Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Last Saturday (May 2nd) is Free Comic Book Day! In celebration of comics and graphic novels, some suggestions:
- Do you read graphic novels/comics? Why do/don’t you enjoy them?
- How would you describe the difference between “graphic novel” and “comic”? Is there a difference at all?
- Say you have a friend who’s never encountered graphic novels. Recommend some titles you consider landmark/”canonical”.

I don’t read comic books or graphic novels a lot, but I do own a few. The couple of comic books/graphic novels that I own are made as versions of books that have already come out. Is that confusing? I own the comic book and graphic novels of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. For some reason, the powers that be decided to make a comic/graphic novel version of a few of the books. Of course, being the Anne Rice collector that I am, I had to get them. They are out of print now, but that is what eBay is for, right? Other than those few, I don’t bother to collect comics or graphic novels, excluding manga. I don’t really have much of an interest in them and their format is too active for me. I would rather just read lines and make up the images in my head than have to follow the chaos of a comic/graphic novel sequence.

I believe that there is a difference between comic books and graphic novels. Comics are generally shorter, put together and stapled to keep them together. Comic books are traditional. Graphic novels are longer in length and bound like a book with spine and glue. Graphic novels are usually an ‘anthology’ or sorts in that issues of comic books are grouped together to form a graphic novel.

Landmark? Oh man, I am so unfamiliar with most comic book series’ that I have NO idea. Dozens flash through my mind. I would recommend Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, though, because it’s a lot of fun and just too maniacal and hilarious.

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