Letters to the Editor
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Defining Novel
"Comic books" are indeed "graphic novels." Both Watchmen and The Dark Night Returns were published as serialized comic books before being compiled into the one-volume edition most know today.
The argument regarding the length of a comic book is invalid. A novel can be short. A comic book is a short graphic novel. A graphic novella, as it were.
The argument regarding the serialized form of the comic book is invalid. A novel can be serialized. Dickens' novels were serialized. The comic book is a serialized graphic novel.
The difference between the traditional novel and the graphic novel is superficial. Considering the evolution of the novel itself throughout history, particularly in postmodern history, it was inevitable that the graphic novel form become popular and "mainstream."
"A novel is a long piece of synthetic prose based on play with invented characters. These are the only limits. By the term synthetic I have in mind the novelist’s desire to grasp his subject from all sides and in the fullest possible completeness. Ironic essay, novelistic narrative, autobiographical fragment, historic fact, flight of fantasy: the synthetic power of the novel is capable of combining everything into a unified whole like the voices of polyphonic music." --Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel