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"Poor Richard's Almanac" by Benjamin Franklin
The first ever example of cartoon publication. -
"The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck" by Rodolphe Toffer
The first Graphic Novel, which appeared in a weekly humour magazine called "Brother Johnathon" -
"Journey of the Gold Diggins by Jeremiah Saddlebags" by Alexander and Donald F. Read
Inspired by "The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck" -
The creation of Pulp Magazine Novels
Pulp Magazine Novels were adventure stories aimed at male readers with topics such as War, Westerns and Science-Fiction. -
"Century" by Phaidon Press
A coffee table book that combines photography and history to attempt to outline the history of the 12th century. -
Book to Movie Adaptations started to be made
In 1902, the book called "A Trip Book to the Moon" by Ms Lauren Lloyd was turned into a film. -
"Passionate Journey" by Frans Masereel.
The longest and best-selling wordless novel by Frans Masereel. -
"God's Plan" by Lynd Ward
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"He's Done Her Wrong" by Milt Gross
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"Tintin in the Land of Soviets" by Herge
A major success that helped album-style graphic novels become popular in other counties. -
"Une Semaine de Bonté" by Milt Gross
A novel composed of Max Ernst’s collage -
"At the Mountains of Madness" by H. P. Lovecraft
A science-fiction horror Novella that details the events of a disastrous expedition to the Antarctic continent in September 1930 and what was found there by a group of explorers lead by Dr. William Dyer, the narrator. -
"Action Comics #1" by DC Comics
In 1937, graphic novels exploded and paved the way for the Golden Age with a vast array of costumed heroes, detectives and cowboys. -
Period: to
The 'Golden Period' of Graphic Novels
The 21st Century was a 'golden period' for Graphic Novels with works that have the complexity and density of novels and unending limitations of artwork, both of which are integral parts of the medium rather than just being illustrative of a plot. -
Long Comic Books started to be described as "Novels"
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Period: to
Walt Disney's Graphic Novels
The most popular Graphic Album series that featured many Disney characters. -
"All Flash" by DC Comic
A long Comic Book described as having novel-length content and a full-length four-chapter novel. -
“Life? or Theatre?” by Charlotte Salomon
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“Citizen 13360” by Mine Okubo
An illustrated, novel length retelling of Japanese internment during World War II. -
"It Rhymes with Lust" by Arnold and Matt Baker
The first popular printed graphic novel and an attempt to crossover comic books into paperback formats. -
“The Case of the Winking Buddha" by Manning Lee Stokes
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Period: to
The Silver Age of Graphic Novels
Graphic Novels took inspiration from Surrealism to illustrate strange worlds where heroes would like.
They also were expressed in Pop Art, which used and appropriated commercial objects for the purpose of Fine Art. -
"The Smurfs" by Peyo
One of the most successful comic album series of all time. -
“Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book” by Harvey Kurtzman
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“Asterix the Gaul” by Goscinny and Udder
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“Strange Tales #130-146" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
The first American Graphic Novel. -
“Beyond Time and Again” by George Metzger.
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“His Name Is... Savage” by Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin
A self-published 40-page comic novel. -
“The Sinister House of Secret Love #2" by DC Comics
A long Comic Book described as a graphic novel of Gothic terror. -
“Blackmark” by Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin
A science fiction/sword and sorcery graphic novel. -
Period: to
The Bronze Age of Graphic Novels
Graphic Novels now used photorealistic depictions of urban landscapes and everyday life instead of Surrealism. Graphic Novels also used cinematic styles with depths of focus and lighting to increase the emotional connection of the readers. -
"Buddha" by Osamu Tezuka
A visually explicit yet humorous and through-provoking manga that interprets the life of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. -
“Jungle Action” by Marvel
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“The First Kingdom” by Jack Katz
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“Bloodstar” by Richard Corben
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“Chandler: Red Tide” by Jim Steranko
A Graphic Novel that has a film-noir style and uses no word balloons or other traditional text conventions. -
"Fiction Illustrated" by Byron Preiss
The digest periodical to be claimed 'America's first Adult Graphic Novel Revue', publishing 4 issues of standalone in-colour comic stories. -
Period: to
Retail changes eliminated local corner shop retailers
The arrival of malls and mass merchandisers eliminated local corner store retailers, meaning that comic publishers sold their graphic novels to the direct market, comic book stores and merchandise stores. However, this meant that comics were created under a work-for-hire clause. -
“The Call of the Stars” by Enki Bilal
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“Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species” by Don McGregor.
The first modern Graphic Novel to be sold in the USA "direct market" comic book shops and to grant full copyright ownership and sales royalties to its creators. -
"The Silver Surfer" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The first original mass-market trade paperback graphic novel. -
“Elfquest” by Wendy and Richard Pini
The first creator- owned series to receive mass market distribution in mainstream bookstores. -
“A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories” by Will Eisner.
In the US, Will Eisner's work made sure that the demand for more sophisticated comics was clear. -
“Future Day” by Gene Day
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“Racket Rumba by Jean-Marc Loro
A Graphic Novel spoof in the noir-detective genre. -
“Blackmark: The Mind Demons” by Gil Kane
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"Alien: The Illustrated Story" by Archie Goodwin.
This Graphic Novel Adaptation was featured in the New York Times, leading to many publishers creating more graphic novels themed around movies and science fiction. -
"The Probability Broach" by L. Neil Smith
A science-fiction Graphic Novel that is set in an alternate history called Gallatin Universe where a libertarian society has formed on the North American continent, styled the North American Confederacy. -
“Maus”by Art Spiegelman
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Period: to
The Dark Age of Graphic Novels
Graphic Novels took inspiration from Noir films from 1940 and 1950 and created gloomy and dubious worlds of strategic lighting, long shadows, smoke, rain and silhouettes. They were also inspired by Silver Age Horror Graphic Novels with senses of psychology, disturbing portraits and unnatural angles to give a perpetual sense of uneasiness. -
“When the Wind Blows” by Raymond Briggs
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“The Death of Captain Marvel” by Marvel
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“Comics and Sequential Art” by Will Eisner
A book, based on Eisner's experience teaching a course on Comics. -
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” by Marv Wolfman and George Perez
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Witches and Stitches by Eric Millikin.
In 1985, Witches and Stitches was the first known web comic to be made. -
Web Comics were starting to be created
In the mid-1980s, comics started to be shared through the Internet from services such as CompuServe and Usenet. This ultimately created freedom and provided new features to creators and readers. -
“The Dark Knight Returns” by Frank Miller.
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“Watchmen" by Alan Moore
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"Batman: The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore
A one-shot Graphic Novel that provides an origin story for the supervillian called Joker. -
The “Sandman” series by Neil Gaiman
The most successful Graphic Novel series in the USA (so far). -
“From Hell” by Alan Moore
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"Doctor Who - Voyager" by Alan McKenzie and Steve Parkhouse
A Graphic Novel about Doctor Who befriending the Wifferdill and squaring up to defeat the evil and dangerous Time-Lord -
"Sailor Moon" by Naoko Takeuchi and Stuart J. Levy
A Japanese shōjo Manga series that follows the adventures of a schoolgirl called Usagi Tsukirto as she transforms into Sailor Moon to search for a magical artifact called the "Legendary Silver Crystal". -
"Cheap Novelties: The Pleasure of Urban Decay" by Ben Katchor
A Graphic Novel about a rumpled, middle-aged man called Julius Knipl wandering the streets and photographing buildings and pondering the human and visual landscape of the vast and shadowy city. -
“Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud
A book that showed that Comics are juxtaposed pictorial images in deliberate sequence intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response. -
"Adult Comics” by Roger Sabin.
The book explained that there has always been comics for adults, who have always gained enjoyment from them regardless of the audience. -
“Ghost World” by Daniel Clowes.
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"Blade of the Immortal" by Hiroaki Samura
A Japanese Manga series set in Japan during the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period and follows a cursed samurai called Manji who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. -
Period: to
The Ageless Age of Graphic Novels.
Advancements in technology have helped the creative industries gain lots of different creative and illustrative techniques and combinations, such as digital painting and adding animations to narrative stories. Also, the ambiguity of different publishers has led to a wide range of art styles as designs now depend on the nature of the Graphic Novel and the creator’s choices instead of uniformed “In-House” art styles. -
“The Depository” by Andrzej Kilmowski.
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"Black Hole” by Charles Burns
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Interactive Graphic Novels started to become widely popular
Interactive Graphic Novels started to become widely popular and beloved with different narratives and elements, considerations of user subjects and interactions, extended and unrepeating words, creative workings, new readings, active participation and intellectual world representations. They also promote learning through the study and characteristics of complex and narratives and the different ways story can be formed produce different reading perspectives. -
"Epileptic" by David Beauchard
An autobiographical Graphic Novel that tells the story of David Beauchard's early childhood and adolescence, focusing on his relationship with his brother and sister. -
“Kingdom Come” by DC Comics
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Manga became a major type of Graphic Novel Book.
In late-1990s, Manga became a major type of Graphic Novel book, being aimed at a specific age or type of reader and having multiple genres. -
"The Phantom” by Lee Falk.
The book was a great example of Graphic Novels being enjoyed and being popular overseas. -
"My New York Diary" by Julie Doucet
A classic Graphic Novel about Julie Doucet moving to New York, but troubles of a jealous boyfriend, insecurities about her talent, her worsening epilepsy and her tendencies to self-medicate with booze and drugs. -
“The Birth Caul” by Alan Moore.
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"20th Century Boys" by Naoki Urasawa
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"Castle Waiting" by Linda Medley
A Graphic Novel series that is set in a world of fairy tales and mythology, as well as features a mix of old-fashioned storytelling and more ironic, modern touches. -
"Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi
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“Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth” by Chris Ware
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"Tetatoid Heights" by Mat Brinkman
A Graphic Novel that realistically depicts the life-cycles of various species found in a cave-riddled terrain, down to the most painstakingly detailed behavioural patterns. -
“Snakes and Ladders” by Alan Moore.
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"Artichoke Tales" by Megan Kelso
A open, childlike art styled , yet sophisticated and adult Graphic Novel about an multigenerational epic story that hops around in time and place to document how war has riven a once-united but inharmonious land. -
Graphic Novels were highly purchased in America
In 2002, America purchased $100 million on original graphic novels. -
“The Secret” by Andrzej Kilmowski
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“Y: The Last Man” by Brain K. Vaughan
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"The Diary of a Teenage Girl" by Phoebe Gloeckner
A diaristic Graphic Novel set in 1976 about how a 15 year old girl called Minnie Goetze loses her virginity to her mother's boyfriend called Monroe Rutherford and soon begins to write obsessively in her diary. -
"Blankets" by Craig Thompson
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"Mother, Come Home" by Paul Hornschemeier
A Graphic Novel about the quietly stunning tale of a father and son struggling to come to terms with the death of the family's mothers. -
"Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea" by Guy Delisle
A black and white Graphic Novel. -
Inanimate Alice by Kate Pullinger
An ongoing digital multimodal fiction novel that relates the experiences of an aspiring game designer called Alice Field and her imaginary digital friend called Brad, journals, social media and virtual reality. -
“Mom’s Cancer” by Brian Fies
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“Lost Girls” by Alan Moore
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“Pride of Baghdad” by Brain K. Vaughan
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"American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang
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"Fun Home: A Family Tragedy" by Alison Bechdel
A Graphic Memoir that chronicles Alison Bechdel's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. -
“Alice in Sunderland” by Brian Talbot
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“Horace Dorian” by Brian Talbot
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Atomic Robo by Brian Clevinger
Atomic Robo is an American Web Comic series that depicts the adventures of an eponymous and self-aware robot built by Nikola Tesla. -
"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
A children's Graphic Novel series filled with hand-written notes and simple drawings about a teenager called Greg Heffley's daily adventures. -
“Hark! A Vagrant” by Kate Beaton
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"Daddy's Girls" by Lisa Scottoline
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"Bottomless Belly Button" by Dash Shaw
A comedy-drama Graphic Novel that follows the dysfunctional adventures of the Loony Family, as well as the divorce of the parents that results in the family coming together at their beach house for a week. -
"Amulet: The Stonekeeper" by Kazu Kilbuishi
A children's Graphic Novel about the adventures of Emily Hayes, who must try to rescue her kidnapped mother with the assistance of her younger brother called Navin, a mysterious amulet and helper robots such as one called Miskit. -
"Creatures of the Night" by Kate Thompson
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“Stitches” by David Small
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"Hyperbole and a Half" by Allie Brosh
A Web Comic that is drawn in Paintbrush and uses an exaggeratedly simple drawing style as an artistic device. -
"Asterios Polyp" by David Mazzucchelli
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"Footnotes in Gaza" by Joe Sacco
A journalistic Graphic Novel about two bloody incidents during the Suez Crisis. -
"Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick
A Graphic Novels of a series of four Graphic Novels that follows a teenager called Nora Grey as she falls in love with a fallen angel called Patch and discovers her own angelic heritage. -
“One Punch Man” by One
A Japanese superhero webcomic about a story of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch but ultimately seeks to find a worthy opponent after growing bored by a lack of challenge in his fight against evil. -
A Drunken Dream and Other Stories by Moto Haglo
A Japanese manga anthology that is a variety of Moto Haglo's short stories from 1970 to 2007. -
"Smile" by Raina Telgemeler
An autobiographical Graphic Novel, that originated as a web comic, that gives an account of Riana Telegemeler's life from sixth grade to high school. -
"Special Exits" by Joyce Farmer
A Graphic Memoir about the decline of Joyce Farmer's parents' health, their relationship with one another and how they cope with the day-to-day emotional fragility of the most taxing time of their lives. -
"High Soft Lisp" by Gilbert Hernandez
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"Legend of the Scarlet" by Saverio Tenuta
A Graphic Novel about a young master-less and amnesiac Samurai called Raido in a medieval Japan where spirits still exerts their magic on the land in a quest for his memories. -
"Habibi" by Craig Thompson
A Graphic Novel that is set in a fictional Islamic fairy tale landscape and depicts the relationship between two escaped child slaves called Dodola and Zam. -
"Middle School" by James Patterson
A realistic Graphic Novel series about a middle schooler called Rafe Khatchadorian and his adventures. -
"The Harappa files" by Sarnath Banerjee
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"Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City" by Guy Delisle
A Graphic Novel that recounts Guy Delisle's trip to Jerusalem, Palestine, the West Bank and Israel to do administrative work with his two children and his long-term partner called Nadège, -
"Sarah's Scribbles" by Sarah Andersen
A Web Comic that focuses on adulthood and the maturity of the Millennial generation. -
"Are You My Mother?" by Alison Bechdel
A Graphic Memoir that serves as a companion piece for Fun Home, focusing on her relationship with her mother. -
"Drama" by Raina Telgemeler
A Graphic Novel which centres on a story of a middle schooler and theatre-lover called Callie, who works in her school's drama production crew and deals with tween hardship such as confusing crushes and budding friendships. -
"Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt" by Chris Hedges
A non-fiction Graphic Novel that chronicles life in poverty in different parts of the United States. -
"Sweet Tooth" by Ian McEwan
A Graphic Novels that deals with the experiences of Serena Frome, the protagonist, during the early 1970's. -
“Check, Please!” by Ngozi Ukazu
A webcomic about a vlogger and figure-turned-ice hockey called Eric “Bitty” Bittle and how he deals with college hockey culture and his identity of being gay. -
"Ant Colony" by Micheal DeForge
A full-length Graphic Novel that follows a clutch of misfit ants that are trying to maintain some semblance of civilisation in the shadow of war. -
"This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki
A Graphic Novel of a coming-of-age story about two pre-teen friends called Rosie and Windy during a summer in a small beach town called Awago. -
"El Deafo" by Cece Bell
A Graphic Novel that is a loose autobiographical account of Cece Bell's childhood and living with her deafness, but with the characters as bunnies. -
"Gast" by Carol Swain
A Graphic Novel about a 11 year old girl called Helen's investigation of the suicide of a rare bird named Emrys Bowen at a rural community in Wales. -
"The Love Bunglers" by Jaime Hernandez
A Graphic Novel that focuses on Maggie, the protagonist, and two men who has she has been involved with in the past called Ray Dominguez and Reno Banks. -
"Sally Heathcote: Suffragette" by Mary M. Talbot
A Graphic Novel about a fictional suffragette. -
"Baby Bjornstrand" by Renée French
A Graphic Novel that tells the tale of Mickey, Marcel and Cyril and their misadventures with an adorable and mysteriously menacing monster. -
"Ms Marvel" by G. Willow Wilson
A Graphic Novel about an ordinary girl from Jersey City called Kamala Khan who suddenly gets empowered with extraordinary powers and discovers the dangers behind them. -
"Honor Girl" by Maggie Thrash
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"March" by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
A black and white autobiographical graphic novel trilogy told through the perspective of civil rights leader and U.S Congressman John Lewis. -
"Drifter" by Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein
A series of graphic novels about someone called Abram Pollux who barely survives a crash landing on a lawless backwater planet called Ouro (where life is cheap) after a frantic rush to survive itself from mankind that spreads itself across the universe, colonizing and strip-mining countless planets. -
"Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
A black and white coming-of-age Graphic Novel story about a teenager called Steve Harmon awaiting trial for a murder and robbery, -
"The Armed Garden" by David B.
A Graphic Novel set in the 15th century that tells the story of a humble Prague blacksmith and his "Adamite" followers and their quest of a bloody quest for a Paradise on Earth. -
Tetris:The Games People Play by Box Brown
A Graphic Novel that tells the true story of Tetris, the world's most popular video game. It also delves deep into the complex history that role games, especially play in art, culture and commerce. -
"Eprc of Sumeria: Emmissary of the Anunnaki" by Hasmik Hovhannisyan
A Graphic Novel that is based on an exclusive interview with the founder of the band and features the true story of the the iconic Sumerian Black Thrash Metal called Melechesh. -
"The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang
A Graphic Novel set in Paris at the dawn of the modern age, where Prince Sebastian's parents are looking for a bride for him. However, Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life of being a fashion icon called Lady Crystallia from everyone.
