Introduction
Graphic novels, although a relatively new genre of literary production and study, are not particularly “new.” As Tatiana Prororkova and Nimrod Tal (Cultures of War in Graphic Novels, Routledge University Press, 2018) discuss at length, graphic novels have deep historical roots.
The precursors of graphic novels have their roots going back to the late 17th and 18th century with a tradition of graphic story-telling, wordless novels, and illustrated narratives as well as in the long history of Japanese manga (“comic pictures”).
On this page you'll see some notable precursors, arranged by date of publication. This list of titles leads into the mid-21st century with more-recent titles that have have become part of the canon of graphic novels, and have had wide-ranging influence and adaptations. Some of these include Maus, Persepolis, Waltz with Bashir, 7 Miles a Second, and Fun House.
Notable Precursors
Citizen 13660 by Publication Date: 1946First book-length account of experience in US Japanese internment camps during World War II. Utilizes images and line drawings to accompany narratives chronicling the period. Okubo also produced over 2,000 standalone images of camp life while being detained.
Destiny : a novel in pictures by Publication Date: 1930A wordless novel from 1930 that employs lead engraving. Inspired other novelists working through images rather than words, such as Lynd Ward.
Rodolphe Töpffer: the complete comic strips by ISBN: 1578069467Publication Date: 2007-04-30Swiss cartoonist and caricaturist best known for his littérarture en estampes, or “graphic literature” and is considered as a “grandfather of European comics.” One of his best known works, the History of M. Cryptogame, is of particular interest due to its approach to the French colonial conflict in Algeria.- Die Passion eines Menschen : 25 Holzschnitte by Publication Date: 1928Frans Masereel, a Flemish expressionist artist pioneered the wordless novel genre with woodcut artwork in 1918 and 1919 with 25 Images of a Man’s Passion and Passionate Journey. Tells the story of a worker’s revolt against his employer.
The Four Immigrants Manga by ISBN: 1880656337Publication Date: 1998-10-01Originally a serialized publication in a Japanese newspaper, was later published as “one-shot manga” in Japan in 1931 and exhibited at the Golden Gate Institute in 1927. Recently rediscovered in the late 1990s. Tells the story of Kiyama and three of his friends as they lived in San Francisco from 1904-1924. Noted as an important contribution to the graphic narrative expression of Asian-American immigrant experience of the early 20th century.
