Graphic Novels: Literature without Text?

This article discusses the literary qualities of the graphic novel form. The author states that most graphic novels appear to have a literary subtext while others present themselves as the visual development of a literary text that is completely reproduced within the graphic novel. The article examines how in France there are specialized graphic novel series that adapt poetry and novels. The author argues that the label of "literary" has been extended beyond the obvious cases of adaptation, illustration, and collaboration and that it is now applied to graphic novels with no clear literary subtext. The author believes that the genre itself is a new form of literature.