Graphic Novels, Where Would Society Be Without Them?

Graphic Novels, Where Would Society Be Without Them? Is a graphic novel just a glorified picture book? No, Graphic novels, better known as comics, are an important part of society. They have influenced society over the many years that they existed. Before one can look at the influences of graphic novels on society, it must first be understood what a graphic novel is, and how they came about. At its core, a graphic novel is a story, or collection of stories, which are aided by pictures to portray what, is occurring within the story. However, before the modern graphic novels, there were comic strips and before even those there were “…cartoonish broadsheets of the Middle Ages, which were parchment products, created by anonymous woodcutters.”(Gieber

It was during this period that William Randolph Hearst scored a knockout with the Yellow Kid, which was actually printed in yellow ink.” (Gieber 1) The predecessors to modern graphic novels were in circulation from 1901 through 1905 and they were Carl Schultz' “Foxy Grandpa”, Ally Sloper's “Half Alley”, Hearst’s “Katzenjammer Kids” and “Happy Hooligan”(Gieber 1). And finally, “The Whitman Publishing Company, in 1934, became one of the pre-launchers for the modern comic book. They published forty issues of Famous Comics, which was a black and white hardcover reprint” (Gieber 1). All these different points in the history lead up to, what are known

Prime examples to this are “Persepolis” and “Ghost World”. They’re both realistic, dark, and deal with themes most suited towards adults and teens. In comparison to well-known graphic novels from the other ages, these two deal with themes like war and identity. “Ghost World”, a slice of life, is about a teen girl trying to find herself whilst “Persepolis”, a memoir, is the recount of Iran’s history and politics through the eyes of a child. These two titles deal with topics focused on self-reflection and the world around the characters. With the more serious tones the graphic novels take, the readers get a feel for the challenges the characters face. The reader connects with the characters on a deeper level, being able to connect with the characters at a primal level, a level where emotions play the main role. Graphic novels such as these play a much larger role than they have before; they open up the playing field to people looking for comics with a more intense feel to them. In a way, this sort of graphic novel suits today’s day and age. A darker novel is normally more appreciated in a society where most people are jaded. It allows the reader to get into it on a level where, let’s say a comedy wouldn’t. It allows the reader to look at it and see it as something that’s not by any means far from their truths, something they could believe and understand in a way that would speak to