The Construction of a Graphic Novel

A graphic novel is a book of any genre told through the medium of comic panels. Each picture drawn is literally worth a thousand words of the story. Comic books of the ‘50s were the beginning of this phenomenon, but their popularity really rose after the recession of 2008 as a unique form of storytelling. I have been studying graphic novels, comic theory, and the lives of comic artists since a young age. Over my studies, I have written many short comic strips and an eighteen-page comic book. My art has improved, my understanding of the comic medium has increased, and I have honed a critical eye for panel composition. I have tried to learn everything I can about comics, but there is one part of the medium that eludes me and that is the full writing process. It is one thing to know that the artist starts with a script, moves to small sketches, then rough drawings, then final pages, and it is another to actually tread that path. To come to a truly complete understanding of this medium I am going to go through the process of following a single comic’s story, and its characters to completion. And the crux of this process, the most time consuming and elusive, is that of thumbnailing – drawing panel sketches of each page of the graphic novel. I’ll thumbnail a completed manuscript and actually experience the process of making every intricate and deliberate decision of panel number, dimensions, and layout. I will also complete the rough drawings and final drawings for the first few pages – acting as a teaser and exemplify the rest of the book. By April 17th, I will make a presentation about my process, the narrative, and decisions that went into the graphic novel visual experience