I just found this among my files. It dates from November, 2003. I don't think I saved the entire thread, but there's quite a lot here, and it's probably still the best source of information for the origins of the term. I'm posting it because I think it's an important part of the history of comics scholarship, and the old TCJ Message Board no longer exist. If any participant, however, prefers not to have their comments re-posted here, please contact me and I will delete them.
Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 20, 2003 12:02 PM
Member posted November 20, 2003 12:02 PM
Does anyone here know what work, if any, has been done to
trace the history of the term "graphic novel"? The earliest
appearance of the term "graphic novel" in print that I've seen
is on the inside front dustcover of Bloodstar (1976) by Richard Corben
and Robert E. Howard:
quote:
BLOODSTAR
A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY ADVENTURE IN WORDS AND PICTURES
ILLUSTRATED AND ADAPTED BY RICHARD CORBEN
ORIGINAL STORY BY ROBERT E. HOWARD
ORIGINAL STORY BY ROBERT E. HOWARD
BLOODSTAR is a new, revolutionary concept--a graphic novel,
which combines all the imagination and visual power of comic strip art with the
richness of the traditional novel. Master of fantasy literature, Robert E.
Howard, creates a mythic land of fantastic thrills and high adventure which
comes to life through the dazzling illustrations of world renoun [sic] comic
strip artist, Richard Corben. Together they bring you one of the greatest
science fiction-fantasies of all times. [....]
Although I seriously doubt the people at Morningstar Press (the original publishers of BLOODSTAR) coined the term "graphic novel," I'm interested to know who did. But let me be clear: what I'm looking for here is not oral history but nominations for the earliest printed reference to "graphic novels."
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 20, 2003 01:36 PM
Member posted November 20, 2003 01:36 PM
Martin Vaughn-James' "The Cage" (1975) is
subtitled "a visual novel." Not quite the same thing, but close.
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[…]
Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 20, 2003 02:07 PM
Member posted November 20, 2003 02:07 PM
Yes, "visual novel" is close, but I say, no cigar.
Here's
the main reason why I'm curious. In a recent article entitled "The Graphic Novel Diamond Jubilee"
(Friday, Nov. 14, 2003),
columnist Andrew D. Arnold tells the following story:
quote:
Will Eisner's "A Contract with God,"
published in 1978, gets the credit for being the first graphic novel. "It
was intended as a departure from the standard, what we call 'comic book
format,'" Will Eisner recently told TIME.comix. "I sat down and tried
to do a book that would physically look like a 'legitimate' book and at the
same time write about a subject matter that would never have been addressed in
comic form, which is man's relationship with God." There wasn't even a
name for such a thing at the time so Eisner had to come up with his own,
spontaneous sleight-of-hand marketing. "[The phrase] 'graphic novel' was
kind of accidental," Eisner said. While pitching the book to an important
trade-book editor in New York,
says Eisner, "a little voice inside me said, 'Hey stupid, don't tell him
it’s a comic or he'll hang up on you.' So I said, 'It's a graphic novel.'"
Though that particular editor wasn't swayed by the semantics, dismissing the
book as "comics," a small publisher eventually took the project and
put the phrase "A Graphic Novel" prominently on the jacket, thereby
cementing the term permanently into the lexicon.
Now, if Eisner really coined the term "graphic novel" in reference to a book that was published in 1978, what was the term doing on the dust jacket of Bloodstar, published two years earlier, in 1976. And anyway, Arnold's claim is that A Contract with God gets the nod as the first graphic novel, so labelled, which is clearly not the case.
It
interesting to note that Eisner was, at the time, actually a self-professed fan
and follower of Corben's work,* which means it is not out of the realm of
possibility that he picked up the term from reading the Morningstar Bloodstar
hardcover! Given the actual publication history, this makes more sense to me
than Eisner's story, but maybe there's an explanation of how the term jumped
from Eisner's meeting with a trade-book editor in New York to the cover of Bloodstar.
Anyone?
-----
*
See the introduction to The Odd Comic World of Richard Corben (Warren,
1977), wherein the author, Will Eisner, states: "I
have watched Corben's work for some time now, awed by his enormous imagination,
composition, capacity for story telling, draftsmanship and technical
virtuosity."
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 21, 2003 12:05 PM
Member posted November 21, 2003 12:05 PM
According to the Web Page Graphic
novels in the Merril Collection, "[t]he
term 'graphic novel' was probably invented by Milt Gross (1895-1953)."
"Probably"?
Why "probably"? More anecdotal oral history, I guess. No evidence
required.
In
"The Publication and Formats of Comics, Graphic Novels, and
Tankobon," an article published in Image [&] Narrative, Chris
Couch repeats the same old story: "The term
'graphic novel' was coined by Will Eisner with the publication of A Contract
with God in 1978."
And
NBM was "First to publish fully painted graphic novels with the
sell-out launch of 'The Mercenary' by Spaniard Vicente Segrelles (1985)."
And
so on.
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R. Fiore
Member posted November 21, 2003 01:58 PM
Member posted November 21, 2003 01:58 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Benjamin D. Brucke:
"Probably"? Why "probably"? More anecdotal oral history, I guess. No evidence required.
"Probably"? Why "probably"? More anecdotal oral history, I guess. No evidence required.
Probably
because it was the earliest citation they could find, but this didn't rule out the
possibility that there might be an earlier one they didn't find. The citation
and its date are the evidence.
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 21, 2003 02:11 PM
Member posted November 21, 2003 02:11 PM
quote:
The citation and its date are the evidence.
Exactly so. Now all we need is the Milt Gross citation and its date, and Milt Gross will get the tentative nod as the originator of the term "graphic novel." But until then . . .
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 22, 2003 10:28 AM
Member posted November 22, 2003 10:28 AM
The First What?
A few readers, none of whom wished to be identified, sought issue with the 25th anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Some dissenters pointed out that long-form graphic books such as Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis" pre-date Eisner's work. Another reader took issue with the term's first appearance, citing a Richard Corben book published two years before Eisner's that uses the phrase "graphic novel" on the inside dust jacket. Without doubt both the etymology of the term "graphic novel" and the origins of the form are debatable. Art Spiegelman spoke of first seeing the term in the early 1960s among fanzines. "There was a man named Bill Spicer who did a thing called 'Graphic Story Magazine'," Spiegelman says, "And one of the things being discussed in those books was the possibility of a comic book story that could partake of the qualities of a novel. So the phrase sort of was kicking around." For the record, Eisner admits, "graphic novel" had been coined prior to his book but that, "I had not known at the time that someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating the first graphic book. Citing the silent picture stories of Lynd Ward, Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of comics." My argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the concept of a "graphic novel."
A few readers, none of whom wished to be identified, sought issue with the 25th anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Some dissenters pointed out that long-form graphic books such as Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis" pre-date Eisner's work. Another reader took issue with the term's first appearance, citing a Richard Corben book published two years before Eisner's that uses the phrase "graphic novel" on the inside dust jacket. Without doubt both the etymology of the term "graphic novel" and the origins of the form are debatable. Art Spiegelman spoke of first seeing the term in the early 1960s among fanzines. "There was a man named Bill Spicer who did a thing called 'Graphic Story Magazine'," Spiegelman says, "And one of the things being discussed in those books was the possibility of a comic book story that could partake of the qualities of a novel. So the phrase sort of was kicking around." For the record, Eisner admits, "graphic novel" had been coined prior to his book but that, "I had not known at the time that someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating the first graphic book. Citing the silent picture stories of Lynd Ward, Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of comics." My argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the concept of a "graphic novel."
So I guess we're all gonna stop repeating the story that Eisner coined the term "graphic novel" now, right?
(See,
for instance, the article I cited earlier by Chris Couch, as well as the
following glossary entry in The Comic Book by Paul Sassienie:
quote:
graphic novel Coined by Will Eisner in the late 1970s, it describes a hard-
or soft-back comic book of high quality reproduction. It has come to mean new
work rather than reprints. See 'trade paperback'.
)
ANYway,
what about Arnold's
argument that A Contract with God "crystallized" or
"defined" the term "graphic novel"? Before I'm
misinterpreted, let me say right now that, yes, A Contract with God was
an important and influential book, and did in fact do a great deal to
"crystallize" or "define" the term "graphic novel."
It's interesting to note, however, that like A Contract with God, Bloodstar
was published outside the comic book system (by a company based in Kansas
City), it was explictly promoted on the dustjacket as a "graphic
novel," and it "deliberately" aspired to "literary
status" ("BLOODSTAR is a new, revolutionary concept--a graphic novel,
which combines all the imagination and visual power of comic strip art with the
richness of the traditional novel."). Furthermore, Bloodstar was
one long story (not a series of short stories), it was originally published in
hardcover (in an edition of 5000 copies), and it was successful enough to be
printed in softcover in 1979 by a mainstream publisher, Arial Books.
"Crystallized"
. . . "defined the term" . . . okay, maybe . . . but notice how Bloodstar
--despite its ambition, clear labelling as a "graphic novel," and
success in the marketplace--doesn't rate even a mention in the official history
of "graphic novels." Why? If I had to venture a guess, I'd say
because Corben's book doesn't quite fit the story these people--Arnold, Couch,
and others--want to tell about how "graphic novels" were and are
serious stories for serious people. The first graphic-novel-to-be identified-as-a-graphic-novel
a fantasy by Richard Corben and Robert E. Howard? Well, dammit all
anyway, that's just embarassing . . .
Regarding
the coinage question, Spiegelman's point about Bill Spicer's Graphic Story
Magazine is a good one. Maybe Bill Spicer's the man! "Graphic
Story" is pretty damn close . . .
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 22, 2003 10:30 AM
Member posted November 22, 2003 10:30 AM
Before someone else has a chance to point it out, here's the
corrected quotation:
quote:
graphic novel Coined by Will Eisner in the late 1970s, it describes a hard-
or soft-back comic book of high quality reproduction. It has come to mean new
work rather than reprints. See 'trade paperback'.
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 22, 2003 12:19 PM
Member posted November 22, 2003 12:19 PM
Another (possible) link in the chain of usage: according to this
page, something or other (probably an illustration*) by Richard
Corben appeared in issue #15 of Spicer's Graphic Story Magazine (Summer
1973)--which (if it's true) would mean that Corben definitely was familiar with
the term "graphic story" before the term "graphic novel"
was used (for the first time ever in print? for the first time ever on/in a
comics album?) on the cover of Bloodstar (1976).
quote:
Graphic Story Magazine #15 Summer 1973 - Gahan
Wilson feature and Harry Harrison interview. Slick, lots of illustrations.
$6.00
-----
I
didn't realize this, but the term "graphic story" seems to have been
pretty popular in the late '60s and early '70s. For instance, in addition to a
partial run of Bill Spicer's Graphic Story Magazine, the Inge
Collection of Comic Art reference Journals has the
following:
quote:
Graphic Story World
Newsletter published quarterly covering comics books, comix,
animated film, and international interests. Features editors from France, Australia,
Finland, Italy, Japan,
Spain, and Sweden in mostly column format.
Expands into a magazine format by issue #5.
Issues: Vol. 1 #1, 2, 4 Vol. 2 #1 - 4
Dates: May 1971 - December 1972
[and]
Wonder World: The World of the Graphic Story
Magazine dedicated to publishing graphic stories focused at
adults. It features comics, articles, commentary, news and advertisements.
Issue: Vol. 3 #2 (November 1973)
So, the term "graphic novel" was derived from "graphic story," which in turn was derived from "graphic art"?
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Domingos
Member posted November 23, 2003 01:32 AM
Member posted November 23, 2003 01:32 AM
What can I add, but say: thanks for a fascinating thread. No
one seems to know shit about this subject though. I'm going to quote you from
now on.
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Domingos
Member posted November 23, 2003 01:35 AM
Member posted November 23, 2003 01:35 AM
The next question is: who coined "graphic story".
He he, it never ends...
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 23, 2003 02:16 AM
Member posted November 23, 2003 02:16 AM
According to Jones & Jacobs, "The Comic Book
Heroes," p. 116, "Richard Kyle... invented the terms 'graphic story'
and 'graphic novel' for works that deserved better than 'comics'." The
time is unspecified, but clearly before 1967, as the next sentence refers to
"Bill Spicer, whose subsequent Graphic Story Magazine
(1967)..."
Discussing
his "Red Tide" (1976), he says:
"The words "Visual Novel" appear on Red Tide's
cover; the term "Graphic Novel" appears inside the book. I'm not even
suggesting I created it, but it was used in the book and in promotional
material before publication."
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 23, 2003 02:32 AM
Member posted November 23, 2003 02:32 AM
And remember that Rodolphe Topffer (add an umlaut there)
called his comics "litterature en estampes" or "histoires
en estampes," which basically means "graphic stories," and
this back in the 1830's.
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Jaz Williams
Member posted November 23, 2003 10:22 AM
Member posted November 23, 2003 10:22 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Andrei Molotiu:
According to Jones & Jacobs, "The Comic Book Heroes," p. 116, "Richard Kyle... invented the terms 'graphic story' and 'graphic novel' for works that deserved better than 'comics'."
According to Jones & Jacobs, "The Comic Book Heroes," p. 116, "Richard Kyle... invented the terms 'graphic story' and 'graphic novel' for works that deserved better than 'comics'."
I
was wondering who to blame for the self-conscious attitude toward the term
"comic book"... I HATE the phrase "graphic novel"!
Having
spent years working in a large bookstore that gets plenty of comics-buying
activity, I've learned how much even the non-comics-enthusiast public has
latched onto the term... Some parent will ask on behalf of their five-year-old
for any YU GI OH or DRAGON BALL Z books, and I tell them there's plenty of
"comic book" versions of such, take them to the section, and the
reply is, "Oh, these aren't comic books, they're graphic novels! I've
heard these aren't appropriate for younger readers--is that true?" Yow!
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PatrickRosenkranz
Member posted November 23, 2003 12:08 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 12:08 PM
Don't forget Beyond Time and Again by George Metzger (1976)
and Comanche Moon by Jaxon, which was begun in comic book form in 1977 and
collected in a paperback edition in in 1979. Only Jaxon says, it's not a novel,
it's non fiction.
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Domingos
Member posted November 23, 2003 12:28 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 12:28 PM
This thread is about the history of the term "graphic
novel", not about what's the first graphic novel.
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JackieEstrada
Member posted November 23, 2003 06:36 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 06:36 PM
Metzger's "Beyond Time and Again" is subtitled
"A Graphic Novel" and was published by Richard Kyle, who has often
claimed to have coined the term.
Jackie
Estrada
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 23, 2003 07:26 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 07:26 PM
Thanks, Domingos, for the positive comments, and thanks,
Andrei, Patrick, and Jackie for the additional information. Might be a good
idea at this point to provide a quick summary of where we're at:
First
Graphic Novel (so labelled):
- Bloodstar (1976) by Richard Corben and Robert E. Howard (see inside front dust-cover of book) and/or
- Red Tide (1976) by James Steranko (see "inside the book"; see also "promotional material" for the book)
- Beyond Time and Again (1976) by George Metzger (see cover [the book is subtitled "a graphic novel"]; published by Richard Kyle, "who has often claimed to have coined the term")
(Turns out 1976 was some kinda big year for "graphic
novels"! It's a wonder nobody has noticed before now. Or maybe somebody
has . . . )
Originator
of the term "graphic novel":
- Richard Kyle (nominated by Jones & Jacobs, "The Comic Book Heroes"; also nominated by Kyle himself, who published George Metzger's Beyond Time and Again, which is subtitled "a graphic novel")
- Someone involved in the production and promotion of Bloodstar and/or Red Tide (this doesn't seem likely; or is it? LOL!)
- Bill Spicer (nominated by Art Spiegelman; no citation available)
- Milt Gross (nominated by whoever wrote this page ; no citation available, but I have written to the owners of the site to request the citation, so watch this topic for breaking news! LOL!)
Originator of the term "graphic story":
- Bill Spicer (nominated by Art Spiegelman (?); see any issue of "Graphic Story Magazine"; doesn't seem likely)
- Rodolphe Topffer ("graphic story" was a translation of "litterature en estampes" or "histoires en estampes"; see next category)
Originator of the term "litterature en estampes" or "histoires en estampes"
- Rodolphe Topffer (add an umlaut there; nominated by Andrei Molotiu; no specific citation available, but Molotiu claims Topffer's usage of the term dates back to the 1830s)
Hope I haven't forgotten anything. I'll probably see the mistakes right after I post the message. Don't it always seem to go . . .
quote:
Posted November 23, 2003
10:22 AM by Jaz Williams
I was wondering who to blame for the self-conscious attitude toward the term "comic book"... I HATE the phrase "graphic novel"!
I was wondering who to blame for the self-conscious attitude toward the term "comic book"... I HATE the phrase "graphic novel"!
Yeah, lots of people feel your pain. Alan Moore has argued that "graphic novel" is nothing more than a marketing term, and it's difficult to disagree. (If I remember correctly, Moore prefers "graphic story.") Trouble is, as you say, lots of people are using "graphic novel," and making claims about who coined the term "graphic novel," and who published the first book labelled "a graphic novel," etc., etc.
quote:
Posted November 23, 2003
12:28 PM by Domingos:
This thread is about the history of the term "graphic novel", not about what's the first graphic novel.
This thread is about the history of the term "graphic novel", not about what's the first graphic novel.
I certainly don't want to discourage people from participating in this little hunt--in fact, the more people who participate, the better chance we have of pinning a few of these things down--but Domingos is right, this thread is not about the definition of "graphic novel" or about what might be the "first" graphic novel. It's about tracing the career of the term "graphic novel."
More
later.
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 23, 2003 08:29 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 08:29 PM
To be more specific: Topffer wrote in his "Essai de
physiognomonie [sic]" of 1845 (my translation):
"One can write stories with chapters, lines, and words:
that is literature, proper. One can write stories with successions of scenes
represented graphically (successions de scenes representees graphiquement):
that is literature in prints (litterature en estampes). One can also do
neither one nor the other, which is sometimes the best thing."
Writing
in 1837 about his book "M. Jabot," Topffer discusses how it is a
mixture of words and images working together, then says: "The whole ensemble forms a kind of novel (roman),
that much more original since it doesn't anymore resemble a novel than anything
else." (Both citations from 1996 Slatkine edition of Topffer's
complete graphic works, first page of introduction, which is otherwise
unpaginated). In the intro, Francois Caradec also claims that Topffer called
them "histoires en estampes," but does not give a specific quote.
BTW,
I should point out that it was David Kunzle who, at the 2003 ICAF, claimed that
"histoire en estampes" can basically be translated as "graphic
novel." That's what I was thinking of in my previous post, but I just
remembered the Kunzle reference today.
In
any case, already in the 1830's, Topffer was calling his works
"novels," said they were "represented graphically," and
called them "stories in prints."
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 23, 2003 08:35 PM
Member posted November 23, 2003 08:35 PM
Oh, also, I found an 1867 biography of Topffer which calls
his graphic works "albums" (in French), maybe the first use of
that term as applied to comics...
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 24, 2003 07:51 AM
Member posted November 24, 2003 07:51 AM
More good info, Andrei! But one bit you posted raises a
couple of questions for me. You wrote:
quote:
BTW, I should point out that it was David
Kunzle who, at the 2003 ICAF, claimed that "histoire en estampes" can
basically be translated as "graphic novel."
Now, if the translation of "histoire en estampes" (Google translation: "history in prints"
) as "graphic
novel" has only recently been suggested (in 2003!), then the English term
couldn't have derived from the French term, could it? To begin to make the
case, wouldn't one have to find at least one example of an English translation
of "histoire en estampes" as "graphic novel" that predates
the appearance of "graphic novel" as an independent term in English?
(So far as I can tell, the earliest verified citations we have for
"graphic novel" are from 1976.)
Just
wondering . . .
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JackieEstrada
Member posted November 24, 2003 09:36 AM
Member posted November 24, 2003 09:36 AM
If I recall correctly, it was in Bill Spicer's "Graphic
Story Magazine" that Richard Kyle wrote about graphic novels. So that
reference to Bill Spicer is actually to Kyle.
Jackie
Estrada
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 24, 2003 10:48 AM
Member posted November 24, 2003 10:48 AM
quote:
If I recall correctly, it was in Bill Spicer's
"Graphic Story Magazine" that Richard Kyle wrote about graphic
novels. So that reference to Bill Spicer is actually to Kyle.
That's a great lead, Jackie. Now it's Google to the rescue. In his column "Master of the Obvious" (Wednesday August 13, 2003, Issue #100), Steven Grant writes:
quote:
Whether or not you accept or dismiss the idea
that Will [Eisner] created the first "graphic novel," REINVENTING
COMICS clearly suggests Will coined the term, which, as far as I know, was
coined in the late '60s by one of Bill Spicer's FANTASY ILLUSTRATED crew
(Richard Kyle, I think) as demonstrated in an interview with Alex Toth from the
Spring 1969 issue of GRAPHIC STORY MAGAZINE:
INTERVIEWER: Someday graphic novels will take up where comic books are leaving off, but what about the artist who has to sit down and drawn them? If someone came to you with a 200 page pictorial novel to illustrate, and if the money was okay, do you think you'd be interested?
TOTH: I'd probably blow my brains out. It could be done, and there are
plenty of guys around who could and would do it. But I'd rather have twenty 10
page stories than one 200 page story... this graphic novel concept frightens
me... If they would reach into new subject areas, maybe graphic novels will
happen as dollar or two dollar softcovers in black & white or color. The
medium deserves a better shake than it's gotten from its practitioners who're
making it go on the way it's been going down...
If Richard Kyle is indeed the "INTERVIEWER," then
he's clearly got the best claim yet to the "Who coined the term 'graphic
novel'?" no-prize.
And
good on ya, Steven "I do my homework" Grant! Maybe we'll all have to
quote you from now on!
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Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:26 AM
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:26 AM
And it looks like Milt Gross is out of the running.
According to a Reference Librarian with the Merril Collection of SF, the Web
page on which the claim that Milt Gross probably coined the term "graphic
novel" appeared was written by a former staff member and seems to have
been misquoted from the source material. The reference to Milt Gross came from The
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls
(New York : St. Martin's Press, 1995, c1993), in the article on GRAPHIC NOVELS,
pp. 515-516. Here's the relevant paragraph:
quote:
Though comic-derived tales - like He Done Her
Wrong: The Great American Novel: And Not a Word in it - No Music, Too (1930) by
Milt Gross (1895-1953) - were not uncommon from an early date, the term
"graphic novel" was coined, possibly by the author himself, to
describe what was itself in fact a collection of linked stories, A Contract with
God (graph. 1978) by Will Eisner (1917- ), but it did not become a widely used
label until the release of a strangely ill matched trio -- Maus (1980-1985 RAW,
graph. 1987) by Art Spiegelman (1948- ), WATCHMEN (1986-7; graph. 1987) by Alan
Moore and Dave Gibbons, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986; graph. 1986)
by Frank Miller - raised the profile of the serious narrative comic book and,
in large part because of the low prestige of the comic-book medium, instigated
a commercial need for a distinguishing term ("Adult Comic" had
already been taken by comics with explicit sexual content).
Of course, we now know that even if the person who wrote the Web page on the Merril Collection site had been faithful to this source material and credited Will Eisner, he or she would have been wrong.
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:38 AM
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:38 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Benjamin D. Brucke:
Now, if the translation of "histoire en estampes" (Google translation: "history in prints") as "graphic novel" has only recently
been suggested (in 2003!), then the English term couldn't have derived from the
French term, could it? To begin to make the case, wouldn't one have to find at
least one example of an English translation of "histoire en estampes"
as "graphic novel" that predates the appearance of "graphic
novel" as an independent term in English? (So far as I can tell, the
earliest verified citations we have for "graphic novel" are from
1976.)
Now, if the translation of "histoire en estampes" (Google translation: "history in prints"
) as "graphic novel" has only recently
been suggested (in 2003!), then the English term couldn't have derived from the
French term, could it? To begin to make the case, wouldn't one have to find at
least one example of an English translation of "histoire en estampes"
as "graphic novel" that predates the appearance of "graphic
novel" as an independent term in English? (So far as I can tell, the
earliest verified citations we have for "graphic novel" are from
1976.)
Just wondering . . .
I didn't say Kunzle in 2003 was the first to make that connection, just that that was the instance I personally remembered. Since some of Topffer's pieces were translated into English in the 19th c., it would be interesting to see what those were referred to as. Nevertheless, there probably isn't any continuity from Topffer to Richard Kyle and 1976. I guess there's a difference between "first instance," period (not that Topffer is that, but he does approach it), "first instance in English," and "first instance in English as part of a continuing tradition that leads in a straight line to the present-day usage of the term."
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Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:55 PM
Member posted November 24, 2003 11:55 PM
from Andrew Arnold's current column at Time.com--a letter
from R.C. Harvey responding to Arnold's
previous column, on the supposed "25th anniversary of the graphic
novel":
quote:
I have no. 909 of the
1,500 copies of the first edition of Eisner's "A Contract with God."
It is a handsome hardback book. No dust jacket. And nowhere on the cover or
title page or, even, in Will's introductory remarks does the term "graphic
novel" appear. Since the publication of this seminal work, the term
"graphic novel" has come into more widespread use than it enjoyed
then in 1978, and in subsequent editions of the book, apparently insinuated
itself onto the cover. But it wasn't there on the first edition; so the first
appearance of "A Contract with God" did not, ipso facto, inaugurate
the use of the term "graphic novel." The term "graphic
novel," as it applies to the "long form comic book," was
originally coined in November 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter circulated
to all members of the Amateur Press Association. The term was subsequently
modified and used by Bill Spicer in his "Graphic Story Magazine" (a
usage Spicer gained Kyle's approval for in advance). The first time a
"long form comic book" was identified as a "graphic novel"
was the 1976 publication of "Beyond Time and Again," by George
Metzger, where the term "graphic novel" appears on the title page and
on the dust jacket flaps. There had been other efforts at "graphic
storytelling" before. Eisner mentions the work of Lynd Ward [creator of
the wordless novel "Gods' Man" in 1929] in his introduction, for
instance. Milt Gross did an entire narrative in pictures with no words:
"He Done Her Wrong" in 1930. Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin produced
"His Name Is? Savage," [a book-length comic,] in 1968. "A
Contract with God" gathered all of these narrative strategies together
between the covers of a single publication ? and set the pace for those who
would follow. Will Eisner has, without question, done more to advance the
medium of comics than just about anyone. But he didn't invent the graphic novel
form; nor did he coin the term (as he would be among the first to acknowledge).
R.C. Harvey
Champaign, IL
R.C. Harvey
Champaign, IL
TIME.comix responds: For the record, Will Eisner confirmed with
TIME.comix that the words "A Graphic Novel" appeared on the cover of
the paperback edition of "A Contract with God," but not the
hardcover, which had no dust jacket. The paperback was published in 1978
simultaneously with the hardcover, says Eisner, with a larger print run. In
fact Eisner acknowledges that the term "graphic novel" had been
coined prior to his book. But, he says, "I had not known at the time that
someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating
the first graphic book. Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have
invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of
comics." TIME.comix' argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the
comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring
to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the
concept of a "graphic novel." But the matter is clearly open to
debate.
IP: Logged
Andrei Molotiu
Member posted November 25, 2003 12:00 AM
Member posted November 25, 2003 12:00 AM
Oh, I see that Benjamin had already linked to this column,
but for some reason missed R.C.'s mention that the term "was originally
coined in November 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter circulated to all
members of the Amateur Press Association."
IP: Logged
Benjamin D. Brucke
Member posted November 25, 2003 05:42 AM
Member posted November 25, 2003 05:42 AM
No, I didn't miss it. I quoted exactly what was there. Arnold obviously received
RC's letter and edited that section of the page. Here's the original post:
quote:
The First What?
A few readers, none of whom wished to be identified, sought issue with the 25th anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Some dissenters pointed out that long-form graphic books such as Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis" pre-date Eisner's work. Another reader took issue with the term's first appearance, citing a Richard Corben book published two years before Eisner's that uses the phrase "graphic novel" on the inside dust jacket. Without doubt both the etymology of the term "graphic novel" and the origins of the form are debatable. Art Spiegelman spoke of first seeing the term in the early 1960s among fanzines. "There was a man named Bill Spicer who did a thing called 'Graphic Story Magazine'," Spiegelman says, "And one of the things being discussed in those books was the possibility of a comic book story that could partake of the qualities of a novel. So the phrase sort of was kicking around." For the record, Eisner admits, "graphic novel" had been coined prior to his book but that, "I had not known at the time that someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating the first graphic book. Citing the silent picture stories of Lynd Ward, Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of comics." My argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the concept of a "graphic novel."
A few readers, none of whom wished to be identified, sought issue with the 25th anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Some dissenters pointed out that long-form graphic books such as Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis" pre-date Eisner's work. Another reader took issue with the term's first appearance, citing a Richard Corben book published two years before Eisner's that uses the phrase "graphic novel" on the inside dust jacket. Without doubt both the etymology of the term "graphic novel" and the origins of the form are debatable. Art Spiegelman spoke of first seeing the term in the early 1960s among fanzines. "There was a man named Bill Spicer who did a thing called 'Graphic Story Magazine'," Spiegelman says, "And one of the things being discussed in those books was the possibility of a comic book story that could partake of the qualities of a novel. So the phrase sort of was kicking around." For the record, Eisner admits, "graphic novel" had been coined prior to his book but that, "I had not known at the time that someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating the first graphic book. Citing the silent picture stories of Lynd Ward, Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of comics." My argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the concept of a "graphic novel."
And here's the new version, with RC replacing the "few readers, none of whom wished to be identified":
quote:
The First What?
There were, predictably, some objections to the anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Here is one such example: I have no. 909 of the 1,500 copies of the first edition of Eisner's "A Contract with God." It is a handsome hardback book. No dust jacket. And nowhere on the cover or title page or, even, in Will's introductory remarks does the term "graphic novel" appear. Since the publication of this seminal work, the term "graphic novel" has come into more widespread use than it enjoyed then in 1978, and in subsequent editions of the book, apparently insinuated itself onto the cover. But it wasn't there on the first edition; so the first appearance of "A Contract with God" did not, ipso facto, inaugurate the use of the term "graphic novel." The term "graphic novel," as it applies to the "long form comic book," was originally coined in November 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter circulated to all members of the Amateur Press Association. The term was subsequently modified and used by Bill Spicer in his "Graphic Story Magazine" (a usage Spicer gained Kyle's approval for in advance). The first time a "long form comic book" was identified as a "graphic novel" was the 1976 publication of "Beyond Time and Again," by George Metzger, where the term "graphic novel" appears on the title page and on the dust jacket flaps. There had been other efforts at "graphic storytelling" before. Eisner mentions the work of Lynd Ward [creator of the wordless novel "Gods' Man" in 1929] in his introduction, for instance. Milt Gross did an entire narrative in pictures with no words: "He Done Her Wrong" in 1930. Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin produced "His Name Is… Savage," [a book-length comic,] in 1968. "A Contract with God" gathered all of these narrative strategies together between the covers of a single publication — and set the pace for those who would follow. Will Eisner has, without question, done more to advance the medium of comics than just about anyone. But he didn't invent the graphic novel form; nor did he coin the term (as he would be among the first to acknowledge).
R.C. Harvey
Champaign, IL
There were, predictably, some objections to the anniversary concept of the article, pegged to the use of the term "A Graphic Novel" on the cover of Will Eisner's "A Contract with God." Here is one such example: I have no. 909 of the 1,500 copies of the first edition of Eisner's "A Contract with God." It is a handsome hardback book. No dust jacket. And nowhere on the cover or title page or, even, in Will's introductory remarks does the term "graphic novel" appear. Since the publication of this seminal work, the term "graphic novel" has come into more widespread use than it enjoyed then in 1978, and in subsequent editions of the book, apparently insinuated itself onto the cover. But it wasn't there on the first edition; so the first appearance of "A Contract with God" did not, ipso facto, inaugurate the use of the term "graphic novel." The term "graphic novel," as it applies to the "long form comic book," was originally coined in November 1964 by Richard Kyle in a newsletter circulated to all members of the Amateur Press Association. The term was subsequently modified and used by Bill Spicer in his "Graphic Story Magazine" (a usage Spicer gained Kyle's approval for in advance). The first time a "long form comic book" was identified as a "graphic novel" was the 1976 publication of "Beyond Time and Again," by George Metzger, where the term "graphic novel" appears on the title page and on the dust jacket flaps. There had been other efforts at "graphic storytelling" before. Eisner mentions the work of Lynd Ward [creator of the wordless novel "Gods' Man" in 1929] in his introduction, for instance. Milt Gross did an entire narrative in pictures with no words: "He Done Her Wrong" in 1930. Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin produced "His Name Is… Savage," [a book-length comic,] in 1968. "A Contract with God" gathered all of these narrative strategies together between the covers of a single publication — and set the pace for those who would follow. Will Eisner has, without question, done more to advance the medium of comics than just about anyone. But he didn't invent the graphic novel form; nor did he coin the term (as he would be among the first to acknowledge).
R.C. Harvey
Champaign, IL
TIME.comix responds: For the record, Will Eisner confirmed with
TIME.comix that the words "A Graphic Novel" appeared on the cover of
the paperback edition of "A Contract with God," but not the
hardcover, which had no dust jacket. The paperback was published in 1978
simultaneously with the hardcover, says Eisner, with a larger print run. In
fact Eisner acknowledges that the term "graphic novel" had been
coined prior to his book. But, he says, "I had not known at the time that
someone had used that term before." Nor does he take credit for creating
the first graphic book. Eisner admits that, "I can't claim to have invented
the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of
comics." TIME.comix' argument is that Eisner's book, published outside the
comic book system and pretty clearly the first comix work deliberately aspiring
to literary status, by having the term on the front cover, crystallized the
concept of a "graphic novel." But the matter is clearly open to
debate.
I'm delighted to have a person of RC's stature weigh in on the issue of who coined the term "graphic novel." Richard Kyle, November 1964, Amateur Press Association newsletter.
I
see that RC also mentions "The first time a 'long form comic book' was
identified as a 'graphic novel' was the 1976 publication of 'Beyond Time and
Again,' by George Metzger, where the term 'graphic novel' appears on the title
page and on the dust jacket flaps." I assume good ol' RC knows about the
other two contenders for that title . . . yeah, I'm sure he does . . .
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