Oftentimes I come across people that either are too intimidated to pick up a graphic novel, as they’ve never read the genre, or people that believe they have no merit. This article offers suggestions for opening yourself up to the genre. As a relatively new graphic novel reader myself, I present to you the graphic novels that stole me away from a wonderful, but limiting, life of prose and picture-less books. The cliché “the message is the medium” rings true, as some stories are best told through panels and images, while others work best as prose.
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If you enjoyed A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Author of The Kite Runner), you’ll love Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi! It’s the story of a young girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. It deals with self-identity, religion and a woman’s role in Iranian society during the late 70s and 80s. Told through simple black and white images, it’s a powerful and poignant story with easy-to-read panels.
Fun Fact: There’s a part 2
If you liked Carry On by Rainbow Rowell for its humor, originality, and relevance, a quirky graphic novel to pick up is SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tanaki. It has a mostly black and white theme with limited color which compliments the comic strip storytelling style Tanaki has adopted. You will follow these characters through high school only getting moments of their lives, but still feeling like you know them. They are mutants and witches, but the crux of the story deals with issues anyone who’s experienced adolescence can connect to.
Another graphic novel to check out if you were a fan of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. This dystopian fantasy features an LGBTQ+ romance and has casually fantastical elements into it. The world building is incredible; so don’t worry if you think you’re tired of dystopia, because its mix with fantasy takes the genre to another level.
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Those who enjoyed the creepy style of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline will probably enjoy Through The Woods by Emily Carroll. The arrangements of the panels and words along with the dark theme evokes a sense of mystery. Although a different in format than Coraline, which is one whole story while Through the Woods in a graphic anthology, it is a great read for getting into the spirit of Halloween in October.
Graphic novels in general are great to read when you have a ton of schoolwork but still want to read. It’s hard to come out of 50 textbook pages and read a book written entirely in prose. So that’s something to keep in mind!