Graphic Novel vs Comic?

[Zixixibi]

How would y'all differentiate the two?

I'm beginning to think I should be describing my series (Legacy Of A Fighter, if you're interested in providing your opinion on it) as a graphic novel, and not so much as a comic.

[vapidink]

I think a graphic novel is a complete story while a comic can have an ongoing story over several volumes. So books like Maus, The Sandman, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen are graphic novels. Stuff like the ongoing DC or Marvel stories--that have a ton of issues and run through different titles--and strips like Garfield are comics.

[NickRowler]

The first comic to be labeled as a graphic novel was The Contract with God. It was called that because it had more pages than your average DC/Marvel type of comic. Plus, it could also be advertised as being more mature lit, and could be sold beside Literature instead instead with the other comics which tended to be more kid-friendly.

I feel like now a days, graphic novel is mostly used with longer books that look about the size of a novel with text. That is why a lot of manga were labeled as such when imported to English speaking countries.

Added note, comic strips and stuff printed in newspapers are usually called cartoons. You won't really refer to a graphic novel as a cartoon.

[UrMom]

To be honest, I'm not quite sure at this point. I used to think it was more serious or mature than the usual comic, and tended to come in thicker books. Although upon attempting to call my comic a graphic novel I was told it wasn't because graphic novels come in a single volume, which mine is going to be 3 volumes, so it's just a comic. So, take this with a grain of salt, but supppposedly they're single volume comics that tend to be more mature than the usual mainstream stuff. (I've also noticed they're usually human dramas or surrealish existential stories, stuff like that. If there are fantastical bits they have a psychological purpose behind them, at least from what I've read.)

[Lensing]

I don´t know about the definition but the main for me is the target audience and the genre / topic.

Illustrated Jules Verne story - you can be 100% sure that it will be a graphic novel and not a comic

[Nugtown]

Interesting. I didn't really know the difference myself until a little while ago when I made the effort to start looking around. It seems to me like some people distinguish them partially on format and partially presentation. In my own understanding, the difference was that a graphic novel is composed of an ongoing story with a clear beginning and end, while a comic is more like single issues of self contained stories.

I like the idea of distinguishing them this way, personally. But I guess since colloquially comics are just comics no matter what the format it doesn't matter to me that much.

[Kaisei]

Graphic novels are fundamentally novels. They should have the structure of a novel with a fairly clear beginning, climax, and end. It should be evident what the primary conflict of the plot is. Some comics are episodic - parallel to short stories, rather than novels. They may have multiple conflicts of equal weight.

It gets tricky when deciding whether a graphic novel can have multiple volumes. Nowadays novels are published in one volume, but many classic novels were originally published over multiple volumes (ex: Jane Eyre and Emma were each published as three volumes). Other classic novels were published as serial novels (ex: Great Expectations and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas). The internet is bringing back the serialized novel form. Many manga and manhwa are, in my mind, serial graphic novels. However, I've never seen anyone use the term.

[VividRunning]

I think graphic novel is more of a chapter book in drawings. A comic has more creative freedom (ie. it doesn't have to have a structured plot)