Can a graphic novel be quailty fiction?

Answer 1

No Opinions

No. They may be interesting, beautiful, useful, disturbing and a host of other qualifiers, but comic books are not "quality fiction." Works of fiction use words which may be read aloud, and enjoyed with the eyes closed, which cannot be said of "graphic novels." The highest a "graphic novel" can achieve is to be a kind of story-board for an imaginary movie. If it is based on a work of quality fiction, such a "graphic novel" will be more interesting to an adult than it would be if it sprang fully armed from the brow of some earnest cartoonist who has probably never even heard of Walt Kelly.

Yes Opinions

Some of us may want to differ. The graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize, not an award to be sniffed at. The graphic novel 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore is hailed as a masterful achievement. And the Doomsday Manuscript that chronicles William the Conqueror's invasion of England has to be admitted as a scholarly work even though the author couldn't write.

Not all graphic novels are made with mature or disturbing content. This is a misconception brought on by the popularity of novels such as "Sin City" or "300". The term graphic novel actually covers a very wide area of genres. For instance, my daughter reads the new generation of "Nancy Drew" novels which have been made into graphic novel form. My father told me when he was a kid, he read the Tom Sayer and Huckleberry Finn books both in graphic novel forms. Graphic novels have been used for hundreds of years. Some early forms were even used by renowned authors such as William Blake. Modern authors, such as Neil Gaiman, have won Literary Awards for their original work with graphic novels. Words alone do not always equal quality. Just like regular full text novels, there will be those graphic novels that are higher quality than others. It is up to the reader to be selective and choose a piece that is up to their individual standards. See the related links below for more information.

In a work of quality fiction, much time is spent describing something or someone. What a man looks like, how he's dressed. The very scenery around them. The expression on his face. Their actions and so forth. Very little of what's written in a fiction book is actually dialog. In a graphic novel the descriptive text is replaced by pictures. The story remains the same and the dialog can be word for word. But to put down a graphic novel because it tells a story with words as well as pictures is silly.