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5 - “Great” American Graphic Novels

Canon Formation and Literary Value

from Part I - History and Genre

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2024

By
Daniel Stein  and
Astrid Böger
Edited by
Jan Baetens ,
Hugo Frey  and
Fabrice Leroy
Jan Baetens
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Hugo Frey
Affiliation:
University of Chichester
Fabrice Leroy
Affiliation:
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
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Summary

This chapter addresses the graphic novel as a new form of the “Great American Novel” (GAN). This possibility is seen as the result of two interacting processes: canon formation (Which are the graphic novels that can gain inclusion into the mainstream canon?), and literary validation (Can graphic novels be judged with the same criteria as literary novels?). The chapter discusses the critical debates on the recognition of comics as a form of literature and the role of academia and other institutions in the making of a graphic novel canon. It studies the progressive literarification of comics and graphic novels, before focusing on the notion of the GAN, a label that refers to works picturing the ordinary emotions and manners of American existence (J. W. DeForrest), preferably with a high degree of realism. The chapter critically discusses this notion and concludes with a close reading of four graphic novels that constitute good candidates for the title of GAN: Ghost World, Fun Home, American Born Chinese, and Asterios Polyp.

Keywords

canonvalueminoritiesdiversityliteraturemultiverseDaniel ClowesAlison BechdelGene Luen YangDavid Mazzucchelli
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to the American Graphic Novel , pp. 89 - 105
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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