Graphic Novel Reviews

It has been suggested that in addition to the weekly reviews of stuff I buy, I occasionally write about longer comics, known as Trade Paperbacks (TPBs) or Graphic Novels (GN). As I thought about this, I wondered what definition I could use to consider something a Graphic Novel. At first, I decided that it would only be original works that were not just collections of monthly issues (TPBs), but self-contained stories that were only found in this longer format.

Then I realized that would be silly as many comics these days are quite obviously meant to be read as collected works, where each monthly issue is a chapter in a larger work. Thus any work longer than the regular 23 pages that tells a self-consistant story, is eligible. Here are some definitions I found on google by the way:

#1: Generally, any self-contained story in a single binding that uses a comic book-like page layout. In the comic book industry, the term is sometimes used to refer only to self-contained stories of 48 or more pages that has not been previously published serially. (The minimum page count varies; 64, 72, and 96 pages are other popular cut-off points.)

#2: Term created by Will Eisner; comic book with high quality storyline and artwork.

My favourite as it is quite silly
#3: A comic that cannot be read in one sitting.

#4 "Graphic novel" (sometimes abbreviated GN) is a term for a kind of book, usually telling an extended story with sequential art (i.e. comics). It is not strictly defined, and is often used to imply subjective distinctions between a given book and other kinds of comics.

I'll try to do one or so a month so keep checking back!