Editing Graphic novel (section)

== Definition ==
The term is not strictly defined, though [[Merriam-Webster]]'s dictionary definition is "a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and published as a [[book]]".<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/graphic%20novel |title=graphic novel|dictionary=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref> Collections of [[comic books]] that do not form a continuous story, [[anthology|anthologies]] or collections of loosely related pieces, and even [[non-fiction]] are stocked by [[library|libraries]] and [[bookstores]] as graphic novels (similar to the manner in which dramatic stories are included in "comic" books).{{Citation needed|date = November 2015}} The term is also sometimes used to distinguish between works created as standalone stories, in contrast to collections or compilations of a [[story arc]] from a comic book series published in book form.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gertler |first=Nat |title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel |author2=Steve Lieber |publisher=[[Alpha Books]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59257-233-5 |author-link=Nat Gertler |author2-link=Steve Lieber}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Arie |url=https://archive.org/details/mastersofcomicbo0000kapl |title=Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed! |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55652-633-6 |author-link=Arie Kaplan |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Murray |first=Christopher |title=graphic novel {{!}} literature |language=en |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/graphic-novel |access-date=June 22, 2017}}</ref>

In continental Europe, both original book-length stories such as ''[[The Ballad of the Salty Sea]]'' (1967) by [[Hugo Pratt]] or {{lang|it|La rivolta dei racchi}} (1967) by [[Guido Buzzelli]],{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}<ref>A complete edition was published in 1970 before being serialized in the French magazine ''[[Charlie Mensuel]]'', as per {{cite web|year=2004 |title=Dino Buzzati 1965–1975 |format=Italian website |work=Associazione Guido Buzzelli |url=http://www.chez.com/buzzelli/1965-1975.html |access-date=June 21, 2006}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110708143214/http://buzzelli.chez.com/1965-1975.html WebCitation archive]); {{cite web|author=Domingos Isabelinho |title=The Ghost of a Character: The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James |work=Indy Magazine|date=Summer 2004|url= http://www.indyworld.com/indy/summer_2004/isabelinho_cage/ |access-date=April 6, 2006 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5s3uH40uL?url=http://www.indyworld.com/indy/summer_2004/isabelinho_cage/ |archive-date=August 18, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> and collections of [[comics]] have been commonly published in hardcover volumes, often called ''[[comic album|albums]]'', since the end of the 19th century (including such later [[Franco-Belgian comics]] series as ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' in the 1930s).