Blog 10:The Graphic Novel

The term “Graphic Novel” is not strictly defined by any means but is used to show differences in artistic quality between graphic novels and regular kind of comics. The one thing that separates a graphic novel from a regular comic book is that a graphic novel has a narrative featuring a beginning, middle, and end whereas a comic book in an ongoing series. In a sense it combines both elements of comic book imagery and story book writing to form a different medium than both in general. Making a graphic novel may seem to be simple, but it is actually a very difficult task that requires both patience and an understanding of what you're writing. Over the last two months I made my first ever graphic novel, a 10 page story entitled, “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”.

“Fear and Loathing in Hyrule” tells the story of a warrior named Link. Link lives in Hyrule where the King is called to rescue the Kingdom from Gamelon from the evil wizard Ganondorf. However unbeknownst to him he is being set up to go there by Ganondorf and the King's daughter Princess Zelda who is attempting to take out the King in order to seize the throne of Hyrule for herself and to unify both Gamelon and Hyrule with her lover King Ganondorf. Link is told this by Gameon and the book of prophecies. He ventures off to Gamelon where he rescues the King and defeats Ganondorf. Upon returning to Hyrule they reveal Zelda's plot and she is arrested and sentenced to scrub all the floors in Hyrule.

One of the key elements of Graphic Novels are the characters themselves. In a Graphic Novel the characters need to be 3-dimensional; we need to know why they do what they do and who they are. A well-rounded and 3-D character must have these three dimensions: Physiology, Sociology, and Psychology allowing us to know them. The character of Link is a 3-D character in this aspect. He is a blonde warrior that works for and honors the King but suffers from his inability to win the heart of Princess Zelda.

Another key element is the premise of the story. In order to make a strong story you must include: Characters, Conflict, and Conclusion. The main characters of my Graphic Novel were Link(the main protagonist and hero), The King of Hyrule(a supporting character), Gameon(another hero who aides Link in finding the King), Princess Zelda(the primary antagonist), Ganondorf(the secondary antagonist), Weegee(the King's demon body guard), and the Minion(Ganondorf's servant). The conflict of the story revolves around Princess Zelda's interest in assassinating her father, seizing the throne of Hyrule for herself and unifying Hyrule with Gamelon which would be ruled by King Ganondorf; something that Link is attempting to prevent from happening. In the end Link defeats Weegee and Ganondorf, saves the King and exposes Zelda's scheme ending her reign of terror.

Every Graphic Novel has its own narrative. The first step of this narrative is “Preparation”, which is something that occurs such as someone leaving, a rule is placed on the hero, a rule is broken, or something like that which sparks the story. In the case of “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule” that event is the King of Hyrule deciding to take a leave of absence to battle Ganondorf and his minions in Gamelon. The second step is “Complication”, where something significant occurs that sets the story in place such as a villain attacking, a desire from a member of the family, a hero going out on his quest, or the hero planning action on the villain. For example, in “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”, the King is captured by Ganondorf after Zelda tipped him off of the King's arrival.

The third step is “Transference”, where the hero first comes across something whether it be the hero leaving home, being attacked, receiving help, or being transferred elsewhere. In the case of my story, the hero Link is encountered by the Wizard Genie Prophet Gameon and is informed of Zelda's betrayal and eventual plot. The fourth step is “Struggle”, where the hero has a battle with one of or the main villain and is victorious in this battle. In “Fear and Loathing” this occurs when Link arrives to Gamelon where he decapitates the demon Weegee and rescues the King. It seems like its the end of the story however there is still a bit to go.

This leads us to the fifth step, “Return”, where the hero comes back, is chased/rescued, they encounter a difficult task, or they accomplish one. In “Fear and Loathing”, after saving the King, Link goes into Ganondorf's lair where he and Ganondorf finally have their confrontation. Link defeats Ganondorf with the Book of Prophecies and Curses along with Weegee's cursed, which entraps him into the book forever. After this comes “Recognition”, where either the hero is recognized, the false hero or villain is exposed, or the villain is punished. In “Fear and Loathing in Hyrule”, after defeating Ganondorf, Link returns to Hyrule where he and Gameon reveal to the King that Zelda betrayed him and it is there that the King arrests Zelda and sentences her to scrub all the floors in Hyrule while Link is recognized as a hero.

Perhaps what makes the Graphic Novel so unique as a communication tool is the elements it combines. As stated in the name, it is basically a combination of a classical story and animation to go with it. This allows the reader to see physically what the character is and looks like. If you take away one of the two main elements of the Graphic Novel: story and imagery you get an entirely different view of it. Without the imagery its not a Graphic Novel it becomes a regular text printed story where all scenes, characters, and actions are to be viewed and imagined by the reader as they read the story; and in total opposite without the text itself, it suddenly becomes a story of interpretation where you interpret what's going on based on the images in the story.

Over the last 30 or so years, the Graphic Novel has become a very popular medium and communication tool. Combining the elements of both comic book imagery and classical storytelling, its a unique medium that gets larger and larger each day. All Graphic Novels require the ability to not only tell a story but to give depth to its characters and depth to the story in general. By use of the 6 Narrative steps you get out of it a story that is stunning both visually and on terms of how its written. Graphic Novels is one of the largest growing mediums and will continue to get bigger and better.