I am by no means an experienced graphic novel reader- far from (although I do live with someone who most definitely is). I am appreciative of the genre, though, and have noticed some trends in the ones I do read (I think I've read four or so this year, which isn't that many, but more than the past). Here are some of my preferences:
Timely Topics: A lot of the graphic novels I have read tend to deal with relevant topics, like immigration, sexuality, and the role of social media. I appreciate seeing things expressed in a different perspective and usually walk away from the experience feeling like I have a better grasp on the topic, thanks to what I've read.
History: Interestingly, I don't really care for historical fiction, but I have definitely appreciated graphic novels like Maus and Persepolis.
Coming-of-Age Stories: I'm a sucker for this genre in any medium, but I've read a few graphic novels that focus on young adults finding their way (some of which overlap with the two above areas).
Repeat authors: I have a very limited scope of what is exactly out there in terms of this sort of literature, so I have found myself reading multiple works by authors, like Allison Bechdel and Craig Thompson.
Good Reviews/Award Winners: Because, like I just said, I don't have the same awareness for graphic novels as I do contemporary literary fiction, I have definitely taken advice from reviews.
A lack of superheroes: I'm actually a little confused about the difference between comics and graphic novels, but, nonetheless, I'm not into reading about flying crime-fighters.
And a few things I don't care about:
Illustrations: While beautifully illustrated texts are always nice, I really don't mind simplistic drawings, either. I think part of this is because I am still sort of "learning" to incorporate "reading" the drawings as I read.
Length: These babies fly by so fast, it just doesn't really matter if they're several hundred pages.
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