The Graphic Novel: An Introduction by Jan Baetens

The Graphic Novel: An Introduction Reviews

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  Michael

  what it does not much contain: comic comics, daily comics, superhero comics, company comics, japanese comics. what it does much contain: history of in 20th century, comic panic '50s, underground comics, critiques, single creators, culture sharing genres, american comics, european comics... very good, easy to read, critically interesting and not fanboy, offers ideas for reading other work comic and critical. now i have to read more chris ware...
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  Derek Royal

  I am very underwhelmed by this text. My main gripe is its handling of and arguments for the term "graphic novel," the book's keystone. The authors' definition is sketchy and ill-defined. What's more, it's highly exclusive, if not overtly, then in the rhetoric they use to flesh out the term. The strongest part of this text is its historical coverage, especially as it makes the case for paperback collections (of Peanuts, of Doonesbury) within the medium's evolution.
  
  I'll be writing a review of this book for ImageTexT, and in that I'll enumerate my issues with Baetens and Frey's arguments.
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  Andrea

  This introductory text will serve as a basis for the long research paper I am currently forumulating on the graphic novel's relationship to the novel and how Watchmen informs this relationship. I learned so much about the graphic novel's history and criticism, and even learned a bit about Watchmen as a graphic novel. I recommend this to anyone who would like to learn more about graphic novels and their literary origin and significance.
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  Ietrio

  Quite an ironic book. The Comics were born at the edge of art. They were for the most of their existence at the edge of socially acceptable. They were made by self-taught individuals. And here is a book that is the exact opposite of this: a conventional collection of disjointed articles from two academic paper pushers who are dull, conformist and completely not creative.
  
  The text is not as dry as the texts of the 1980s, but still, very academic and unimaginative. The documentation is shallow at the extremes, at times being inferior to the Wikipedia page. At least the publisher was aware of the incompetence and labeled the text "An Introduction".
  
  What I find equally amusing is the intellectual laziness of the two paper pushers. They are both living off the taxes collected from the population in Europe, yet they would rather extract the simple and popular texts written about the US phenomenon. It would have been a lot useful to have the same shallow documentation on say the censorship in France, or Belgium, which is a lot closer to home. But I agree, that would have implied some light intellectual effort which is way beyond the abilities of the two.
  
  The best news is probably the two climbed one more rung on the academic ladder and the taxpayers will have to pay them not only bigger wages, but also more generous pensions.
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  Toad

  I read this book as part of my dissertation research and it was really helpful in establishing the boundaries of what makes a Graphic Novel work. I used it to link my art skills with my slice of Life novel and used the research within this book to evidence that link and what makes a narrative story work in an art form.
• 
  Steen Ledet

  Decent investigation of comics but too attached to creators.
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  GONZA

  The perfect book for everybody who wants to be introduced to graphic novel and the way they are different from comics and strips. Interesting, clear and well written and with a lot of suggested reading, wich really made my day.
  
  Il libro perfetto per chi vuole avere una chiara introduzione al mondo delle graphic novel e delle ragioni per cui sono diverse dai fumetti e dalle strisce. Interessante e ben scritta e, soprattutto, con un sacco di letture suggerite che mi hanno reso molto felice.
• 
  Christina “6 word reviewer” Lake

  Appropriately celebrates brave new graphic genre.
• 
  Mills College Library

  741.59 B142 2015