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VIDEOThese Novels Are of a Graphic Nature
Long-form comics are big business for publishers, Hollywood.
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Well - not a comic book, precisely (though Marvel Comics (MVL) released one earlier this year): Now there will also be a graphic novel detailing the amazing race. Entitled 08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail and written by New Republic editor Michael Crowley and artist Dan Goldman -- is set for a January release from Three Rivers Press.
2009 seems to be the year that these long-form illustrated books finally and decisively enter the mainstream: It started with the release of Watchmen, the on-screen adaptation of the popular graphic novel that was the subject of a spirited property lawsuit between Twentieth Century Fox (NWS) and Warner Brothers (TWX).
In 2 and a half weeks, the film (Warner Brothers’ operating budget: $150 million) grossed almost $160 million in box office. It’s just the latest conquest for a medium that's seen expansive growth for years.
According to Publishers Weekly, overall graphic novel sales in North America reached $395 million in 2008 - a 5% growth over the previous year. While most industries would kill for 5% growth in one of the harshest economic years in history, it was actually the industry’s slowest rate of growth since 2001. Sales of graphic novels actually grew at a greater clip in bookstores than in direct-market comic shops: $265 million in 2008 sales at bookstores compared to $165 million at comic shops.
The medium has become so prominent that the New York Times recently introduced a graphic-novel bestsellers list - 3 of them, actually: hardcover, softcover and manga. Not surprisingly, the film’s popularity has catapulted Watchmen back to the top of both the hardcover and paperback lists.
Other franchises, like DC Comics's Batman, have made frequent appearances on the Times' graphic-novel list, but the most prominent brand has been the Japanese manga series Naruto. The multi-million dollar franchise occupied the top 4 spots in the most recent manga list, has expanded into books, DVDs and video games, and was even the seventh most popular search term on Yahoo last year.
Both NPR and the Times have had graphic-novel categories in their annual best-of year lists, and NBC (GE) has released its own series of comic books in a cross-promotional bid for their cult hit series, Heroes.
Most recently, Iraq veteran Tyler Jones released his own graphic novel detailing his wartime experiences. And, in perhaps the most authentic example that graphic novels have gone mainstream, the backlash has officially begun.
“I’m called the father of the graphic novel. If that’s true, I want a blood test,” Maus author Art Spiegelman recently said at a public appearance in England. “Graphic novel sounds more respectable, but I prefer ‘comics,’ because it credits the medium.”
Whatever you call it, it’s currently leading the charge in a struggling entertainment industry.
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