Watchmen

[MartyFunkhouser]

I disagree. A graphic novel is a complex story that has an end. A comic book is a story that can be complex or not, but takes a long time to tell, and is often open ended. The Sandman is a graphic novel. Superman is a comic book. The Walking Dead is a comic book that they bind together in graphic-novel form.

I disagree slightly. I really think a graphic novel is a short defined series, complex or not. A comic is an ongoing series.

Sandman is a comic book. It is 10 full volumes in collection form. It was 7 years in publication. If we are defining Sandman as a graphic novel, we could do the same for something like Fables.

Maus, Ghost World, Persepolis, IMO are examples of graphic novels.

[wuapinmon]

I disagree slightly. I really think a graphic novel is a short defined series, complex or not. A comic is an ongoing series.

Sandman is a comic book. It is 10 full volumes in collection form. It was 7 years in publication. If we are defining Sandman as a graphic novel, we could do the same for something like Fables.

Maus, Ghost World, Persepolis, IMO are examples of graphic novels.

The line is blurry, but I agree with you that there is a difference. Watchmen was published as a comic, but it regularly makes lists of great novels (graphic or otherwise). Persepolis and Maus, I concur with you 100%.

Sandman was written knowing where it was going, how long it would take to get it there, and that it would most definitely end when it finished (No spoilers here). I see the contention that it came out in issues, but, in my mind, the purpose was that of a graphic novel, not that DC gave him carte blanche to start something new that someone else would run after he finished his run.

Regardless of where we stand, I think it's simplistic to summarily judge them the same thing, as was done herein a few years ago. Playing baseball with your friends, on an organized team, on your Wii, or on the back of a dart board are all competitions, yes, but they differ greatly in execution and substance.

[Commando]

Reminds me of this Jemaine Clement movie I just saw: 'People Places Things' on Netflix- there's a discussion on whether graphic novels have literary value or if it's a fancy name for comic books.