Graphic Novel vs. Regular Novel

V for Vendetta is only the second graphic novel I have ever read (the first being Maus), but I have very quickly become comfortable with the sudden change in writing style. I actually really enjoy how the author(s) uses graphics to depict emotion and detail, rather than just writing it all out for the reader. Anything that a character says is of course written out (along with a highly detailed drawing to go along with it), but all other detail must be taken in by viewing the graphic.

In some ways, I think that reading a graphic novel is more difficult than reading a regular novel, like The Hours. This is because while our eyes may just be reading the words, I think it’s important for the reading to take some time to actually look at what is going on in that frame of the story. Just look at the characters faces, their emotions, what’s going on in the background. If you look carefully enough, you can find all these little details that would normally have been written out for you. Graphic novels are so interesting because they leave it to the reader to find the nitty-gritty details…they aren’t just given to you. I think that to really get the whole idea behind a graphic novel, it takes a lot more time than you would think to actually take in all that a single graphic is showing you.

I think V for Vendetta could have been written as a regular novel, however, the graphics definitely make it more interesting. I am really enjoying this novel, however, if it hadn’t been written as a graphic novel, I’m not sure I would find it as interesting.