How to Write a Graphic Novel Review

No longer seen as "trash," comic books and graphic novels are gradually being taken as serious literary efforts. One sign of this is the presence of graphic novel reviews on websites such as Blogcritics and Primary Ignition, along with writers' blogs that include reviews of graphic novels. Writing a graphic novel review is in many ways similar to writing a book review, except that you must also address the visual elements of the graphic novel. The following steps cover the issues you need to address when writing a graphic novel review and provide suggestions on how to cover them.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

General Preparation for Reviewing Graphic Novels

1
Read several graphic novels in addition to the one you plan to review. If you're fairly new to graphic novels, this will give you some perspective as to the range of themes they cover, as well as familiarize you with the overall style of the author and artist who worked on a given novel and variations in writing and artistic styles across the genre. If you haven't decided on a graphic novel to review, this will also help you make up your mind.
- Reading other graphic novels also lets you recommend other graphic novels in a similar vein to the one you're reviewing.
This will give you some perspective on how to structure your own review. If you plan to write a review for a particular magazine or website, studying reviews published there will give you concrete examples of how the review should be formatted and what information should be covered. If you plan to write a review for your own blog, reading other reviews will give you ideas on developing a consistent format for the reviews you post.
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3
Learn about the writer and artist who worked on the graphic novel. This will tell you something of the past works of the writer and artist, which can direct you to other works you may want to read for comparison and contrast. It will also provide you with biographical information about the writer or artist, so that you can see the artistic and life influences in his or her work. Prominent writers and artists such as Frank Miller have their own websites, while information about other comics' writers and artists may be available on fan-created websites and blogs or on sites such as Wikipedia, IMDb, or YouTube.
- When reading from any fan-created website or post, be sure to view the material with a critical eye. The quality of the writing is an indication, but also look for an "About" page that tells you about the person or group putting the material together.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Preparing to Review a Specific Graphic Novel

Consider some of the things that attract you to the graphic novel you're holding in your hands: the title (both the actual words and the way they're rendered), the subject matter, the cover art (front and back), any blurbs, the author and artist, and so on. Any of these can serve as a jumping-off point for your review. Skim through the graphic novel to get a sense of the writing and art styles.
Superhero graphic novels may either be original stories or collected from story arcs published over a series of issues of a regular title or miniseries, such as Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" being compiled from a 4-issue miniseries; each issue becomes a chapter title in the book. Graphic novels about real people, such as Reinhard Kleist's "I See a Darkness," about the life of Johnny Cash, is structured around key points of Cash's life and career: his early years, his 1968 concert at Folsom Prison at the height of his career, and concluding his final album for Rick Rubin just after wife June Carter's death.
3
Read through the graphic novel carefully, taking notes as you go. Make notes about the story, the writing, the art, and any literary or artistic devices you see used in telling the story.
- For example, both "The Dark Knight Returns" and "I See a Darkness" make considerable use of shadow in their art. For "The Dark Knight Returns," which is rendered in color, the shadows show both the gritty reality of the graphic novels' version of Gotham City the story is set in and symbolize the twilight of Bruce Wayne's Batman career. In "I See a Darkness," the shadows tie into Johnny Cash's nickname of "The Man in Black" and symbolize the inner demons that plagued him in the early years of his career.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Suggestions on What to Cover in Your Review

1
Include the information the reader needs to identify and find the graphic novel. You need to provide the graphic novel's title, author and artist, and genre. You should also include the publisher and copyright/release date, the format (hardcover or softcover), and, if writing the review to encourage others to buy the graphic novel, its price and ISBN.
- If the graphic novel is a compilation of a story arc presented across several issues of a comic book, you should list the original comics that carried the story. Include the dates of publication if there is the possibility of confusion due to issue renumbering, such as DC Comics 2011 reboot of all its titles, all of which were reset to Issue #1.
- If the characters in the graphic novel are not well-known but appear in other media, such as a webcomic, you should mention the other media they appear in, including web links as appropriate.
This step is most appropriate for original graphic novels or those compiled from limited comic book series instead of from a story arc in a regular comic book. The purpose may be covered or alluded to in a written preface or may also be discussed in an interview of the author/artist, but in many cases you can deduce it by careful reading of the graphic novel itself.
3
Explain what the graphic novel is about. You do this on 2 levels, describing the plot of the story and by covering themes expressed in the work.
- The plot is the basic story. Identify the major characters, describe the setting, and mention the story's major events, but don't give away the ending or any surprises.
- The theme is a specific portion of the subject of the work. For example, in Alan Moore's "Watchmen," one theme would be how superheroes would affect the "real" world and be affected by it if they lived in it. A work may encompass several themes, or deal with several variations of a theme. For example, in "Watchmen," the theme of superheroes as being on the fringe of humanity is represented by Rorschach's partial insanity and Dr. Manhattan's increasingly detached behavior as a result of perceiving all of time at once.
4
Describe the quality of the writing. Discuss the pacing of the story: the amount of time spent in building up the main conflict, the conflict itself, and its resolution (without stating how the conflict is resolved). Note the dialog and whether it makes sense for the character speaking it, and for a juvenile graphic novel, how appropriate it is for the reader. Cover any literary techniques used in the work, such as the use of allegory, metaphor, and symbolism.
- Note that in a graphic novel, the artwork supplements and sometimes replaces the use of words to convey images to the reader's mind.
Describe the general artistic style (realistic, cartoon-like, manga) and how it is used in the story (earth tones for a nature goddess, dead, gnarled trees in a graveyard, red strips on the walls of government offices to represent "red tape," etc.). Also note any unusual placements of panels, such as Alan Moore's choice to use a 3 x 3 panel grid for "Watchmen" instead of the usual 2 x 4 grid, and how they impact the pacing of the story.
6
Give your opinion of the work. In addition to providing a description of the graphic novel's high points and low points, you need to identify what, for you, were the high and low points, with concrete examples to back up your assertions.
- Depending on the audience you're writing for, you can express your opinions in first-person ("I liked 'Gates of Gotham' because�") or in third-person ("The Nightrunner character would have been better served by including the story of how he came to join up with Batman.") Choose whichever style you're most comfortable with, unless the venue you're writing for requires a particular style, and stick with it.
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Tips

Review your writing before submitting it to ensure that it expresses your opinions and the facts supporting them correctly and to catch any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
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Write your review in as simple and direct a manner as you can. Your goal is to present your opinion of the graphic novel to your reader, not to show off how much you know about the subject or about writing.
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