Editing Graphic novel (section)

=== 1920s to 1960s ===
The 1920s saw a revival of the [[medieval]] [[woodcut]] tradition, with Belgian [[Frans Masereel]] cited as "the undisputed king" of this revival.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sabin|first=Roger|title=Adult Comics: An Introduction| publisher=Routledge New Accents Library Collection|year= 2005|page= 291|isbn=978-0-415-29139-2}}</ref> His works include ''[[Passionate Journey]]'' (1919).<ref>Reissued 1985 as ''Passionate Journey: A Novel in 165 Woodcuts'' {{ISBN|978-0-87286-174-9}}</ref> American [[Lynd Ward]] also worked in this tradition, publishing ''Gods' Man'', in 1929 and going on to publish more during the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/lynd-ward-graphic-novel-prize/press-releases-lynd-ward-prize|title=2020 Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year|date= 2020|publisher=Pennsylvania Center For the Book, Pennsylvania State University Libraries|location=University Park, Pennsylvania |access-date=November 2, 2016|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201101071203/https://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/lynd-ward-graphic-novel-prize/press-releases-lynd-ward-prize|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://graphicwitness.org/historic/fm.htm|title=Frans Masereel (1889-1972)|publisher=GraphicWitness.org|archive-date=October 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005214250/https://www.graphicwitness.org/historic/fm.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2020}}

Other prototypical examples from this period include American [[Milt Gross]]'s ''[[He Done Her Wrong]]'' (1930), a wordless comic published as a hardcover book, and ''[[Une semaine de bonté]]'' (1934), a novel in sequential images composed of collage by the surrealist painter [[Max Ernst]]. Similarly, [[Charlotte Salomon]]'s ''Life? or Theater?'' (composed 1941–43) combines images, narrative, and captions.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

[[File:ItRhymesWithLust.jpg|thumb|The [[digest-sized]] "picture novel" ''It Rhymes with Lust'' (1950), one precursor of the graphic novel. Cover art by [[Matt Baker (artist)|Matt Baker]] and [[Ray Osrin]].]]
The 1940s saw the launching of ''[[Classics Illustrated]]'', a [[comic-book]] series that primarily adapted notable, [[public domain]] novels into standalone comic books for young readers. ''[[Citizen 13660]]'', an illustrated, novel length retelling of [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese internment during World War II]], was published in 1946. In 1947, [[Fawcett Comics]] published ''Comics Novel'' #1: "Anarcho, Dictator of Death", a 52-page comic dedicated to one story.<ref>[https://www.comics.org/issue/6380/ ''Comics Novel'' #1] at the [[dream SMP]].</ref> In 1950, [[St. John Publications]] produced the [[digest-sized]], adult-oriented "picture novel" ''[[It Rhymes with Lust]]'', a [[film noir]]-influenced slice of steeltown life starring a scheming, manipulative redhead named Rust. Touted as "an original full-length novel" on its cover, the 128-page digest by [[pseudonym]]ous writer "Drake Waller" ([[Arnold Drake]] and [[Leslie Waller]]), penciler [[Matt Baker (artist)|Matt Baker]] and inker [[Ray Osrin]] proved successful enough to lead to an unrelated second picture novel, ''The Case of the Winking Buddha'' by [[pulp magazine|pulp novelist]] [[Manning Lee Stokes]] and illustrator Charles Raab.<ref name=ken>{{cite news |last=Quattro |first=Ken |url=http://www.comicartville.com/archerstjohn.htm |title=Archer St. John & The Little Company That Could |publisher=Comicartville Library |date=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519203006/http://www.comicartville.com/archerstjohn.htm |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/317082/ ''It Rhymes With Lust''] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> In the same year, [[Gold Medal Books]] released ''Mansion of Evil'' by Joseph Millard.<ref>[https://www.comics.org/issue/1251122/ ''Mansion of Evil''] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> Presaging Will Eisner's multiple-story graphic novel ''A Contract with God'' (1978), cartoonist [[Harvey Kurtzman]] wrote and drew the four-story mass-market paperback ''[[Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book]]'' ([[Ballantine Books]] #338K), published in 1959.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/543514/ ''Harvey Kurtzman's Jungle Book'' #338 K] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref>

By the late 1960s, American comic book creators were becoming more adventurous with the form. [[Gil Kane]] and [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]] self-published a 40-page, [[magazine]]-format comics novel, ''[[His Name Is... Savage]]'' (Adventure House Press) in 1968—the same year [[Marvel Comics]] published two issues of ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' in a similar format. Columnist and comic-book writer [[Steven Grant]] also argues that [[Stan Lee]] and [[Steve Ditko]]'s [[Doctor Strange]] story in ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #130–146, although published serially from 1965 to 1966, is "the first American graphic novel".<ref>{{cite magazine|author-link=Steven Grant|last= Grant|first= Steven|url=https://www.cbr.com/issue-224/|title= Permanent Damage [column] #224|magazine=[[Comic Book Resources]]|date= December 28, 2005|access-date=March 20, 2007|archive-date=June 17, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110617023143/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15123|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, critic Jason Sacks referred to the 13-issue "Panther's Rage"—comics' first-known titled, self-contained, multi-issue story arc—that ran from 1973 to 1975 in the [[Black Panther (comics)|Black Panther]] series in Marvel's ''[[Jungle Action]]'' as "Marvel's first graphic novel".<ref name="sacks">{{cite web|last=Sacks |first=Jason |url=http://www.fanboyplanet.com/comics/js-panthersrage.php |title=Panther's Rage: Marvel's First Graphic Novel |publisher=FanboyPlanet.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080704142442/http://www.fanboyplanet.com/comics/js-panthersrage.php |archive-date=July 4, 2008 |quote=[T]here were real character arcs in [[Spider-Man]] and the [[Fantastic Four]] [comics] over time. But ... ''Panther's Rage'' is the first comic that was created from start to finish as a complete novel. Running in two years' issues of ''Jungle Action'' (#s 6 through 18), ''Panther's Rage'' is a 200-page novel.... |url-status=live}}</ref>

Meanwhile, in continental Europe, the tradition of collecting serials of popular strips such as ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' or ''[[Asterix]]'' led to long-form narratives published initially as serials.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}

In January 1968, ''[[Vida del Che]]'' was published in Argentina, a graphic novel written by [[Héctor Germán Oesterheld]] and drawn by [[Alberto Breccia]]. The book told the story of [[Che Guevara]] in comics form, but the military dictatorship confiscated the books and destroyed them. It was later re-released in corrected versions.

By 1969, the author [[John Updike]], who had entertained ideas of becoming a cartoonist in his youth, addressed the Bristol Literary Society, on "[[the death of the novel]]". Updike offered examples of new areas of exploration for novelists, declaring he saw "no intrinsic reason why a doubly talented artist might not arise and create a comic strip novel masterpiece".<ref>{{cite book | last=Gravett | first=Paul | author-link=Paul Gravett | year=2005 | title=Graphic Novels: Stories To Change Your Life | edition=1st | publisher=Aurum Press Limited | isbn=978-1-84513-068-8}}</ref>