Bookish Musings - My Sudden Love For Graphic Novels

Bookish Musings is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that allows one of us to share our thoughts and opinions, talk and discuss things happening in the book and blogging community or share a personal book related issue we have. Today, Amanda is talking about the increase in reading graphic novels and how some people have asked about her suddenness of it all. Is it all really that sudden or have I been hiding a little secret?

Some of you may have noticed that in 2014, I've been reading more graphic novels and comic collections and I've had a few people ask me; 'what's with the sudden love for graphics?' and the truth is, it's not actually very sudden at all. I've been reading graphic novels and comics for years, I've just never reviewed them before, until 2014.

I've mentioned in passing that my Father is a comic and graphic novel collector; granted, he collects a lot of things, figurines, trading cards, Special Edition Batman Dinky cars, but his main love is comics and graphics and as I grew up, visiting him of a weekend, I took an interest in these items and what it was about them that made them so enjoyable, and I admit, until last year, I'd never read them in any other way than for simple, quick enjoyment. I had never considered comics and graphic novels to be actual books and after reflection, I truly believe they are, and they should be treated that way. A book is something that opens us up to another world and immerses us. A book is something that holds numerous characters you can see yourself and your friends reflected in to join you on those other world adventures. A book is something that takes you away from normal life. The last time I checked, graphic novels and comics do exactly that, just with pictures and not words.

You wouldn't turn around and tell a child reading a picture book that they're not really reading at all, because they are reading, they're just reading the pictures instead of the words, the emotions on their faces instead of putting them there, appreciating the artwork rather than the words, and lets be honest, sometimes, reading pages upon pages of words can feel like drowning, especially when you have a tbr pile the size of Burj Khalifa, (that's the tallest building in the world at the moment if you're wondering) and it's sending you into a slump, so a picture here and there is utterly fantastic. I personally find myself turning to graphic novels and comics when I need a reading pick-me-up. I will have spent a week or two trying to work my way through a book and I've finally reached that point where I cannot finish it, so I don't, but then I realise I've wasted so much time and effort on reading what little part of the book I did read rather than on books that deserved my attention more, and that's when I go on the look for a graphic novel. I need something light, quick, fun and exciting, with less concentration on the words, and more on the aspect of graphics, and as someone who enjoys sketching, doodling, being crafty and generally graphics as a whole, it's perfect for me, yet there's a lot of people who either don't like them, which I can completely understand, and others who've never tried, and this next part is for you, some pro's and con's you might say.

One of the biggest reasons to try a graphic novel or comic is the graphics, and if you're really not into your graphics of any kind, whether that be cartoon, sketched, doodled, computer designed style graphics and so on, then I think it'd be fair to say graphic novels and comics aren't for you, but if you are into them, then I'd say get yourself looking for some as soon as possible. I personally focus my attention to NetGalley when looking for new graphic novels and comic collections, most of the time because they're read-now, but also because surprisingly to some, you actually get the beautiful detail and designs on your computer/kindle/phone or whatever platform you use it on, and it's utterly wonderful.

The other huge reason to try out graphic novels is the lack of words, as I mentioned earlier. if you've never read a comic or graphic novel in your life, you may not understand the difference, but other than the speech involved, everything else is produced in, usually, colour drawings, which means no world imagining from you, no getting annoyed a lack of world in your story, and no struggling to tell whether they're on that side of the mountain or the other. Characters are also created for you, so there's getting annoyed when you can't imagine how her eyes are green but her hair is blonde, because that's the illustrators job, not yours. Graphic novels and comics allow you to have the laid back experience of reading, like TV and book rolled into one.


The last reason to try out graphic novels and comics, I think, is to experience the huge range of genres and styles out there. Everyone knows that every so often, you'll get a book written in verse, or written in a completely mad style, like Blood Red Road, and that's about the extent of style, where-as with graphic novels, there's much more freedom to style. I myself have probably experienced around four or five different styles of graphic novel or comic, as well as five to seven different genre's, featuring from horror to sci-fi, fairytales retellings to superhero esk, greek mythology to full-on contemporary and it's such a wonderful range. After time, you also start to gain favourite illustrators and start looking out for their work, the same way you would with an author, or an audiobook reader and it's such a wonderful experience.

Of course, with every argument there's two sides, and there's some pretty big reasons as to why people don't like graphic novels and comics, the first is the, unsurprisingly, the actual graphics. Some people have a bone with the variety, but the biggest is the style you can see first above and how, revealing it is, and it puts some people off. This I can completely understand and sometimes, it even puts me off, as with my review of Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz, where I ranted about the practicalities of Dorothy's outfit or lack there of of one throughout the entire story, and if you're looking to scrutinise a graphic novel, that is where you strike, and nine times out of ten, you can strike pretty hard, and I would never tell anyone to get over that aspect, because the design is an important part in graphic novels, so if you don't like the graphics, you don't like the novel, however, I do want to mention that it's not a way to undermine women in anyway; comics and graphic novels were originally brought out as a way to sexualise women in the early days of it's existence, and while the storytelling and characters have grown to be more respectful, the design and style has indeed stuck, so it can be a problem if you feel very strongly towards those kinds of designs.

The other large matter to consider when it comes to graphic novels is the price. Unlike with books, you're paying a set price, most of which goes to an author, (usually) a set amount to the publishers and a set amount to the designers of the cover and such and that's that. With a graphic novel or comic, it's very different. Graphic novels and comics cost more because they contain artwork, and no matter your opinion on the work, artwork is pricey, especially in this day and age, so even the simplest of comics, lets say 30-40 pages, fully designed from edge to edge on every page can set you back between £2.50 - £7 depending on the edition and condition, and that's for about a fifth, if not a sixth of a book. Imagine buying the entire collection; it's expensive, and that's a huge deal to some people. That's why I'd advise free sites such as NetGalley, and even in some cases, searching the illustrator on Google and looking at some of their work; it's an easy way to sample work before you buy.

The last reason people tend to avoid graphic novels is that they don't think they are stimulating enough, which, to be fair, some of them really aren't, especially some that I read, and I'm not knocking that whatsoever because I can completely understand it. Graphic novels and comics are primarily catered to males and children, but I think the the change in the digital era is changing that, for example, The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa and The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare are in graphic novel and comic format now and that is catering the the female audience that want to move into the graphics department. They may not be educationally stimulating like some books are with their clear moral lessons, but they are mentally stimulating, however, for some people, that's not enough to try them.

Some battles aren't worth fighting, but I truly believe this battle is. There are a large number of reasons to avoid graphic novels and comics, but there's some pretty awesome reasons to at least look into them and maybe give one a shot. Search on NetGalley, search on Amazon for the freebies, search your local libraries and see if they have any that take your fancy, but please, don't dismiss them without giving them a fair go. Treat graphic novels and comics with the same respect you would a normal book, because they are just as important.

What are feelings on graphic novels and comics? Have you tried them and enjoyed them? Have you tried and disliked? Have you never tried and feel swayed to do so now? Leave me your thoughts, feelings and comments down below, I'm very interested.