Talk:Persepolis (comic)

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[edit] Graphic novel?

Can you really call Persepolis a graphic novel? I know that's what it's categorized as in bookstores, but it's really more of a graphic memoir. IMFromKathlene 05:16, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

No, it's not a graphic novel. I'm renaming it to reflect that. Snoutwood 00:55, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, graphic novel, as our article makes clear, is a term which doesn't denote fiction and as such this page shouldn't really have been moved on that basis. The work is typically referred to as a graphic novel. Steve block Talk 20:08, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, I would disagree that the term "graphic novel" doesn't imply fiction, and I wouldn't say that our article (on which I didn't find a source for that claim, but I could have missed it) isn't a good source do corroborate that. Now, I don't have any material apart from my own personal, totally non-RS experience in comics to say that it should be "comic" instead, so I can't really base the move on anything other than that and personal preference. Thus, feel free to move it back if you strongly disagree, but I certainly wouldn't call it that myself. This is an issue that I've seen up a couple of times, and though I really should seriously investigate it I haven't had the time lately to dig into the subject. Snoutwood 00:24, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Time magazine states "Graphic novel" is a vague moniker that gets applied to any extended form of comics, including non-fiction and short story collections. [1]. Paul Gravett states "The term novel can make people expect the sort of format, serious intent, and weighty heft of traditional literature, as if a graphic novel must be the visual equivalent of "an extended, fictional work". True, some individual graphic novels can run to hundreds of pages, while others stretch to thousands across multiple volumes - but many are much shorter, or consist of collections of short stories, and they can come in all shapes, square, oblong, from miniscule to gigantic. Even more importantly, a great many are definitely not fictional at all but belong in the categories of non-fiction - history, biography, reportage, documentary, or educational." Gravett, Paul (2005). Graphic Novels: Stories To Change Your Life, 1st ed., Aurum Press Limited. ISBN 1-84513-068-5.  page 8. Gravett makes usage of the term "graphic-novel biography" in "Hip Hip Herge!" The Independent on Sunday (London); Dec 10, 2006; Paul Gravett; p. 35, 'The Evening Standard describes Pyongyang [2] as graphic novel in its review, "TRAVEL" Evening Standard (London); Dec 12, 2006; SIOBHAN MURPHY; p. 28, The Times note the confusion thus: "Some genre names seem particularly troublesome. We here in Books have a particular fondness for what are sometimes called comic books, sometimes called graphic novels, and never, it seems to us, called anything really satisfactory. How can something be a graphic "novel" if it happens to be a memoir?" 'Isn't any really good book a thriller?' The Times (London); Dec 9, 2006; Erica Wagner; p. 2, Craig Raine writes "Marjane Satrapi's wonderful Persepolis, her account in graphic-novel form" in The Guardian, Nov 25, 2006; p. 6. I can go on, The Times notes the "Iranian storyteller discusses Persepolis, her autobiographical graphic novel" Nov 11, 2006; p. 9, The New York Times describes the work as "Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel" December 19, 2004, and the publisher of the work itself lists it in its graphic novel section[3].

I hope that is enough to convince you to amend the article, I would hope there are enough citations there describing the work as a graphic novel to allow the text to reflect that. I don't have a research background either, I assume that is what RS means. I'd also note the current form of the article is wrong, the work should be described as in the comics form rather than as a comic if we ignore the citations above and not describe it either as a graphic novel or published as a graphic novel. Appreciate your further thoughts on the issue. Steve block Talk 11:11, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Nice research. Even so, I prefer the term "graphic memoir" for Persepolis. While the term "graphic novel" is more common and conveys much of the meaning that I would want it to when describing Persepolis, it does not go far enough.

Also, there is evidence that the term "graphic memoir" is more appropriate. In the June 18, 2006 New York Times Book Review[4]] of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Sean Wilsey uses the term "graphic memoir" in the first sentence and comments later on that "It's odd that this memoir, a work of meticulous personal reportage, is referred to as a 'graphic novel' in the accompanying letter from its publisher — though I was relieved to discover that I'm not the only one in need of a trip to the dictionary."[5]

Dkreisst 08:15, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Good article, but applying the term to this work without a direct quote is original research. Steve block Talk 15:19, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject Afhganistan?

Why? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Knulclunk (talk • contribs) 21:23, 4 February 2007 (UTC). I removed the Afghanistan Project. Feel free to replace it if I made an error. --Knulclunk 00:01, 8 February 2007 (UTC)