How to Distinguish Between a Comic Book and a Graphic Novel

Last updated on 2023-01-11
By Nicole

Summary: The term "graphic novel" was first coined in 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter published by the Comic Amateur Press Alliance. DC Comics used the term in 1972 for the second issue of its "Sinister House of Secret Love," but the first use of "graphic no

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Richard Kyle, a comic amateur press alliance newsletter editor, first used the term graphic novel in 1964. The term was first used by DC Comics in 1972's second issue of their "Sinister House of Secret Love" magazine. However, the first "graphic novel", which can be used for standalone work, came four years later for Richard Corben’s "Bloodstar," George Metzger’s "Beyond Time," Jim Steranko’s "Chandler: Red Tide". In 1978, Will Eisner published "A Contract With God, and Other Tenement Stories" in trade paperback. This title was influenced by Lynd Ward's 1920s-'30s woodcut-illustrated novels. There is some confusion about what constitutes an graphic book or a comic. There aren't any universally accepted definitions for either of these terms, but the steps below will help you distinguish between a comic and a graphic book.

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Decide whether it is a periodical or one-off publication. Comic books can be either graphic novels or comics, but a comic book should have a volume number and issues. Although a graphic novel can be considered a single publication in its entirety, some comic publishers produce a series of graphic novels. Marvel Comics produced this line from 1982 through 1988.
- A comic book's use of "novel", in its pages, does not necessarily make it a graphic story. Because they are part of a larger comic book series, the 4-chapter Superman "novel-length stories" of All-Flash Quarterly in 1940s as well as the 3 Superman "novels", Action Comics and Superman in the 1950s and 1960s were not graphic novels.
- Graphic novels may be any novel that has been adapted into graphic format. Classics Illustrated's novel adaptations aren't graphic novels. Classics Illustrated is a periodical. A multi-volume adaptation of one novel, like Jane Fancher's three-volume C.J. adaptation. Cherryh's "Gates of Ivrel" may, although it does not cover the whole novel, be considered both a series of graphic novels and a miniseries.
- Some comics can be called "one-shot", such as the 1978 comic "Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali", which was published in an oversize edition (Treasury Edition) in 1978. These comics often have their own issue and volume numbers. Usually, the number 1 is used. Graphic novels aren't usually considered one-shots.
You will be amazed at how many stories you can find between these pages. Comic books can contain one story or two stories. They may also have 3 to 4 stories. Some stories may include the same characters. Graphic novels usually contain one story and the same characters.
- Many bound reprints, like "The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told", and "The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told," can be as thick as graphic novel pages. They aren't graphic novels because there is more than one story in each collection, even though the main characters may be the same. These can be called graphic novels, because they are similar to prose anthologies. They contain short stories in a particular genre, often with the same theme.
- Bound collections that contain single stories arcs such as Frank Miller’s 1986 “The Dark Knight Returns” or Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 1987 "Watchmen" are graphic novels. This is because each comic book story arc within the bound collection constitutes one story. Every story in the original multi-issue graphic novel is a separate chapter.
- Some exceptions have been made to the one story definition of a graphic book. Will Eisner's "A contract with God, Other Tenement Stories", was a collection of short stories that were interrelated and bound together in one volume. It should be remembered that "graphic novel" is only used for the trade paperback edition.
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Find out how many pages are in the comic. The length of comic books is fixed. It used to be 64 pages up to 96 in the 1940s, and now it's around 32 pages. Graphic novels can run up to 600 pages. Archie Goodwin's 1971 book "Blackmark", written by Gil Kane, had 119 pages. The sequel, which ran 117 pages the next year, was a continuation of the same story. Dave Sim's graphic novels "Cerebus", however, are often called "phone books" because they're thick.
- There are many comics series that produce longer issues every year. These annuals might contain longer stories than monthly comics, but they cannot be considered graphic novel. The issue usually has an issue number and is identified by the term "Annual".
Take a look at the comic's dimensions. The typical comic book publication has a length of 6 5/8 in (17 cm) with a vertical dimension of 10 1/4 in (26 cm). This length and width can be used to publish graphic novels.
- The trade paperbacks measure 5.32 inches in width (13.5 cm), and 8.51 inches vertically (21.6 cm).
- The width of the digest size is 5 3/8 to 5. 1/2 inches (13.65 to 12.97 cm), and the vertical length is 7 1/2 to 8.3/8 inches (19.05 to 21.2 cm).
You can see how this comic was bound. Comic books were bound traditionally with staples much in the same way prose magazines. Graphic novels are, however, bound in the same way as thicker magazines or books.
- Some special-quality comic books of higher quality are bound as books. Each volume of the three-issue Subterraneans Elseworlds miniseries with Batman is made from high quality paper. They aren't bound with staples and do not contain graphic novels. If the entire story were to be bound together in one volume, it would constitute a graphic book.
Pay attention to the paper quality. Comic books were printed on matte paper for most of their history. Anthologies and graphic novels published after 1980 typically use a better quality paper with a glossy or matte finish. Many comic books published in recent years have been printed on slick papers, although they still contain staples.
Take a look at the cost. Graphic novels are usually more expensive than comic books due to the small scope of their stories and their single publication.
Finished.

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