A Brief History of Graphic Novels
EARLY COMICS:
People have been communicating with pictures for many, many years:
History of graphic novel is tied to the history of comic books:
GOLDEN AGE: 1930s - 1940s 1930s: First comic books published as reprints of newspaper comics
1940s: Comics explode with creation of Siegel & Schuster's Superman comics • Superhero comics become popular during WWII (Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain American) ATOMIC AGE: late 1940s – early 1950s 1950s: Rise of McCarthyism and growing interest in romance, funny, horror, & crime comics (mass-produced, shock value)
SILVER AGE: late 1950s - early 1970s 1960s: Revival of the superhero (DC and Marvel Comics commercial success), growth of fan base
1960s-1970s: Some serial comics published in book form (Peanuts, Krazy Kat, Beetle Bailey) 1970s: Birth of the comic book store (“direct market”) as result of comic book conventions |
BRONZE AGE: early 1970s – mid 1980s
1970s: Darker elements enter into comics, CCA relaxes rules on use of monsters resulting in resurgence of horror comics
Mid 1980s: “… period in which graphic novels broke through cultural barriers to erase the stigma associated with reading comics” (Nyberg 31).
MODERN AGE/DARK AGE/IRON AGE: mid 1980s - present 1992: Art Spiegelman wins the Pulitzer Prize for Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, the story of his parents' experience during the Holocaust 1994: “Library of Congress Authority File includes graphic novels as an authorized subject heading” (Williams & Peterson 166) 2002: YALSA sponsors “Get Graphic at Your Library” at 2002 ALA Conference 2005: Graphic novel reviews and columns present in several library journals for young adults, as well as articles on using graphic novels in the classroom
2007: Awards for YA Graphic Novels
TODAY: Graphic novels have a strong presence in school and public libraries, and are even used in the classroom (see Advocacy page).
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"The most significant evidence of comics' arrival ... is their acceptance and acknowledgement by public librarians. The inclusion of graphic novels in their collections is a most welcome happening and, I might say, about time"
- Will Eisner in Introduction to Faster Than A Speeding Bullet: The Rise of the Graphic Novel
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Presented by: Lauren Blanford, Margaret Janavicius, & Kirsten Rusinak
Dominican University LIS: 722 Library Materials for Young Adults Spring 2012.