Arts

At this exact moment, graphic novels are enjoying a heyday of popularity, profusion and attention. As the graphic novel medium matures and detaches itself from the “non-serious ” reputation of comics, it is becoming clear that graphic novels are a powerful and effective art form, using the both verbal and the visual to relay their narratives. Portrait, the short graphic novel that is my senior art project, is intended to emphasize the artist’s book character of the graphic novel, and serve as an example of how a graphic novel’s artist’s book characteristics allow communication of the artist’s message effectively. Due to the present explosion of not just new graphic novels, but film adaptations and a wider readership, situating my own work as a graphic novel required looking into the differences between comics and other sequential art genres. Through this exploration, it became clear that graphic novels evolved out of comics and have become actual artists’ books, art objects in and of themselves. The narrative power of the comic form, and the familiarity of readers with it, gives graphic novels accessibility and the possibility o