East. UTP, meanwhile, will publish the seventh book in its ethnoGRAPHIC series this June, a book called Forecasts: A Story of Weather and Finance at the Edge of Disaster written by Caroline E. Schuster. Carli Hansen is acquisitions editor for anthropology and sociology at UTP, and manages the ethnoGRAPHIC series. She’s seen first-hand how graphic novels make research more accessible: “That might mean students, it might mean general readers here in Canada and the U.S., it might mean people in the community where the research was done who wouldn’t be able to read an academic monograph, but they might read a graphic novel,” she says.

Ms. Hansen explains that the books are usually collaborative global projects involving an academic in Canada or the U.S. writing the story based on fieldwork done in another country, and a freelance artist who is often based in the country where the research takes place. While rich in creative potential, navigating those relationships, time zones and the academic publishing process can be complicated. “There’s been a lot of learning along the way and a lot of tweaks to our processes,” she says. “We learn something new from every project.”

Peer review has been one of those adapted aspects, with experts in the field vetting how effectively the research has been translated into the graphic format. While it can vary book to book, Ms. Hansen says most projects are first peer reviewed as a written proposal with a sample from the artist. Later, a full manuscript review is done based on storyboards or other rough drafts of the art.

For Dr. Nye, that process was one of the biggest challenges. “The really hard thing about making comic pages is that it’s so much work to revise them,” she says. “It’s not like a Word document.”

In the English department at the University of Calgary, Jamie Michaels is working on a graphic novel for his PhD. His research focuses on nationalism and the role that Jewish and Arab soldiers played during the First World War supporting the British against the Ottoman Empire. “I come from a Jewish background, I have friends and family in Israel, I also have close friends in Palestine,” he says. “I think it’s really important to bridge a gap I was seeing … and maybe expand the historical breadth through which we understand each other.”

Mr. Michaels describes himself as a “big nerd” who grew up making lighthearted comics as a kid. He founded Dirty Water Comics in 2016, a Winnipeg-based publisher of graphic novels, including his own book, Christie Pits , that’s being adapted for film. As a scholar, he’s exploring the form’s academic potential. He points to A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories , published in 1978 by Will Eisner, and Maus, about the Holocaust experience of author Art Spiegelman’s father, serialized in the 1980s, as works with staying power that display great empathy and change the way readers see the world. “I think this is a really dynamic form to ask people to consider, or perhaps to reconsider, history,” he says.

Comics are collaborative by their very nature, Mr. Michaels points out, which might explain why they are so engaging. “In a graphic novel, in that space between panels, the emphasis is back to the reader,” he says. “The reader infers the action between the panels in a way that’s unlike other forms.”

Like Mr. Michaels, Emanuelle Dufour used graphic storytelling as a primary presentation medium for her PhD dissertation. Her comics also became a research tool – “the main engine,” she says – for what would eventually become « C’est le Québec qui est né dans mon pays! » Carnet de rencontres, d’Ani Kuni à Kiuna . Published by Écosociété, the graphic novel focuses on Indigenous and non-Indigenous realities and relations in Quebec.

Turning complex and grim stories into accessible and understandable reads requires a simplicity that is not simple to achieve, says Christian Quesnel. He refers to himself as a “sequential artist” (a more precise term than illustrator). He is also a PhD student at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, where he teaches students how to make comics. Despite the challenge, he believes that comics are the best form to handle such heavy subjects, given their capacity to convey sensitive stories with respect and dignity. “The power of this medium is evocation,” he says. “It’s to tell a story without showing everything.”

University of Ottawa professors reached out to Mr. Quesnel to illustrate a graphic novel about the history of suicide in Quebec, Vous avez détruit la beauté du monde: le suicide scénarisé au Québec depuis 1763 , published in 2020 by Moelle Graphique. He later worked on a graphic novel about the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, Mégantic: Un train dans la nuit , by Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny, published by Écosociété in 2021. In both books, he was completely free to make the illustrations. “They sent me the text, dialogue, stuff like that, but there was no indication about images,” he says. Another graphic novel covering a harrowing subject is But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust , published last year by New Jewish Press, a UTP imprint. Acquisitions editor Natalie Fingerhut became involved after she read a newspaper story detailing work by Charlotte Schallié at the University of Victoria to bring together artists and Holocaust survivors on three continents and tell the survivors’ stories through the graphic novel medium.

She had a dim view of graphic novels before she started working on the project, she says. But when Ms. Fingerhut read the collected stories, her view abruptly changed. “The last story in the collection just put a knife through my heart,” she says. “I studied the Holocaust, and I’ve seen and read most of the hard-hitting literature. I saw this story, and it just floored me in a way that I had not been floored before.”

Ms. Fingerhut went on to help the project team of eight build the three stories into a book, a process that included fine-tuning the text and art, adding historical essays around the stories and sharing messages to the readers from the survivors. The aim was to make a book accessible to high school and university students, as well as to the general public. In fact, the idea for the project came from Dr. Schallié’s teenage son, who was resistant to reading, but had developed an interest in graphic novels.

The experience taught Ms. Fingerhut how powerful drawings can be. “Text can be dissociative, and the graphic [form] is not,” she says. She’s now working on more graphic novels about different genocides, and feels the format works particularly well for communicating tough subjects, especially to a younger audience. No matter the audience’s age, though, she sees the potential for impact.

“I think it hits you in a very different place than text [alone],” she says. “And I think if you allow it to do that, you come away more empathetic to what you’ve read.”

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What a great article ! Reading about all of those initiatives is very inspiring. Along with 3 researchers (Maïa Neff, Romain Paumier and Pierre Nocérino), we are organising a 2 days conference (18-19 March) on the very issue of the collaboration between social sciences and the graphic novel medium called Planche la recherche, in Montreal. Artists and researchers have been inviting to discuss issues such as the collaboration between both professionals, the many ways to combine this medium with science making, edition of those hybrid production, etc. We have also trained 8 couples of artists and researchers to these collaboration, which will result in the creation of a 4 pages graphic ‘novel’ based on their research.

There is much to be done and discussed to foster new collaboration, enrich the research done and reach new publics !

Thank you, Cailynn, for writing about these innovative examples of diverse knowledge engagement that have emerged from doctoral research across disciplines of study from across Canada!

Graphic Essays and Comics

Overview | Recommended Software | Student-Made Examples | Other Examples | Instructional Video

A graphic essay (sometimes called a visual essay) uses a combination of text and images to explore a specific topic. Graphic essays can look like comics, graphic novels, magazines, collages, artist books, textbooks, or even websites. Graphic essays often first take the form of written essays and then have graphic elements added to enrich the reader experience. Unlike infographics, which also combine text and images, graphic essays are often more text-based and usually have a narrative arc or specific reading order.

Comics are a genre used to express ideas through images combined with text or other visual information. Comics can take the form of a single panel or a series of juxtaposed panels of images, sometimes called a strip. Text is conveyed via captions below the panel(s), or speech bubbles and onomatopoeias within the panel(s), to indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. Graphic novels are often considered to be a longer form of comics, typically in book form.

A web-based graphic essay can take the form of a blog or a single page website, such as a Microsoft Sway page or an interactive Prezi. For Microsoft Sway and Prezi graphic essays, see the examples below. If you are creating a blog we recommend visiting the Web-Based Projects page .

Graphic Essay Design Tip: Graphic essays can take many forms, so we recommend being creative within the scope of your project! Get some help from DesignLab to brainstorm options and talk through the various tools available!

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Recommended Software

There are many different software programs that can be used to create graphic essays. Below is a list of the software that we recommend for making a graphic essay. We organized the software by category and put the software from top to bottom from best to worst. We recommend using a software you know well or learning the software well enough to establish an easy workflow, so you can spend less time troubleshooting and spend more time on your project. Check out our Software Support page for links to tutorials for all of these programs.

General Graphic Essay Software

Web-Based Graphic Essay Software

Comic-Specific Graphic Essay Software

Student-Made Examples

Print style graphic essay.

Becoming a Witness by Jessica Posnock

Creative Graphic Essay

Virtual Communication by Max Hautala *Award Winning*

Curb Magazine (2012) by Journalism 417

Web-Based (Magazine) Graphic Essay

Curb Magazine (Current) by Journalism 417

Web-Based (Sway) Graphic Essay

Language Influences Culture, Thoughts, and Identity by Kristen Luckow *Award Winning*

Language Influences Culture, Thoughts, and Identity Thumbnail Image

Dyslexia by Maria Swanke *Award Winning*

Other Examples

Web-based (blog) graphic essay.

Switch It Up: Graphic Essay by Amanda Zieba

Sceeenshot of Switch It Up Graphic Essay

Graphic Novel

Graphic Novels in the Classroom by Gene Yang

Instructional Video

Bibliography
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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Graphic novels'

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Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Graphic novels.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Phelps, Valarie L. "Pedagogy of Graphic Novels." TopSCHOLAR®, 2011. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1065.

Hernandez, Fisher Carlos. "The design process of The Legend of Wild Man Fischer /." Burnaby B.C. : Simon Fraser University, 2005. http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/2353.

Prévost-Levac, Caroline. "Defining graphic novels : the contentious case of wordless novels." Master's thesis, Université Laval, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/29545.

Johannessen, Lindsey. "Incorporating graphic novels into social studies based instruction an effective means of determining quality graphic novels." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2011. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/442.

Adams, Jeff. "Documentary graphic novels and social realism." Oxford Bern Berlin Bruxelles Frankfurt, M. New York, NY Wien Lang, 2003. http://d-nb.info/990541126/04.

Figueiredo, Camila Augusta Pires de. "Hollywood goes graphiC: the intermedial transposition of graphic novels to films." Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1843/ECAP-84ZQTQ.

Snowball, Clare. "Graphic novels: enticing teenagers into the library." Thesis, Curtin University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/791.

Dallacqua, Ashley Kaye. "Engaged in Graphic Novels with Fifth Graders." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1290088200.

Alishusky, Haley. "Illustrated Myth: Exploring Culture through Graphic Novels." Ohio University Honors Tutorial College / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1526639815771596.

Tonegato, Nicholas G. "Are Graphic Novels Just for Boys? A Study on the Interests of 5th Grade Students in Reading Graphic Novels." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1335289180.

Saleh, Mohamed Zainab. "Story, time, and space : structure and three graphic novels /." South Hadley, Mass. : [s.n.], 2008. http://ada.mtholyoke.edu/setr/websrc/pdfs/mhc/2008/267.pdf.

Dad, Mohammadi Mersedeh. "Reading more than Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis." Thesis, University of Chester, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10034/620329.

Romanelli, Marie Helena. "Exploring the culture and cognition of outsider literacy practices in adult readers of graphic novels." Open access to IUP's electronic theses and dissertations, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2069/202.

David, Danya Sara. "Journeys of faith and survivial : an examination of three Jewish graphic novels." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2453.

Takakjian, Cara Elizabeth. "The Italian Graphic Novel: Reading Ourselves, Reading History." Thesis, Harvard University, 2013. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11002.

Grice, Karly Marie. "A (Graphic) Novel Idea for Social Justice: Comics, Critical Theory, and A Contextual Graphic Narratology." The Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1503329869170118.

Kwong, Wai-chun, and 鄺慧珍. "Motivating secondary school readers using graphic novel." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50178507.

Dourado, Eliane Rodrigues. "Adaptações contemporâneas : um estudo sobre os clássicos literários em graphic novels." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UnB, 2014. http://repositorio.unb.br/handle/10482/17027.

Hardy-Vallée, Michel. "Where do the pictures fit in the overall picture? : graphic novels as literature." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=105367.

Takahashi, Thiago Seiji. "A potencialidade dos quadrinhos na educação corporativa: gibis impressos, digitais e Graphic Novels." Universidade de São Paulo, 2015. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/27/27153/tde-14012016-100117/.

Ehret, Sara R. "Using the Graphic Novel to Assist in Developing Various First-Year Composition Writing Skills." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1342449458.

Kane, Brian M. "ADAPTING THE GRAPHIC NOVEL FORMAT FOR UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL TEXTBOOKS." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1368726512.

Matthews, Casey Posey. "Making sense of the gutters: How advanced-level English teachers use graphic novels." Cleveland State University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1623955126547402.

Blair, S. "The language of narrative drawing : a close reading of contemporary graphic novels." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2013. http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/22645/.

Proszek, James Michael. "Drawn Apart: Visual Representations of the Persian Wars in Contemporary Graphic Novels and Film." OpenSIUC, 2015. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1833.

Greenfield, David. "Beyond Super Heroes and Talking Animals| Social Justice in Graphic Novels in Education." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10636592.

Guarino, Jeffrey Mark. "Comix in the classroom: A resource guide for graphic novels and comic books." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1503.

Stephens, Wendy Steadman. "The Influence of Engagement with Graphic Narrative Text Formats on Student Attitudes Towards the School Library." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2014. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700038/.

Smida, Megan Alice Moore Alan. "(Re)telling Ripper in Alan Moore's From hell : history and narrative in the graphic novel." Dayton, Ohio : University of Dayton, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1272574121.

Childress, Kirby. "A Phenomenology of Closet Trauma: Visual Empathy in Contemporary French Film and Graphic Novels." The Ohio State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1618915090413157.

Orihuela-Gruber, Daniella. "Political cartoons and graphic novels a study of political and social commentary in comics /." Click here to view, 2009. http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/joursp/7/.

Willms, Jennifer [Verfasser], Dietrich [Gutachter] Grünewald, and Andreas [Gutachter] Ackermann. "Jüdische Aspekte in Will Eisners Graphic Novels / Jennifer Willms ; Gutachter: Dietrich Grünewald, Andreas Ackermann." Koblenz, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1185487271/34.

Ghirotti, Joaquim Cardia. "Frank Miller e os quadrinhos pelo que vale a pena morrer." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/27/27154/tde-05092017-092333/.

Scherpenhuizen, Johannes. "Dutch Technique: Comic Books, Discourse and Vedanta/The Saga of the Atlantean." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/2123/28060.

Whipple, Rachel Dene. "Interconnectedness, Complicity and Ambiguity: Reading with Dark Ecology." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2016. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6090.

Anderson, Terpstra Kristin. "Spreading the word : fan translations of manga in a global context." Diss., University of Iowa, 2012. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3423.

Schumaker, Justin S. "Discovering the postmodern graphic novel in the works of Alan Moore." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2009. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1326.

Voss, Christina Linda. "Understanding the Use of Graphic Novels to Support the Writing Skills of a Struggling Writer." OpenSIUC, 2013. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/705.

Laycock, Dianne Patricia. "Pilgrimage In A Foreign Land: The Lived Experience Of Teaching With Graphic Novels In The Secondary English Classroom." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/17250.

Lombard-Cook, Kathleen. "Interrogating and analysing narrative structure through comic books." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/23507.

Ernsth, Bravell Gunnar. "More Than a Stepping-Stone? : A Study of the Uses of Comics and Graphic Novels as Multimodal Teaching Material in English Courses at Upper and Lower Secondary Schools in Sweden." Thesis, Jönköping University, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-50818.

Goforth, Andrew. "POST APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE AND THE STATE: SCIENCE FICTION AND STORYWORLDS." OpenSIUC, 2017. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2185.

Sadokierski, Zoe. "Visual writing : a critique of graphic devices in hybrid novels from a visual communication design perpsective /." Electronic version, 2009. http://utsescholarship.lib.uts.edu.au/iresearch/scholarly-works/handle/2100/1042.

Moeller, Robin Ann. ""No thanks, those are boy books" a feminist cultural analysis of graphic novels as curricular materials /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3331264.

Gauche, Catherine. "Reading the distance : decoding the autobio(graphic) novel, Portrait in pieces." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1980.

Howell, Anna. "Insavoir and Representation in Comics| Modal and Temporal Intersections in Contemporary Francophone Familial and Historical Graphic Novels." Thesis, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3712439.

French literary theorists Dominique Viart and Bruno Vercier identify the beginning of a new era for French literature in the 1980s, characterized by hypotheses, hesitations, and the general notion that truth and reality cannot be fully grasped by discourse. The 1980s can be considered as transitional for the comics medium as well. Art Spiegelman's Maus (first published in 1980, completed in 1991) demonstrated that comics are not only capable of representing difficult familial and historical pasts, but that visual narratives benefit from formal and aesthetic devices that are inherent to the ninth art's polysemiotic possibilities. In this dissertation, I study francophone comics in which a second- or third-generation individual seeks to understand a familial past that exceeds his or her personal experience and that has previously been silenced or repressed, either individually (by the primary witness) or collectively (by the political hegemony). In the research corpus, the narrator's search elicits modal and temporal intersectional spaces: representation and anti-representation in Chapter One, the past and the present in Chapter Two, the collective and the individual in Chapter Three, and the interplay between memory, history, and imagination in the concluding Chapter Four. In addition to an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, Viart's notion of insavoir [not-knowing] and Pierre Nora's concept of "sites of memory" act as overarching theoretical tools throughout the essay.

The thematic organization of intersectional spaces fosters the identification of recurrent devices as the individual discussions reinforce and nuance one another sequentially and retroactively. Aware of the inherent limitations of representation and the notion of cognitive insavoir , the authors of the research corpus attempt to communicate meaning instead of presupposing understanding or the ability to "know" a traumatic, violent, and repressed past (and the capability to represent such a history through text and image). Such recurrences are symptomatic of an emerging sub-category within the medium, wherein the figure of the intersection is pertinent and productive precisely because these works operate in multi-directional insavoir . Like novels in the literary era identified by Viart and Vericer, the resulting representations oppose binary thought, opting instead for narratives that are self-critical, uncomfortable, thought-provoking, and ultimately, perhaps, more true.

Le, Roux Marike. "Narrating an unstable memory : a postmodern study of fictional pasts in the (auto/bio)graphic novel." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/79942.

Wilson, Robyn Joan. "Last Man Hanging This exegisis is submitted to the Auckland University of Technology for the degree of Bachelor in Art & Design, Honours,(Graphic Design). 2005 /." Full dissertation Abstract, 2005.

Capan, Emily. "COMICS AS VEHICLES FOR UNDERSTANDING SYNTHESIS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY." OpenSIUC, 2018. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2448.

Dycus, Dallas. "Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan: Honing the Hybridity of the Graphic Novel." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2009. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/english_diss/47.

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Graphic novels can accelerate critical thinking, capture nuance and complexity of history, says Stanford historian

Historical graphic novels can provide students a nuanced perspective into complex subjects in ways that are difficult, and sometimes impossible, to characterize in conventional writing and media, says Stanford historian Tom Mullaney.

Global history is not just significant events on a timeline, it is also the ordinary, mundane moments that people experience in between. Graphic novels can capture this multidimensionality in ways that are difficult, and sometimes impossible, in more traditional media formats, says Stanford history professor Tom Mullaney .

Tom Mullaney, a professor of history in the School of Humanities and Sciences, uses graphic novels in his teachings to help students appreciate different experiences and perspectives throughout history. (Image credit: Ilmiyah Achmad)

Mullaney has incorporated graphic novels in some of his Stanford courses since 2017; in 2020, he taught a course dedicated to the study of world history through comic strip formats.

While graphic novels are not a substitute for academic literature, he said he finds them a useful teaching and research tool. They not only portray the impact of historic events on everyday lives, but because they can be read in one or two sittings, they get to it at a much faster rate than say a 10,000 word essay or autobiography could.

“It accelerates the process of getting to subtlety,” said Mullaney, a professor of history at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences . “There’s just so much you can do, and so many questions you can ask, and so many perspective shifts you can carry out – like that! You can just do it – you show them something, they read it and BOOM! It’s like an accelerant. It’s awesome.”

For example, in Thi Bui’s graphic novel The Best We Could Do , themes of displacement and diaspora emerge as she talks about her family’s escape from war-torn Vietnam to the United States. The illustrated memoir shows Bui’s upbringing in suburban California and the complicated memories her parents carry with them as they move about their new life in America. In other chapters, she depicts her mother and father back in Vietnam and what their own childhood was like amidst the country’s upheaval.

Graphic novels like The Best We Could Do and also Maus , Art Spiegelman’s seminal portrayal of his Jewish family’s experience during the Holocaust, illustrate the challenges and subtleties of memory – particularly family memory – and the entanglements that arise when narrating history, Mullaney said.

Graphic novels prime readers for the complexity of doing and reading historical research and how there is no simplistic, narrative arc of history. “When I read a graphic novel, I feel prepared to ask questions that allow me to go into the harder core, peer-reviewed material,” Mullaney said.

The everyday moments that graphic novels are exceptionally good at capturing also raise questions in the reader’s mind, Mullaney said. Readers sit in the family living room and at the kitchen table with Spiegelman and Bui and follow along as their characters try to understand what their parent’s generation went through and discover it’s not always easy to grasp. “Not everything mom and dad say makes sense,” said Mullaney.

These seemingly mundane moments also present powerful opportunities for inquiry. “The ordinary is where the explanation lives and where you can start asking questions,” Mullaney added.

Graphic novels can also depict how in periods of war and conflict, violence can become part of everyday existence and survival. The simplicity of the format allows heavy, painful experiences to emerge from a panel untethered and unweighted from lengthy descriptions or dramatizations.

“They’re banal. They’re not dramatic. There are no strings attached. In a work of nonfiction, in an article or book, it would be almost impossible to do that. There would have to be so much expository writing and so much description that you would lose the horror of it,” Mullaney said.

A ‘fundamental misunderstanding’

Graphic novels like Maus and The Best We Could Do were included in Mullaney’s 2020 Stanford class, Global History Through Graphic Novels .

In 2020, Tom Mullaney, a professor of history, taught Global History Through Graphic Novels , a course that paired graphic novels such as Art Spiegelman’s Maus with archival materials and historical essays to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century. He created a poster for the class, as shown here. (Image credit: Tom Mullaney)

In the course, Mullaney paired graphic novels with archival materials and historical essays to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century.

The course syllabus also included the graphic novels Showa , Shigeru Mizuki ’s manga series about growing up in Japan before World War II, and Such a Lovely Little War , about Marcelino Truong’s experience as a child in Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Most recently, Mullaney has offered to teach a variation of the Stanford course to the public, free for high school and college students , this summer.

Registration for the online course opened shortly after news emerged and made international headlines that Maus was banned by a Tennessee school board for its depiction of nudity and use of swear words.

Within two days of Mullaney’s course registration opening, over 200 students from across the world signed up.

Mullaney believes that there is a “fundamental misunderstanding” about what young people can process when it comes to negotiating complex themes and topics – whether it is structural racism or the Holocaust. They just need some guidance, which he hopes as a teacher, he can provide.

“I think students of high school age or even younger, if they have the scaffolding they need – which is the job of educators to give them – they can handle the structural inequalities, darknesses and horrors of life,” he said.

Mullaney noted that many teenagers are already exposed to many of these difficult issues through popular media. “But they’re just doing it on their own and figuring it out for themselves – that’s not a good idea,” he said.

Mullaney said he hopes he can teach Global History Through Graphic Novels to Stanford students again this fall.

For Stanford scholars interested in learning more about the intersection of graphic novels and scholarship, there is a newly established working group through the Division of Literatures, Cultures and Languages, Comics, More than Words .

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Honors Theses

Thesis title, finding closure: trauma narratives in graphic literatures.

Katharina Harling Follow

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Recent years have seen a rise in nonfiction graphic novels that deal with traumatic experiences and their impacts that defy ordinary processes of thought and communication. From the repressive traumatic silence of familial pain to the widespread trauma shared by communities in times of conflict and brutal bloodshed, the focus of these works are served well by the visual- verbal form of the genre. This thesis examines the ways in which the graphic novel form successfully represents trauma by bringing together two subgenres: the memoiristic graphic novel and the journalistic graphic novel. Looking specifically at Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, Joe Sacco’s Safe Area Goražde, and Art Spiegelman’s In The Shadow of No Towers, it combines trauma theory and literary comic criticism to investigate the way the form works to articulate the psychoanalytic conditions of traumatic experience and memory. By engaging a parallel analysis of the two subgenres, this thesis also examines how the form enables meaningful representation of widespread catastrophe and its effects through the focus on personal narrative and testimony. The form works well to continue the documentary work of photojournalism, reframing large- scale trauma in terms of a more granular “human” scale through the narrative lens of individual experience. Comics such Sacco’s represent that which is largely overlooked and perhaps ultimately unrepresentable in the media archives of disasters, war, and violent conflicts, generating an imaginary archive that personalizes the political. Conversely, the memoiristic graphic novel’s anti-realism works to de-privatize personal histories of family trauma making visible what is otherwise unsayable.

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Osucha, Eden

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Bachelor of Arts

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Harling, Katharina, "Finding Closure: Trauma Narratives in Graphic Literatures" (2017). Honors Theses . 204. https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/204

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About the Author: Cristian S. Aluas is professional artist and author of It’s a Living: Surviving as a Freelancer in the 21st Century , and has online courses on cartooning techniques at MasterpieceArtSchool.com

Although the term “graphic novel” is only 40-some years old, this form of storytelling has exploded in popularity. Chances are you were assigned graphic novels to read in high school, and chances are you’ve thought about writing one yourself. But, learning how to write a graphic novel isn’t easy, as it combines the essentials of both writing and graphic design.

What is a graphic novel, and how do you write one? What is the difference between a graphic novel vs comic series? This article sets the foundations for the form, guiding you through different graphic novel techniques to create visual stories that move, entertain, and delight the audience.

Writing a graphic novel, a comic, or a manga is not easy. Many first-time comic book creators need help but they don’t know where to begin. The five crucial tips in this article are the perfect place to start. But first, let’s understand the form a little bit better. What is a graphic novel?

What is a graphic novel?

A graphic novel is a complete story told through words and pictures combined. It’s evolved over the years, from hieroglyphs, to cartoons, to comic strips, and finally to what we see today.

A graphic novel is a complete story told through words and pictures combined.

Whereas a novel leaves the pictures to our imagination, in a graphic novel, the artist depicts the narrative in a funny or serious way, depending on style and genre. The style of art is what makes fans linger on the page, and the writing is what moves the story along.

The style of art is what makes fans linger on the page, and the writing is what moves the story along.

Graphic novel vs. comic vs. manga

American cartoonist Will Eisner coined the term “graphic novel” when he wrote and drew A Contract with God in 1978. He had been a comic strip artist for many years, drawing The Spirit in syndicated newspapers, before he came up with his expressive visual language. Frank Miller with Sin City followed suit in the 1990s. With serialized collections of The Dark Knight Returns , Watchmen , and Ghost World , the foundation was set for comic strips to be considered more mature. Collectors became readers. New elements of realism permeated comics, along with their new presentation, making graphic novels in America a popular new format—although, in Europe, the collected graphic novel, in the form of bande dessinée , was already the main form of consumption.

Comics are serialized American strips and manga is what the Japanese call comics. Most manga series in Japan are led by one creator with a team of assistants, while in America companies like Marvel and DC own the intellectual property of the characters and writers and artists alternate as contributors over the course of years. In Japan, the artist is often also the writer and the art style remains the same for the span of the series.

Comics and manga tell stories in installments; graphic novels tell complete stories.

Similarly, in Europe, artists like Hergé, Moebius, or Enki Bilal kept their aesthetics the same throughout their careers. Essentially, comics and manga fall in the same category as serialized strips each for specific demographics, while graphic novels can be collections of those strips into stand-alone stories or new sequential stories done specifically for a paperback or hardcover format.

Graphic novel techniques

Artists rely on many graphic novel techniques to tell visually compelling stories. Here are just a few common ones to get a writer started:

Narration Over Setting : Describing the mood of the locale or characters, while showing the location or personalities plainly.

how to write a graphic novel: narration over setting

Same/Same : The writing describes the actions in the panels and the thoughts of characters.

Alternate Descriptions : The narrative can act like a voiceover, with the visuals displaying something else entirely.

Transitional Text : Like in film, the conversation or narration from a previous panel carries over into the next, with the visuals often mirroring each other.

how to write a graphic novel: transitional text

Pay attention to each of these techniques in the graphic novel examples we share later in this article.

How to write a graphic novel in 5 key points

Before you set pen to paper (or cursor to Photoshop), make sure you understand these 5 key points on how to make a graphic novel.

1. Genres and demographics

Before scripting a graphic novel, a writer must consider the genres they’re writing in and the age group they’re writing for. There are many to choose from, such as memoir , superhero, political (comedy, farce, or commentary), biography, crime, romance, and many more! Combining genres is a smart choice, like horror/romance or adventure/comedy or steampunk/superhero, etc.

Manga is typically serialized and can be very specific about subject matter (like baseball or academia). The demographics are also younger and very specialized too, influenced by the manga’s themes .

According to the demographics of webtoons.com , most readers of manga read romance and are young girls between the ages of 13-21.

In American comics, there’s a boom in content for adolescent boys and girls, in the vein of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile or the Captain Underpants series.

There’s still a market for boys however, overseas and in America. Action, adventure, sports, and mature themes interest young adult boys, as readers. The nostalgia buffs from the 90s comics boom are being overwritten with new trends in non-superhero comics. The Marvel and DC movies are most popular with this latter demographic.

As a result of the popularity of the Marvel and DC films and manga imports starting in the late 1980s, the style of American sequential storytelling has changed. Comics and graphic novels read more like storyboards now. They are sparsely-written, compared to the 60s Stan Lee comics or the Chris Claremont X-Men . In the 2020s, graphic novels are written with manga and films at their backs. This writing style is also a result of writers having the space to tell a story in whatever amount of pages it takes, rather than being limited to a newspaper page, an eight page short, or a standard 22 page Marvel/DC issue.

2. Structure & Storytelling

Once a writer chooses a genre to write in, they have to outline the story like any other book. Clear structure is even more important in comics and manga, especially if the stories are being serialized. Famous comics writer Alan Moore (of Watchmen and V for Vendetta fame) said that in serialized comics, what people see is your “first draft” so you have to make it count. That’s why his first 32 page issue of Watchmen was sent to the artist Dave Gibbons as a 90 page densely-written script.

Screenwriting (and some playwriting) principles can be useful for learning how to write a graphic novel script—more so than novel writing. Namely, it’s recommended for every story or chapter to have a purpose, characters to have developmental arcs , and stories to follow the general three act structure of introduction, climax, and denouement.

how to make a graphic novel: three panel storytelling

Formatting your graphic novel story is similar to formatting a screenplay. A writer has to break down the story onto the scripted page, not only scene by scene, but also panel by panel. These detailed directions are for the artist to understand what to depict.

The Marvel Way of storytelling is: when the writer gives a one page outline, the artist goes off and paces the paneled story how they see fit, then the writer comes back at the end to embellish the dialogue . This loose method would only be recommended if the writer was collaborating with an artist, or if the artist has more experience pacing the story than the writer. If the writer is the more experienced of the team, they should write the tightest script they can. Clarity is best in all forms of communication, including graphic novels.

A good graphic novel writer acts like a film director who also writes the script and the artist functions as the actors and the sets.

The best writers think in pictures. With graphic novels, both the text and illustrations are meant to work perfectly in tandem—both in service to the story.

4. Page and panel layout considerations

When writing graphic novels, you’re writing for the visual language. The visual symbols chosen in each story hold archetypal meanings to the readers, such as snakes (Biblical reference) or characters’ powers in relation to mythological gods (like Thor or Zeus).

Graphic novels can be influenced by paintings or by films but they are their own artwork. A comic that tries too hard to be a film is a storyboard. There are many art techniques that are only available in comics and deserve to be explored.

If you’re new to writing for comics, it’s recommended that you acquaint yourself with books like Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and Comics & Sequential Storytelling by Will Eisner , to name a couple very influential authorities on the subject. Their books help you consider the pacing of your comic or manga. A succession of small panels, for example, can slow down time (like the slow drip of a faucet) or can illustrate a series of actions (like a fight sequence).

graphic novel techniques: panels and pacing

Book lengths are 22 pages for American serialized comics. Collections of storylines typically compile four or more issues into trade paperbacks. Stand-alone graphic novels are suggested to start at 65 pages, going into the hundreds of pages. And manga webtoon episodes typically need to deliver an average of 30-40 panels per week (or bi-weekly). Colour or black and white art is up to the discretion of the writer/artist. To colour or not to colour is also a choice made based on the mood and literary themes of the story.

Much like film, often a comics writer has to describe the reader’s point of view , as if it was a camera view. When doing this, comic writers must be deliberate and only choose one viewpoint. Knowledge of compositional devices are useful, such as foreground, middle ground, and background. If you’re working with an experienced artist, you can leave most of the composition to them. You have to have a good eye for understanding what good art is however—good art that conveys a clear story. Sometimes a writer working with a collaborator has to draw thumbnails for the artist, to clarify ideas.

When a writer has a mastery of drawing as well, they become complete cartoonists and their vision is most true.

At the least, a writer of comics should have basic drawing skills, along with an educated storytelling vocabulary. Most writers write comics because they enjoy reading them in the first place. If your drawing skills are non-existent or not up to par, taking art lessons are encouraged. Like a composer, a graphic novel writer is the orchestrator of the full effect on the reader. Therefore, it’s good to know how to play every visual instrument, or at least understand how each visual conveyance will further the story along toward your creative purpose.

The style you choose initiates your audience, as Scott McCloud illustrates in Understanding Comics .

In American graphic novel collaborations, graphic novels have a separate artist that does only the lettering. Comic book letterers play an important part in communicating the story. Although it’s not required to specify in your script what type of word bubble is needed in each panel, it’s important to know the visual language that’s available to you as a graphic novel creator. Here are some fun lettering tips to consider, as you write your graphic novel.

how to write a graphic novel: word bubbles

Graphic novel examples

The following graphic novel examples have remained in the zeitgeist since they were written; many graphic novelists have found inspiration from these canonical works.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Contract with God
Ghost World

There are several subscription-based and free websites where you can read graphic novels for free. Comixology.com , which is owned by Amazon, has a huge collection of comics (some free). Webtoons.com has a large selection of manga which is all free. And you can read public domain comics for free at Comicbookplus.com . Tapas and Webnovel are other sites to explore. And every year on May 5th, mainstream publishers give away comics on “Free Comic Book Day.”

Crafting the Graphic Novel

Graphic novels are a part of our popular culture. That’s why they get compared to film and art. But they are not quite film nor art. They stand more strongly as their own art form. As an author, learning how to write a graphic novel is a choice based on your love of the medium and what it has to offer that’s different from other media.

There are authors, there are writers, there are writer/artists. The combination makes cartoonists. If you can do both, that’s what you are. If you do one or the other, you simply love the medium and you love to collaborate.

There are many factors to a well-written graphic novel. Having the right illustrator with a complementary style makes a big difference.

The beauty of graphic novels, as opposed to serialized comics or manga, is that there isn’t the time pressure of a monthly deadline. A writer can take their time, like an author, and craft (through numerous drafts) the best graphic novel they can possibly make. After all, the term “graphic novel” came to popularity by comic book and manga creators that desired this art form be lifted to the prestige of literature.

10 Comments

So much detail, so informative. I’m thankful for coming across this read. You can tell Mr. Cristian Alaus has years of experience in the graphic novel genre, and he was so generous in sharing his expertise in illustrations. Thank you

Amazing amount of detailed information step by step!

Complete and complex yet understandable

The article looks like a great starting point. Thanks!

Nice job. As a cartoonist, I can can vouch for the articles accuracy.

Thanks guys for the positive feedback on the article! I’m still very proud of it. It was great to get my ideas together on the subject of writing for comics and manga and I’m happy it’s helping you! If any questions came up in your writing process that I didn’t cover here, just let me know. I’m around. 🙂

Great article. I can attest to it’s accuracy being a cartoonist myself. I look forward to seeing your work.

Thank you, Dale! I’m happy you appreciated the article! I’m writing and drawing a couple of comics for indie clients. So we’ll see when those come out. 🙂 And writing my first novel. Hoping to release that next year. Good luck with your writing too! Please keep in touch -LinkedIn or IG!

Thank you for all the info!!! I was hoping to find some graphic novel page sizes or template suggestions for my first foray into this new medium(for me).

Hi Jesse, you’re welcome! The standard comic book size is 6-5/8 inches wide by 10-1/4 inches high. You can make your own template in Photoshop or Procreate, as I do. Search google and click on Images. Ka-Blam has a good template that I use as a low opacity layer so I can see the margins. This if for print. For webtoons, it’s a scrolling page and different size. I highly recommend getting and reading the full book if you’re a beginner. It’s made for you! https://www.amazon.com/CARTOONING-TECHNIQUES-Drawing-Comics-Manga/dp/B0B5KNTTC5

'Persepolis' author releases a new graphic novel on Iran's women's protests

Eleanor Beardsley

Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis," collaborates with others on a new graphic novel about Iran's "Women, Life, Freedom" protest movement.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

Marjane Satrapi has just published a new graphic novel despite having sworn off creating them 20 years ago. She's the author of the bestselling "Persepolis," about an Iranian girl's coming of age during the 1979 Islamic revolution. Her new graphic novel is about Iran's latest uprising led by young women. Satrapi talked with NPR's Eleanor Beardsley recently and told her she felt compelled to draw again because history was in the making.

MARJANE SATRAPI: Please come in.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Thank you.

SATRAPI: Do you want a cup of coffee or something?

BEARDSLEY: I would love a cup of coffee.

I sit down with Marjane Satrapi in the dining room of her bright Paris apartment. As she makes us coffee, her cat plays at our feet.

SATRAPI: She's a very friendly one.

BEARDSLEY: Satrapi thought she'd left graphic novels behind, but in September 2022, Iran's morality police arrested a young Iranian woman for not properly wearing her hijab. Mahsa Amini died in custody, sparking months of protests across the country.

SATRAPI: When I saw that, you know, the girls - they came out yelling, woman, life, freedom.

BEARDSLEY: Woman, life, freedom was the slogan of the protesters and is the title of her new book. Satrapi says the young women mounted the first real assault on the patriarchal culture underpinning Iran's clerical regime, and men joined them.

SATRAPI: If that was only young girls, I would be extremely scared. But our young girls - they are carried by young guys. This is the difference. A real feminist revolution cannot succeed until men understand that the equality between them and the women is also good for them.

BEARDSLEY: The book is a collaboration between more than 20 artists, activists, journalists and academics. It depicts the historic uprising in the context behind it. Abbas Milani fled Iran in 1987 and is the director of the Iranian Studies Program at Stanford University. Milani also feels this movement is different.

ABBAS MILANI: The Iranian women's movement, in its civil disobedience, in its defiance, in its persistence, is absolutely one of the most important civil disobedient movements of 20th century and completely comparable to, for example, the civil disobedience movement led by Martin Luther King.

BEARDSLEY: Milani says, only Satrapi, with her connections and international stature, could bring together such a talented group and turn out this book in just five months. "Woman, Life, Freedom" was published in Persian and French for the first-year anniversary of Amini's death last September. The English version came out in March.

PATRICIA BOLANOS: I thought it was a prank, and then I got an email from Marjane confirming that it was real.

BEARDSLEY: That's Spanish artist Patricia Bolanos describing the moment she was contacted to participate in the project. Bolanos drew the chapter on the Aghazadeh, the children of the mullahs and Revolutionary Guards. She was inspired by Instagram account Rich Kids of Tehran. It showed them wearing bikinis on Riviera beaches, partying and drinking alcohol.

BOLANOS: It was really scary because these kids are the children of this Islamic Revolution Guard that are setting the rules, but they don't follow the rules. At certain moments, they have to collide with this other world of other women fighting and even dying for freedom.

BEARDSLEY: She wanted to know what those moments are like. The last cartoon in her chapter shows a stylish Aghazadeh checking her Instagram account.

BOLANOS: And she's seeing all these videos of the women burning the veils and yelling freedom. And you can see that on the reflection on her sunglasses. And someone asks her, what are you watching? And she says, nothing.

BEARDSLEY: Satrapi said it was important to involve people from outside Iran in the project to show Iranians the world is watching and embracing their cause. She herself drew the chapter on the Revolutionary Guards.

SATRAPI: It was aching physically, you know, just having to - you know, I don't want to draw their dirty faces.

BEARDSLEY: Satrapi says, nobody would read a 280-page book on the history and society of Iran, but a graphic narrative draws you right in.

SATRAPI: A comic has this advantage because the first language of the human being is drawing. So it's an immediate relationship that we have with image. It - instead of using 1,000 words, you draw an image, and a human being understands what this image is about.

BEARDSLEY: Satrapi, who's 55, says her generation was exhausted after living through the Islamic revolution, the massive wave of executions that followed and the Iran-Iraq war. But she believes this generation, with so many educated women and the mobilizing power of the internet, will bring change.

SATRAPI: It's such a courage, and this is why I believe that this revolution, sooner or later, is going to give its result.

BEARDSLEY: There's no doubt, she says. It's just a matter of time. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

10 Great TV Series Based on Graphic Novels

T he term "graphic novel" refers to, in simplistic terms, a book in comic format. In a more technical sense, graphic novels differ from comic books because graphic novels are typically longer and more mature, and most importantly, they tell one story with a definitive ending. On the other hand, comic books are short and are issued over and over again, telling several smaller stories within a larger arc. Comic books are also meant to go on for years or even decades.

Iconic shows like Daredevil , The Flash , and Loki are based on Marvel or DC superhero comics that have been coming out for years with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Whereas other shows have been based on graphic novels. Whether they were initially released as comics or not, they eventually became compiled into full-length graphic novels , which, as per the definition, came to a definitive end.

'Kingdom' (2019-2021)

Based on: 'the kingdom of the gods' (2014-2020).

Kingdom is a South Korean Netflix series that is currently in limbo . It was received well, but no new seasons have been announced. The series is based on a webcomic by Youn In-wan that was later compiled into a graphic novel. The story takes place in Joseon, a country that encompassed the Korean peninsula. When the King mysteriously goes missing, his son, Prince Lee Chang ( Ju Jihoon ) is determined to find out why.

He eventually uncovers a conspiracy involving his stepmother's family, the Haewon Cho clan, and their attempts to seize the throne by keeping the King alive. They accomplish this by using a resurrection plant to turn him into a zombie. Their lapse in judgment leads to a zombie plague being unleashed across Joseon. With an army of the dead, a lovable cast of characters , a fantasy setting, and political intrigue, it is a great show for Game of Thrones fans.

Release Date 2019-01-25

Cast Kim Hye-jun, Kim Sungkyu, Ju Ji-Hoon, Bae Doona

Main Genre Horror

Rating TV-MA

Watch on Netflix

'Essex County' (2023)

Based on: 'essex county' (2008-2011).

Essex County is a Canadian TV series based on a three-volume collection of graphic novels by Jeff LeMire . Taking place in Essex County near Windsor, Ontario, the story follows Lester ( Finlay Wojtak-Hissong ), a young boy who has been sent to live with his uncle Kenny ( Brian J. Smith ) after his mother tragically dies of cancer. He is a lonely boy, preferring to spend most of his time pretending to be a superhero. He eventually comes into contact with a former hockey player named Jimmy ( Kevin Durand ), his estranged father.

The six-episode series was quietly released on CBC Gem in 2022, 10 years after the company acquired the rights to the franchise. While it wasn't widely viewed by many, it was praised for its quality. It is a harrowing drama series about family, loss, and the Canadian identity. Author Jeff LeMire based the graphic novel on his own experience growing up in the area, and even co-wrote the show himself.

essex county

Release Date 2023-03-19

Creator Jeff Lemire

Cast Brian Smith, Ryan Bruce, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Kevin Durand, Rossif Sutherland, Stephen McHattie, Molly Parker

Main Genre Drama

Watch on CBC Gem

'The Walking Dead' (2010-2022)

Based on: 'the walking dead' (2003-2019).

Perhaps the most famous series based on a graphic novel, The Walking Dead is a post-apocalyptic action-horror series about zombies. With a huge cast of characters and several seasons, it wouldn't be wrong to call it one of the most famous shows of all time. The show is based on a series of comic books by Robert Kirkman , which can also be found in compiled graphic novels. There are a whopping 32 volumes in this graphic novel series, which can be further divided into 193 individual issues.

Not only are there several seasons, but there are also multiple video games based on the series. It has become the signature zombie series out there, and it even has a few spin-off shows to keep this status cemented in television history .

The Walking Dead

Release Date 2010-10-31

Cast Khary Payton, Seth Gilliam, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Serratos, Melissa Suzanne McBride, Norman Reedus

'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' (2023-)

Based on: 'scott pilgrim' (2004-2010).

Scott Pilgrim has not only been adapted into a recent Netflix series , but it was also released on the silver screens as a stand-alone movie in 2010 titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World . While the movie is live-action, the animated series maintains the exact artstyle of the original graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley .

The series centres on Scott Pilgrim ( Michael Cera ), a young musician from Toronto who develops a crush on a girl called Ramona Flowers. Unfortunately, in order to win her heart, he must battle seven of her evil exes. The series is by far one of the wildest, most ridiculous things ever created. It plays out like a video game, and has loads of comedic moments mixed in, naturally. While it lacks the traditional maturity of graphic novels, that doesn't make it any less entertaining, and its adaptations reflect that. What's cool is that they even got the original cast of the movie to reprise their roles in the show.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Release Date 2023-11-17

Cast Brandon Routh, Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman, Ellen Wong, Michael Cera, Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mae Whitman, Chris Evans

Main Genre Action-Adventure

Rating TV-14

'The End of the F***ing World' (2017-2019)

Based on: 'the end of the f***ing world' (2011-2013).

The End of the F***ing World is a British dark dramedy series originally penned by Charles Forsman . It revolves around two teenagers: James ( Alex Lawther ) and Alyssa ( Jessica Barden ), two angsty rebels who hate everyone and everything around them. James deems himself to be a psychopath as he enjoys seeing other living creatures in pain. He wants to try his hand at killing a human, so he decides to kill Alyssa.

However, Alyssa decides that she and James should run away together, and through a series of misadventures and changes of heart, James and Alyssa begin to fall in love. Aside from having some hysterically funny moments, it also takes a good look at the inner machinations of the mind of a rebellious and deeply troubled teenager, as well as what compels them to commit such acts of violence.

The End of the F***ing World

Release Date 2017-10-24

Cast Christine Bottomley, Alex Lawther, Steve Oram, Jessica Barden

Main Genre Comedy

'Raising Dion' (2019-2022)

Based on: 'raising dion' (2015).

There are dozens and dozens of superhero shows out on streaming services . Sometimes this can become tiresome, as a lot of them don't always bring anything new to the table . Enter Raising Dion , which tells a young superhero's story from the perspective of his exhausted mother . In this show, superfans get to see just what it's like to be a parent to a boy who is destined to save the world.

Based on the original stand-alone graphic novel by Denis Liu , the show dives deep into familial relationships and accepting your children for who they are , no matter what. The cast does a stunning job, and the visuals are pretty impressive, too.'

Raising Dion

Release Date 2019-10-04

Creator Carol Barbee

Cast Ja'Siah Young, Ali Ahn, Griffin Robert Faulkner, Sammi Haney, Alisha Wainwright, Jazmyn Simon, Jason Ritter

Main Genre Superhero

Rating TV-G

'Watchmen' (2019)

Based on: 'watchmen' (1986-1987).

Watchmen is another show that was first released as a live-action movie. This film came out back in 2009, and was directed by Zack Snyder , who had previously directed 300 (2007), which was also based on a graphic novel. The original comic series-turned-graphic novel is one of the earliest examples of graphic novels, coming out in the mid-1980s.

The story was written by Alan Moore and dotes out heavy social criticisms, especially concerning topics that were hot-button issues in the 80s. In the universe of the series, the US government uses superheroes as a sort of spy unit, which makes them highly unpopular with the Joe and Jane Average. This is because the only true superhero on the team, Dr. Manhattan ( Darrell Snedeger ), gives the US an edge over the Soviet Union, causing tensions to rise. Fearful for the future, the US bans the superheroes, while simultaneously using them to enforce this ban .

Release Date 2019-00-00

Creator Damon Lindelof

Cast Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tom Mison

Watch on Max

'The Boys' (2019-)

Based on: 'the boys' (2006-2012).

The Boys is essentially an anti-superhero comic book series that was later compiled into graphic novels. The author, Garth Ennis , began writing the series due to his hatred of superheroes and how often they appear in comics. As such, the "heroes" actually in the series are the furthest thing from the word as possible. Most of them are murderous narcissists that hold no regard for any human life apart from their own.

The Amazon series has been a smash hit with viewers , as it boasts not only great action and dramatic storylines, but also plenty of dark comedy and abrasive humour. And let's not forget the legendary insulting powers of Queen Maeve ( Dominique McElligott ). All in all, if you're a superhero fan, heck, even if you hate superheroes, it is a must-watch.

Release Date 2019-07-26

Creator Eric Kripke

Cast Karl Urban, Erin Moriarty, Colby Minifie, Antony Starr, Aya Cash, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Dominique McElligott

Watch on Amazon

'Locke & Key' (2020-2022)

Based on: 'locke & key' (2008-2013).

Locke & Key is a low fantasy-drama series that was initially written by Joe Hill , the son of the legendary horror writer Stephen King . It features many fantastical creatures, and even alternate dimensions , making it a great watch if you're into HBO 's His Dark Materials . The story centres on a door to an alternate dimension that is locked behind a door, which can only be opened with a series of magical keys.

While the series was well-received , it managed to be pretty underrated, as viewership wasn't as high as other Netflix series. However, it is worth a watch if you're in for a bingeable low fantasy series.

Locke & Key

Release Date 2020-02-07

Cast Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup

'The Umbrella Academy' (2019-2024)

Based on: 'the umbrella academy' (2007-2019).

The Umbrella Academy has been a real success since its premiere on Netflix . Sadly, it has been announced that it is coming to an end in 2024 . Once again, this is a story that takes a look at superheroes, but not in the way that you'd typically expect. Created by Gerard Way , the series centers on a set of unrelated individuals who are unexpectedly and simultaneously born as superheroes to mothers who showed no signs of pregnancy. One of these individuals gathers a few of them and creates the titular Umbrella Academy, which is a small, albeit dysfunctional family of superpowered individuals.

Like many graphic novels, it began as a limited comic book series that was eventually compiled into larger volumes . A bizarre, yet unique premise, memorable characters, and a killer soundtrack , this is a show that will be remembered for generations to come.

The Umbrella Academy

Release Date 2019-02-15

Creator Steve Blackman, Jeremy Slater

Cast Elliot Page, Yusuf Gatewood, Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan, Marin Ireland

Watch on Netflix KEEP READING: 10 Graphic Novels that Deserve a TV Series of Their Own

10 Great TV Series Based on Graphic Novels

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Doctoral Dissertation as a Graphic Novel: Read a Free Excerpt of Nick
To my mind, a dissertation, just like any other major task, demands that you break it down into small pieces and frame each piece in your mind just right, so I naturally think Nick Sousanis made the right choice by writing his dissertation, panel by panel, frame by frame, as a graphic novel.
Reading Graphically: Examining the Effects of Graphic Novels on the
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by ... First, graphic novels were always included in my semester reading circles, so all students had the opportunity to interact with and respond to these non-traditional texts in book ...
Research re-imagined
Research re-imagined. As academics experiment with the graphic novel form, their research is reaching - and influencing - new audiences. BY CAILYNN KLINGBEIL. MAY 03 2023. Illustration by Javi Aznarez. A fter successfully defending her PhD in human ecology in 2009, Patti LaBoucane-Benson was encouraged by her supervisory committee at the ...
Unflattening
The primacy of words over images has deep roots in Western culture. But what if the two are inextricably linked, equal partners in meaning-making? Written and drawn entirely as comics, Unflattening is an experiment in visual thinking. Nick Sousanis defies conventional forms of scholarly discourse to offer readers both a stunning work of graphic art and a serious inquiry into the ways humans ...
Eganwo: the graphic novel's escape to digital media
This thesis project takes the appealing art form of the comic book and it's narrative story structure to the new environment of the World Wide Web. The struggle here lies in not only learning how to create a graphic novel, but how we can create a graphic novel experience for a broader web-based demographic that retains that unique
ERIC
Traditionally, the graphic novel has been seen as easy to read and a resource that only has value for students with language difficulties or learning challenges. This qualitative case study investigated how middle school readers' ability to make meaning contributed to their reading motivation and engagement. ... Copies of dissertations may be ...
Unflattening
Unflattening. Unflattening is a graphic novel by artist and researcher Nick Sousanis that was originally the first dissertation from Columbia University to be written in a comic book format. The book was published by Harvard University Press in April 2015 and won the 2015 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, taking top honor as book of the year.
PDF Writing Comics: The Visual Rhetoric of Graphic Novels
about the specific graphic novel or, more generally, the theory of reading and writing graphic novels. The primary grading criteria for this paper will be a clear demonstration of research and current understanding of how graphic novel theory, as well as the ways that theory relates to the essay's chosen graphic novel.
(PDF) The Postmodern Graphic Novel: An Examination of the Literary
The Postmodern Graphic Novel: An Examination of the Literary Relevance of 'Watchmen'. September 2020. Thesis for: Master of English Literature. Advisor: Dr. Wassila MOURO. Authors: Taki Eddine ...
PDF Thesis Toward a Literate Future: Pairing Graphic Novels and Traditional
Microsoft Word - thesis-rough 6. THESIS. TOWARD A LITERATE FUTURE: PAIRING GRAPHIC NOVELS AND TRADITIONAL. TEXTS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM. Submitted by. Nicolas J. Roberts. Department of English. In partial fulfillment of the requirements. For the Degree of Master of Arts.
PDF JOKERS AND THIEVES: A GRAPHIC NOVEL
pieces. I set myself apart from these mediums by adapting my work into a graphic novel. Graphic novels don't lend themselves to the fast-paced nature of music videos and require active participation, but they have benefits to them. They allow for tone setting and storytelling like music videos but don't have to adhere to a time structure.
Graphic Essays and Comics
A graphic essay (sometimes called a visual essay) uses a combination of text and images to explore a specific topic. Graphic essays can look like comics, graphic novels, magazines, collages, artist books, textbooks, or even websites. Graphic essays often first take the form of written essays and then have graphic elements added to enrich the ...
Dissertations / Theses: 'Graphic novels'
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Graphic novels.'. Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver ...
Graphic Novels: Agents of Reading Engagement
This thesis examines the role of graphic novels as agents of reading engagement in the 6-. 16 classroom. Chapter 1 explores the definition of the graphic novel. Chapter 2 discusses, in a historical context, how graphic novels grew out of the comic book industry. Chapter.
Pedagogy of Graphic Novels
Graphic novels have the ability to offer new levels of instruction and learning in upper-level classrooms. The following is a study in the multitude of uses of graphic text in academia. Chapter 1 looks at the history of graphic text to understand the present and future of graphic novels.
PDF Developing Comic Book and Graphic Novel Collections in Libraries
I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Sara Dianne Ray entitled "Developing Comic Book and Graphic Novel Collections in Libraries." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major
Doctoral dissertation in graphic novel form
Doctoral dissertation in graphic novel form. Cory Doctorow 5:41 am Sun Jun 21, 2015. Columbia University awarded a doctorate in education to Nick Sousanis for Unflattening, a graphic novel about ...
How graphic novels can accelerate critical thinking
Historical graphic novels can provide students a nuanced perspective into complex subjects, says Tom Mullaney. ... they get to it at a much faster rate than say a 10,000 word essay or ...
PDF A Critical Study of Graphic Novels: Speigelman's Maus and Satrapi's
This thesis is an investigation of the fast growing genre graphic novel in a way that exhibits its aesthetic, new rhetoric, intense theme and its place in literature. ... graphic novels are suitable for adult readers dealing with grave themes. Graphic novels are generally longer and tells a complete story, unlike comics, which are issued in ...
Dissertation or Thesis
This dissertation is a phenomenological case study of two 12th grade English/language arts (ELA) classrooms where teachers used graphic novels with their advanced students. The primary purpose of this case study was to gain insight into the phenomenon of using graphic novels with these students--a research area that is currently limited.
Graphic environments: performing ecocriticism at the confluence of
My dissertation focuses on an ecocritical evaluation of environmental representation in contemporary comics and graphic novels. Ecocriticism and the graphic narrative share disciplinary similarities; both are hybrid forms that commingle seemingly incommensurable components (literature and the land, text and image), and both continue to evolve in complex and exciting ways.
Finding Closure: Trauma Narratives in Graphic Literatures
Recent years have seen a rise in nonfiction graphic novels that deal with traumatic experiences and their impacts that defy ordinary processes of thought and communication. From the repressive traumatic silence of familial pain to the widespread trauma shared by communities in times of conflict and brutal bloodshed, the focus of these works are served well by the visual- verbal form of the genre.
How to Write a Graphic Novel: 5 Major Tips for Writers
1. Genres and demographics. Before scripting a graphic novel, a writer must consider the genres they're writing in and the age group they're writing for. There are many to choose from, such as memoir, superhero, political (comedy, farce, or commentary), biography, crime, romance, and many more!
'Persepolis' author releases a new graphic novel on Iran's women's
Marjane Satrapi has just published a new graphic novel despite having sworn off creating them 20 years ago. She's the author of the bestselling "Persepolis," about an Iranian girl's coming of age ...
10 Great TV Series Based on Graphic Novels
Watch on CBC Gem 'The Walking Dead' (2010-2022) Based on: 'The Walking Dead' (2003-2019) Perhaps the most famous series based on a graphic novel, The Walking Dead is a post-apocalyptic action ...