Definitions

Isn't a comic book the same thing as a graphic novel? No, not quite. A graphic novel while still has images and text within a panel like a comic books, actually tells a story just like a regular work of fiction. It presents a narrative that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. However, graphic novels can be published in multiple volumes. Yet, they are considered to be a single monograph. Examples include American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second Books) and To Dance: A Memoir by Siena Cherson Siegel (Atheneum Books).

Usually you will see comic books in a library or bookstore as a compilation of comics put into bound matter, whether it is a hard back or paperback. These bound renditions are actually a collection of serials, or periodicals which are what comics are. They come out on a regularly scheduled publication date. Or take a look at your daily newspaper. Often times, the cartoonist will then collect a year's worth of comics then bind that into a book. Examples of bound comic book compilations include The Complete Peanuts, Little Lulu, Calvin and Hobbes, and the Garfield books.