You can’t talk about what a graphic novel is without talking at least a little bit about comics because very basically it is a type of comic.

We are all familiar with some kind of comic or another. They tell their story using illustrations or photos or other graphic media, which they usually mix with text of some kind, which can be narration and/or dialog. Some definitions state that the story cannot be told without the pictures, but the stories can certainly be told without any text at all using a sequence of images. Hence the term “sequential art” which is another term used to describe the format.

Simply looking at a one of the pages will not let you be able to say for certain that it is one or the other. The actual presentation of a graphic novel can be very cartoon-like and a comic can have almost any style of pictures you can imagine. The real difference is not content but form.

A graphic novel is always in some kind of book form and is complete in itself. It will not be a 12 page periodical issued every month. That is a comic. There does not seem to be a standard definition of how long a comic needs to be before it is a graphic novel and that is probably down to the reader to a large extent. I know if I read a one of 18 pages I would be more inclined to call it a comic.

The term “graphic novel” is relatively recent, first appearing in 1964 and then becoming popular after the 1978 publication of Will Eisners A Contract With God, which described itself as such on the cover. In the late 80s and then the 90s it took off with some of the key publications such as Maus, Watchmen, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Since then it has become widely accepted and has dedicated sections in bookshops and libraries all over the world.

Currently, common usage of the term “graphic novel” can cover a variety of forms. While it is applied to stand alone stories in a book form, it is often applied to collections of periodical comics either brought together to cover a story arc, or in sequential sets or even unrelated stories. The use of the term in these cases in particular has been criticised by some as just being pretentious.

The stories may cover complex issues that affect the modern world like war, racism, freedom and other grown up things like that. It might have violence, drugs, and sex in it, though don’t let this put you off, as there are plenty without. It might be a retelling of a classic novel or an imaginative story of the future. It might not have superheroes or aliens with amazing powers or slapstick characters dropping improbably heavy things on each other, but at the end of the day whatever it is about and however it is presented, if it is a graphic novel, it is a comic.

If you like comics the chances are you will like graphic novels. Not all of them I am sure, but there will be stories out that that you can read and enjoy and then you can decide for yourself what you want to call it.