1. Origin Stories: The status of graphic novels is gradually rising in the public consciousness. The literary journal McSweeney's recently published some comics, and there was huge publicity for Nicki Greenberg's The Great Gatsby adaptation. When it was asked what determines if a graphic novel is cool, one reply was film adaptations – there is an assumption that real success only comes when a graphic novel is made into a film and is therefore validated. It's also easy because since the film is based on a comic, the storyboards are already done. Sin City is an example of a successful one, as the film kept the comic's aesthetic. When the graphic novel's creators are involved, the film works because the source material is referred to, and is intended to warrant multiple viewings.
2. Comics Saved The World: Leading graphic novellist Shaun Tan said "My background is as a painter. I'm not gonna save anybody with a landscape, so I'm not gonna do it with a picture book or graphic novel, either." He also said that he only ever wrote one book for children. "It was called The Playground, it got remaindered as soon as it came out. It was about undead kids who play on playgrounds at night. Well, no one else is using them!"
When The Age cartoonist Andrew Weldon said that political cartoons only last for a day, longtime graphic novellist Bruce Mutard said, "If you're gonna invest 2-3 years of your life in a great big fat-arse graphic novel, you want it to last more than a day." He also said "You have to have your own world view. You feed aspects of yourself, even contrary aspects, into your various characters. It helps you humanize the characters and it touches other people."
Cartoonist and publisher Bernard Caleo said it was great that hardly anyone reads graphic novels because it means that their authors are free to do whatever they want with them. "They're under the radar, but not subversive, because it sounds like a political intention," said Shaun Tan. Andrew Weldon said he used to revel in shock value early on, like for his book title I'm Sorry Little Man, I Thought You Were A Hand Puppet. "It's just on this side of the line," he said. Bernard pointed out the words at the end of one of Andrew's cartoons, which were "May as well give it a go. Why not? Can't hurt." Andrew replied, "That's sort of like my entire ethos."
The subject of graphic storytelling in schools was touched on. A Year 11 teacher said he got his students to lead a discussion about Art Spiegelman's Maus. Bernard ended the panel by saying "Please thank Jesus Christ, Karl Marx, and Albert Einstein, and I've been your host Adolf Hitler!" because pictures of those same four people had been shown on the projection screen by mistake.
3. That's Not A Graphic Novel: Oslo Davis, who does the Overheard strip in The Sunday Age was in this one, as was 'Chewie' Chan, who did awesome storyboards for the films Superman Returns and Happy Feet. When someone asked if anything they've drawn is too personal to show, Andrew Weldon replied "Yeah, but why are we gonna tell you now?"
4. Publish Or Perish: If you're running an online comic, you have to show that you have a huge archive, and present a complete body of work. New Zealander cartoonist Dylan Horrocks said "There are no 'must's or 'should's when it comes to art. If it works for you, it works." Bernard Caleo asked "What are comics good for? There's so much bloody art in the world, we're drowning in art!"
5. The Future Of The Graphic Novel: There was a lot of joking around in this one because we were meant to imagine it was the year 2050 (kind of funny, since we will all be dead by then) and predict coming trends, as well as poking fun at all the stuff that was popular in 2010. I've been using the term 'graphic novel' as it seems to be the one most people use. 'Comic' has connotations of being funny and for a younger audience, so others prefer to say 'hybrid novel' or 'sequential art'. I prefer 'image dominated stories incorporating text in a style imitating that of ancient Egyptian etchings' myself. Anyway, Erica Wagner, publisher at Allen & Unwin, said that she thinks people reluctant to read graphic novels vs. people who aren't, is like the whole PC vs. Mac thing. Which are you, fanboy?
I'd forgotten I even wrote this. Thanks, 2010 me!
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