One of these things is not like the other . . .

[Cynthia]

But are they different enough to separate them?

Max Allan Collins wrote a graphic novel named Road to Perdition. It was made into a move (same name), then he put out a novel (same name again) based on the screenplay another guy wrote for the movie. I haven't read either, so I have no idea how much the novel differs from the graphic novel.

At the moment, the novel and graphic novel are combined. But should they be?

[Melody]

There are several cases like that (books based on the movie after the book had been out for years with no movie involved). I think it should be combined. The "movie edition" is just another edition of the novel. But maybe others librarians have additional thoughts.

[Lisa]

Well, I agree that movie tie in editions should be linked with other editions, but generally I think we keep graphic editions uncombined with non-graphic editions. That's true for other books I've seen and that's how I've handled graphic novels.

[Cait]

Lisa wrote: "Well, I agree that movie tie in editions should be linked with other editions, but generally I think we keep graphic editions uncombined with non-graphic editions. That's true for other books I've ..."

Usually when we separate them we're separating graphic novel adaptions of text novels, but I agree that adaptions in the other direction should also be separated.

[Lisa]

Cait, Well many "movie editions" simply have a cover with the actors on it, but otherwise the book is the same.

[Cait]

Lisa wrote: "Cait, Well many "movie editions" simply have a cover with the actors on it, but otherwise the book is the same."

Right, but a change from a text novel to a graphic novel is considered a thorough enough adaption to call for separation regardless of the reason it's done, so an adaption in the other direction should get the same separation. It's not just a new cover: it's a whole new inside, usually with a new collaborator (the artist(s)) as well.

(The only other examples of graphic-to-text adaptions that I've noticed so far have been multi-volume graphic novels into one text novel, so the combination issue wouldn't have come up anyway.)

[Lisa]

Cait, I agree.

[Cynthia]

Thanks for the clarification.

I did find a review of the novel written based on the screenplay. The screenplay author changed some names and details, and MAC kept those changes when writing the movie tie-in novel, so in this case it seems that the movie novel would be much more different than just having a cover with actors' photos.

[Lisa]

Cyn, Yes, it definitely sounds that way in this case.