I was once at a university lecture about comics and one of the topics was the term Graphic Novel. The lecturer went on to describe how some highly regarded pro's in the industry hated the term and why. In short, they felt that comics were more than just illustrated stories. The medium of comics can be done to do more than that as Scott McCloud shows in Understanding Comics. Also the term Graphic is used sometimes used to describe material of extreme nature i.e. Graphic Violence. Novel is just another word for Book. So they like the term comic book and wished we still used it to describe their works. Bullocks to that I say. "Comic Book" was originally used to describe reprints of humorous cartoons, it was never intended to describe the whole medium of sequential art. That the term had stuck had caused the "comic book" industry many problems in the late 40's and mid 50's. In the Golden Age, some publishers tried to use new names for what they were publishing. One example being "Illustories" which was pushed by Charles Biro, an artist and editor of Lev Gleason Publications. Reason being publishers weren't just publishing humorous books anymore. They were publishing Crime, Romance, Sci-Fi, Western and Horror comics among other genres. There wasn't a lot of humor in those books. When the backlash against comic books came, a part of that back lash was due to it's name. "Comic Books - Not so Funny" (Time Magazine - Oct. 04, 1948) would be a typical headline. People felt as if the industry was selling false goods. One must remember humor was typically sanitized for all ages. Lenny Bruce, a stand up comedian, was put in jail for doing adult humor in the mid 60s, which gives you an idea of society's view of humor in the 50s. When something described as comic/funny they assumed it meant safe for kids. The term comic book and the shock of what was really in them caused outrage. The CCA would be created so that comics really would be sanitized and safe for kids. I think those wishing we use Comic Book to describe Graphic Novel are doing so because of their nostalgic association with the term, which isn't very forward thinking of them. So I'm glad for the new term, while it may not be perfect I can't really think of a better one. At least the Graphic Novel term is open enough to not suggest one genre of material. Unless we want to try and use Biro's suggestion of Illustories? Nah. Regards, Jamie Coville http://www.TheGraphicNovels.com News and discussion on a free, Delphi like forum.

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