ALAN MOORE hates the term Graphic Novel

Alan Moore again hurts the fragile feelings of comics fans by stating that the pretentious term "graphic novel" is just a façade from which fanboys can continue reading superhero comics while now claiming it's no different than great literature solely because of format.

[GodLovesComics]

I LOVE the engagement on this video but it's really weird to have spent months doing a heavily researched 15-minute piece on Frank Frazetta that has about 20 Likes and 3 Comments; and meanwhile I upload an 86-second answer by Alan Moore and it's at 73 Likes (several Dislikes as well) and more Comments than I ever get otherwise. I will just say that there's a whole Playlist on Moore's work and interviews if you're interested...and also please SUBSCRIBE if you like comics OR graphic novels ;)

[drdestiny]

I will now refer to every comic omnibus or compendium as a "Big Expensive Comic"

[will_da_man_]

"Twelve issues of She-Hulk, stapled together" lol 😭

[Pencilman]

When you see anything Moore says, you have to consider that he spent decades seeing the worst of the comics industry and he’s jaded. When he says he hates the term graphic novel, you can take it one of two ways: you can see him attacking people who read juvenile comics, or you can see him saying that we don’t need to justify reading comics or give them a fancy name just because we’re adults. I think he really means the latter: publishers took a medium that he loves and has tried to elevate and they used his work to make it all seem more serious than it is with a new marketing term and that bothers him. Watchmen was a comic book, now it’s a graphic novel. Comic books are for kids. Graphic novels are for adults. That’s what bothers him, the marketing around it. He loves comics and I don’t think he thinks adults who read them are dumb but he doesn’t think you should put snooty grown-up terms on it either.

[theycallmerisky]

Hes just iterating the fact that the term "graphic novel" was created because grown ass men felt self conscious about their comic book collections which are perceived as childish. So instead of calling them comics they use the term graphic novels to make them seem more mature.

[Saidwaitaminutechester]

I’m honestly fine with whatever banner bookstores want to hang above the comic section as long as people are buying them. I’m reminded of Craig Thompson’s ‘Blankets’ where he specifically added “An Illustrated Novel” under the title, as if the word “Graphic” was hurting the reputation of the art form. Moore’s “BIg Expensive Comic” label would’ve helped get the point across better. (Blankets is also very good, no disrespect)

[Johnnysmithy]

It’s hard to find something that Alan Moore doesn’t hate

[RarebitFiends]

He's right though. There is a structural difference in the storytelling of monthly issues, even decompressed ones, vs the narrative beats and structure of a longer form work. Calling collections graphic novels is like calling a dvd of a television show a movie because it has 3 hours of content on one disc.

[officegossip]

he's spitting facts as always. A graphic novel should be a concise narrative work with a beginning, middle and end.

Few things amuse me more than the fact Alan Moore essentially despises superhero comics, but probably has done more than anyone who ever lived to gentrify the genre.

[Opipop]

It’s a marketing issue and we are mixing markets here. Some publishers have misused the term to make a buck by repackaging old comics in book form, true. But there are many actual graphic novels from Maus to Persepolis, from Dan Clowes’ books to Logicomix. The term Graphic Novel has a noble origin, it first appears in English coined by Will Eisner’s ‘A Contract with God’. In French it was first described in the 19th century. The ‘comics have grown up’ scene in English has neglected the children’s market leading to confusion over what to call these things and who should be reading them. Is it so hard to just develop illustrated books for different age groups and interests? Grow the scene for goodness sake. France and Italy seem to manage.

[MrReset]

The issue here is not the term Graphic Novel, but how it is inappropriately used for the Omnibuses. When you put together multiple issues of a monthly or weekly publication you call that an Omnibus or a Collection, when you write a longer form story with beginning, middle and end and have an artist draw it, then that is what you call a Graphic Novel. Some novel get also adapted in a comic form and those are also Graphic Novels.

[tc]

I mean…it’s the most accurate description. I immediately know and understand what it is and it makes it easy to find more in that specific format

[Tortss]

Alan Moore making fun of Redditors will never not be funny

[johnmanole]

"Oi boi! Have yo' go' a loicens for this video?"

[superby]

I agree with Moore. The term "Graphic Novel" is similar to how people throw around "Sports Entertainment" when they refer to watching professional wrestling. It's terms used to make yourself less ashamed of liking what you like. Enjoy what you like!

There are actual graphic novels out there but now the term is used for either comics as a whole or trade paperbacks that collect issues. I blame Barnes and Noble for that in a way. The late 90's to early 2000's had them take tpbs out of the humor section (which was for the best) and gave them their own section, but to put a little prestige on them they labeled the section "Graphic Novels" and now people associate that term with comics as a whole.

[lesweizman]

funny, because one of alan's heroes, will eisner, was the one who created the graphic novel, with....a contract from god

[ignacius]

I love Alan's work. Just for once, I'd like to hear what the man enjoys.

[caldale]

People like Alan are so rare these days, not that they were ever common. Every Artistic medium is fulled with lots of rubbish, some mediocre stuff, and some above average formulaic stuff that sells like hotcakes to people who only care for cheap entertainment, and then you have that tiny, tiny percentage who are less interested in being famous, or "being a comic book illustrator" and simply NEED to develop and push the medium as far as they can do it, the sort of people who genuinely adore the medium itself and only care about nurturing its best qualities and raising the bar, and Alan is one of those few.

[PartlySmith]

"I agree with what you said, but you said it in the most annoying way possible" moment for me