graphic novel
Drawn book-length story
A graphic novel is a book-length work of fiction or nonfiction told through sequential art—essentially a long comic book published as a single volume rather than serialized issues.
The term emerged partly to distinguish serious or literary comics from superhero fare and children's comics: Maus won a Pulitzer Prize and helped legitimize the graphic novel as literature.
The format encompasses memoir, history, and fantasy alike.
Superhero media conglomerate
- DCUnidirectional electrical flow
- VertigoPsychological thriller about acrophobia
- mangaJapanese comic medium
- webcomicInternet-published cartoon strip
indie · writer · artist · colorist · inker · letterer · editor · Eisner
Flat rectangular sections
- pagesBound paper sheets
- artworkVisual creative production
- illustrationsPictures explaining text
- inkedMarked with pigment
penciled · coloring · lettering · splash page · cover art · gutters · frames · layouts
Account of events
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- protagonistStory's central figure
- antagonistOne who opposes another
arc · theme · conflict · resolution · dialogue · backstory · setting · epilogue
Rate of movement
- flowUnbroken forward movement
- transitionsMovements between states
- closureSense of emotional resolution
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
montage · progression · continuity · reading order · timing · visual storytelling · sequence
Company releasing books
- imprintMark from applied pressure
- trade paperbackLarger-format softbound book
- hardcoverRigid-bound book format
- collected editionGathered works, one volume
series · issue · volume · anthology · reprint · limited series · omnibus · digest
Marvel
Superhero media conglomerate
- DCUnidirectional electrical flow
- VertigoPsychological thriller about acrophobia
- mangaJapanese comic medium
webcomic · indie · writer · artist · colorist · inker · letterer · editor · Eisner · Comic-Con
panels
Flat rectangular sections
- pagesBound paper sheets
- artworkVisual creative production
- illustrationsPictures explaining text
inked · penciled · coloring · lettering · splash page · cover art · gutters · frames · layouts · speech balloons
story
Account of events
- plotStoryline or land parcel
- charactersPersons in a narrative
- protagonistStory's central figure
antagonist · arc · theme · conflict · resolution · dialogue · backstory · setting · epilogue · prologue
pacing
Rate of movement
- flowUnbroken forward movement
- transitionsMovements between states
- closureSense of emotional resolution
juxtaposition · montage · progression · continuity · reading order · timing · visual storytelling · sequence
publisher
Company releasing books
- imprintMark from applied pressure
- trade paperbackLarger-format softbound book
- hardcoverRigid-bound book format
collected edition · series · issue · volume · anthology · reprint · limited series · omnibus · digest · serialized
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, horror
- visual storytellingcomic strip, comic book, manga, picture book, storyboard
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- bookstextbooks, study guides, book, paperback, hardcover
- children's booksfairy tales, nursery rhymes, picture books, bedtime stories, Harry Potter
- fictionfiction, novels, novella, novellas, short story
graphic novelprose fiction
Imaginary tales in sentences
novel · literary fiction · chapter book · audiobook · radio drama
graphic novelcomic strip
Serialized newspaper cartoon panels
Sunday funnies · editorial cartoon · webcomic · comic book · zine
novel, graphic, photographic, graphics, geographic, graphic design, graphical, demographic, graphically