Graphic Novels: A Medium On The Rise
Something that is becoming ever more evident, working surrounded by comic fans old and new, is the rise in interest in the graphic novel format. We’ve seen a steady increase in graphic novel popularity over the past year or so, and now they are more popular than ever before.
While individual comic sales have slowed, the sales of complete graphic novels (or trades, if you’re an ubergeek like the rest of us) are up right across the board in comic shops around the world. Why is this? There are a number of reasons.
One is increased interest in the scene from movie fans who have loved stuff like The Dark Knight, Watchmen, Iron Man and so on. Then there are fans that have come to the scene through TV shows such as Heroes, The Ghost Whisperer and the continued Star Trek titles.
Video games have also sent a number of people to the graphic novel shelves thanks to things like the ultra-popular Halo: Uprising title. Then there are those who have come from word of mouth alone, picking up titles such as The Walking Dead, Y The Last Man and Powers due to the simple fact that so many other people love them.
These are good times for the scene. There are some publishers who are concentrating on new graphic novels over individual issues. This, far from being the death knell for the comics industry, just means that things are changing. Graphic novels/trades are excellent value, long lasting, and extremely powerful ways of telling a story.
There is also growing interest in titles outside of the traditional superhero/supernatural genres. With a huge number of humour, romance, thriller and geek titles on the market, interest in graphic novels is widening ever more into the general subconscious.
The quality of graphic storytelling has improved so much in recent years that the world at large is taking note and discovering graphic novels for themselves. Hello, we’ve been waiting for you.
===
Shop for all of your favorites at WB Shop!
MGM Movie merchandise from - the official MGM Store !
Shop for gifts of all your Favorite Marvel Heroes at the official Marvel Shop!