Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente

Comics, as many of you are familiar with, use traditional saddle stitching - meaning they are held together with staples in the spine. Many enthusiasts use binding as the determining factor in whether something is classified as a graphic novel or comic book. They are often tied to superheroes and villains, although many modern comics and graphic novels are experimenting with different story lines. They are both works of fiction and have panel-style illustrations that do a large part of the storytelling. They have a few things in common that make it easy to mix the two. This, I believe, qualifies both as true-blue literature.

Additionally, comics have been inspiring, read, cherished and used for marketing and propaganda in America since the 1930s. “Maus,” a graphic novel created by Art Spiegelman, was the first comic/graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. So, it is time to give you my opinion on what separates two very wonderful forms of literature. It can be a fun way for studying students to escape into a world less concerned with finals and essays. Yet reading one or the other is a great way to escape the heavy reading of textbooks or classic novels. Although I do enjoy a good comic now and again, I am quick to respond with a, “No, no, not comics, graphic novels,” elongating the g-r-a-p-h-i-c n-o-v-e-l-s in hopes that the listener will understand the difference - alas, they rarely do.

It’s difficult to describe how frustrating it is to answer to that response. After telling people I read graphic novels, a common response is, “I didn’t know you were into comic books.” When wandering through a bookstore, it is routine for me to stop by the graphic novel section and flip through some of my favorite classics, “Sin City” and “Watchmen,” before skimming the new items.

Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente