The death of the ‘graphic novel’

The last time we used the term “graphic novel” was several years ago, when our grandmother asked what we were reading. We answered her with those two words and immediately felt sick afterwards. It’s the same feeling one should get after watching Entourage or deciding to wear either Von Dutch or Ed Hardy. Meaning to say, we felt like the biggest d-bags, using the term “graphic novels” instead of “comics” because we didn’t want to seem immature.

Originally, “graphic novel” was used to describe a comic meant to be read as one long experience unlike the standard serial comic. Today, it has become the term used by people who are too embarrassed to say “comics.” For years now, the term “graphic novel” has been a term used by people who claim to love comics yet know next to nothing about it.

Fans of comics hate the term “graphic novel.” By fans, we don’t mean people who just read Sandman or comics only written by Alan Moore (we’ll get to him in a bit) or Grant Morrison. Those people aren’t comic book fans. Not in the truest sense at least. Real comic book fans are too busy arguing which Joker story is the best or planning how we can get more people to read Y: The Last Man. It’s for people who prefer critiquing comics than actually reading them. It’s for the snobs who only exclusively like a particular brand of comics like that of Adrian Tomine and who have no idea what a cosmic cube is. Don’t be that person.

If you are that person, take a moment to let what follows sink in. You can’t brag about how one comic is better than all the rest if you haven’t read all the rest. Before you tweet that Fables and Trese are changing the landscape of comics, make sure you know what the actual landscape of comics is. You can’t possibly proclaim something is good if you don’t know what bad is. You are not an evolved and superior form of comic geek just because you call them “graphic novels” while you stroke yourself at night.

The comic book community is so small that it’s impossible to pretend you’re a part of it when you aren’t. And trust us, no one rants more than comic geeks, so it’s best to stay on our good side.The worst offense is that of people who think that comics and graphic novels should be separate.

Take what Jared Keller wrote for The Atlantic when he interviewed The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, and insisted that comics and graphic novels are not one and the same. “Films like Watchmen, Persepolis, From Hell, A History of Violence, and Sin City all had their origins in ‘graphic novels,’ a middle ground between the conventional comic book and the full-on novel.” He’d rattle on about this, even making it the first question to ask Kirkman. To which Kirman replied, “I’m of the mind that comic book and graphic novel are interchangeable terms for the same thing these days.” That’s a nice way of saying a graphic novel was and is a comic, you ignorant prick.Now back to Alan Moore. There are a lot of people who’ve only read his work like Watchmen as if it’s the only comic book out there. They keep referring to it as a “graphic novel” and you can tell they think themselves smart every time they do. The truth is they aren’t smarter than the average bear and Moore might even consider them stupid for even saying the words “graphic novel.”

In an interview he did back in 2000, Moore was asked what he thought of the term and this is what he answered, “The term ‘comic’ does just as well for me. The term ‘graphic novel’ was something that was thought up in the ‘80s by marketing people… The problem is that ‘graphic novel’ just came to mean ‘expensive comic book.’” The enjoyment of comics should not be determined by whether or not you feel smarter after. It is not meant for you to work on your vanity. If that is your end goal for reading Green Lantern, then we are telling you right now, you are doing it wrong.

A comic book, like all things in popular culture, is both art and entertainment. It is escapism. Like that song you could listen to over and over again or that movie you love more than any other, a comic book lets you let yourself go. It is something that requires an instant emotion from you after it is read. It should not be used as a step in your social ladder to gain acceptance in whatever cool group you want to be a part of. You read comics because you like them and that’s it.

Debating on whether or not it’s a graphic novel shouldn’t be stressed over. If you like comics, take each as it is. Read it and judge it according to your own prejudices and opinions. Whether it’s Archie or V for Vendetta, the enjoyment should be based on what it is and not on what others claim it should be. The term itself is not the issue but how it is being used. We understand that there are books worthy of being called graphic novels but it should not be at the cost of the medium. It should not be used to differentiate yourself as superior to other readers.

Going on a crusade that comics should be called “graphic novels” is like us talking about how Lost should have ended. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter. Calling it whatever name you can think of should not stop you from appreciating what it essentially is. It’s not only pointless but it is one that hurts the industry. It does not in any way encourage new readers and it insults the audience it already has. It alienates rather than accepts, and the longer it continues, the weaker the industry gets. End of discussion.