Graphic Novels Are Having A Moment

Graphic novels used to be found only in comic shops, and if anyone over the age of 12 was seen reading one, the likely reaction would be a sneer or even a laugh. Until very recently, graphic novels were considered “not real books,” and “not appropriate” for adults to consume. Honestly, I’d never even heard of the genre until I was in my mid-20s, and when I did, the connotation was mostly to comics, and debates around the legitimacy of their “literary merit.”

Fast forward to 2021, and graphic novels are absolutely having their moment in the sun. The debate has completely shifted, from rolling eyes and derisive comments to gushing and awe. Granted, the majority of the market is still concentrated among juvenile readers, but adults caught reading a GN on the bus probably won’t face social backlash anymore. Entire kids’ clubs at libraries and schools are dedicated to the GN of the month. Children are happily learning to draw in GN art style. Budding writers want to create their own GN, rather than the chapter books my generation frantically scribbled on lined paper.

None of this is as seen as bad, either, by parents, teachers, librarians, and even writers. GN have opened up a whole new world to kids who really struggled with following storylines and character motivations amidst confusing grammar rules and “proper” sentence structure. Kids who used to say they didn’t like reading are gobbling up entire GN series. Those who enjoy a good story without the obstacle of learning to apply conflicting English Language constructs have been given the most wonderful gift.

In some ways, I can’t help but wonder what took us so long.

In times past — until about the 20th century, actually — vast populations were largely illiterate, and books without any pictures at all were considered a luxury for the highly educated. While I do agree that increasing literacy rates worldwide is only a good thing, I do feel that still encouraging reading to be a coveted past time of the well-to-do will make the whole operation backfire. I mean, any middle class bookdragon in 2021 KNOWS how much new hardcovers cost, and that this is why our TBRs will haunt us until we die, and this is a major reason we spend a good deal of our spare time crying. Anyway, interestingly, despite much more ink being used to create graphic novels, GN tend to be priced a little more reasonably, especially for kids. And when you’re the parent of a voracious reader, this is a big plus.

Also, humans are visual creatures. There’s a very good reason movies and television are so popular — most people can more easily visualize a story rather than picture it all in their mind’s eye while having it told to them or reading the words. It’s why art that, historically, also told the tale of everything from religions to laws was so important to our ancestors. People who say they have a hard time picturing what characters look like when they’re reading a non-illustrated book don’t show a lack of intelligence; this is just one of those interesting ways our brains are wired. I have an extremely difficult time while reading figuring out how this character looks, or what color those curtains truly are, or what that breed of dog is because I’ve simply never seen the word spelled out in print before. Adjectives are hard, man.

So, while it’s undeniable that graphic novels are totally having a moment right now, the next question is: What does this mean for the future of the genre?

Will we start seeing GN on the elementary school curriculum? Maybe even middle and high schoolers could take advantage of the adapted classics? Perhaps more colleges will start offering courses in illustration and animation?

At the library, we can’t seem to order new graphic novel series fast enough to keep up with the demand among young patrons. More and more picture books are taking on a format similar to GN — such as speech bubbles above characters’ heads, rather than sentences of third person narration at the bottom of the page — which shows that other parts of the publishing industry are taking notice of GN’s wave-making.

I also wonder if this trend could mean we start to see more adult animated films being made — not in the lame (not sorry) fashion of Adult Swim, but rather in the way Japanese anime has an entire genre devoted to films and TV shows of grown-up content and storyline. And I don’t just mean R-rated stuff; I mean simply rom-coms with some inneundos and action with a little more violence than we’re comfortable watching with our 15-year-olds. I’d watch well-animated versions of Shakespeare and Austen and Dickens — and I’m probably not the only one.

But, we all know that trends can be over in a hot minute, or may, paradoxically, take quite a while to truly catch on. Maybe the bandwagon won’t get crowded right away. Maybe those of us who want to see graphic novels pave the way for a whole lot of things will just need to exercise patience.

Whatever the future of the genre will be, I have a feeling we’re just at the start of something.