Why Everyone Needs to Have Graphic Novels on Their Bookshelves
Hannah Sjovold | Nov. 2, 2021Contrary to popular belief, you can never grow out of picture books. Okay, yes, maybe you don’t want to read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” when you’re 21-years old, but the world of illustrated books doesn’t stop when you turn double-digits. Technically, graphic novels aren’t a genre -- they’re a format. They’re similar to comic books since they use sequential art to tell a story, but graphic novels are generally stand-alone stories with more complex plots. They can be fiction, non-fiction, history, fantasy, memoirs, and anything in-between. Within the format of “graphic novel,” there are a few main “sub-genres” or predominant ways to categorize them including manga, superhero stories, personal narratives (“perzines”), and non-fiction.