In an article somewhat related to the Agatha Christie comics I blogged about earlier, the International Herald Tribune provides an overview of the changing British graphic novel market, which has experienced a spike in sales:
What is behind this sudden wave of enthusiasm for a genre that has previously been sidelined in Britain?
For Paul Gravett, author of Great British Comics and Britain’s foremost promoter of graphic novels, one of the primary reasons is simply the creation of the “graphic novel” category. “The word comics is laden with so many negative connotations, while the words graphic novel gives it a certain cachet,” he said.
Credit is also given to breakthrough graphic novels like Jimmy Corrigan and Persepolis, cheaper printing in Asia, and a move by British creators to embrace their heritage.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
There are three whole bookcases devoted to comics in my local bookshop: the main one, with the bulk of the stock (and a broad-ass range of titles), a “Recommended Reading” case, and a smaller “Classics/Special Offer” case. They also have comics at the front of the shop, inamongst the Staff Recommendations (complete with handscrawled reviews).
Two years ago, you’d have been lucky to find a copy of PALESTINE in with the bloody Simpsons books (oh, they have those, too. In the Humour section).
What a time to be skint!
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