What's the Difference Between a Comic and a Graphic Novel?

*Originally published on 6/7/10



Whenever someone says that they are reading a graphic novel, the average joe scoffs and tells the person to just call it what it is, a comic book. The general perception is that "graphic novel" is a term that is used by comic fans to try and make their hobby sound more legitimate.

It's understandable I suppose, at face value the two terms do seem to mean the same thing. However, this is nt the case and the two terms actually do refer to different things. OK, they are both comic related, but there are differences.

A comic book is a 20 page volume that is issued out monthly. It resembles more of a magazine than a book and it costs about 2-4 dollars depending on what you're buying. While you'll occasionally see them in drug and bookstores on spinner racks, generally comic books are primarily sold on the direct market, that is to say that you have to go to a comic book store to pick one up.

A graphic novel, or more as they're more commonly referred to nowadays trade paperbacks, are collections of individual issues that bring a whole story arc into one hardcover or paperback book. You have graphic novels for self contained works like Watchmen or Camelot 3000, but ongoing series such as Spider-Man or Wonder Woman are often collected into trades as well.

Trades usually cost about 10-20 dollars depending on what you're buying and how many issues are in the collection. Some trades are only 3 or 4 issues while other trades have a full 12. Companies are also starting to release gargantuan compendiums for things like The Walking Dead or Brubaker's run on Captain America. These collections (which go for about $50 if you're curious) collect 2 dozen issues (or in the case of Walking Dead, a whopping 48 issues) into one convenient volume.

Both Marvel and DC also issue anthology collections for some of their longer running characters that features early issues of their respective comic. DC's is called Showcase. I know Marvel has one as well, but the name eludes me.

Where as with comic books, you have to go to a comic book store, trade paperbacks are widely available in bookstores and can even be bought online on sites like Amazon.

Which one you prefer to buy is a matter of personal preference, and I already touched on that subject in an earlier article so there's no need to go into it again.

My roommate tried to make the argument that graphic novels should be called comic books because they're books with comics in them. Maybe in some parallel reality, but as it is, comic books refer to the individual issues and the collections are called trades or graphic novels.

Now, if someone holds up this month's issue of Green Lantern and tries to tell you that it's a graphic novel, they are indeed compensating, but by and large the two terms do have different meanings and comic fans refer to them as such.