Are Graphic Novels Better Suited to telling Non-Fiction?

Edward Nawotka raises a good point in Publishing Perspectives
http://publishingperspectives.com/2010/10/graphic-novels-better-suited-to-telling-non-fiction/

I wouldn’t necessarily say that graphic novels are more suited to non-fiction. One of the most popular traits of sequential art is its ability to depict the fiction and fantasy of a story (a reason why fantasy/superhero and scifi) are the most popular forms of the genre.

Non fiction graphic novels are becoming increasingly popular and I agree that one of the main reasons is their ability to use imagery to sensationalize and create visual impression of real life events. The reason we go to a museum or pick up a historical of autobiographical book is to learn what happened, what it was like and how people felt. This is how graphic novels are successful. Imagery is highly emotive and gives a much better sense of feeling and atmosphere than words ever could. This however is also the reason, I feel, graphic novels can work badly as pieces of non-fiction.

One of the main purposes of historical research is to remain objective. The best graphic novelist’s use their imagery to influence their reader’s perceptions and this is something true historians should avoid. Are we really going to stay unbiased when we are seeing the images of dead bodies instead of a numeric figure of the death toll? To really understand some events we need a lot of facts and figures which can’t be accommodated within a speech bubble.

I think non-fiction graphic novels that have been produced are successful, particularly the autobiographical (Perspolis - Marjane Satrapi and Cuba: My Revolution - Dean Haspiel) which strived to be emotive. They encourage people who would never consider picking up a history book (myself included) to become more learned. Education research has also found that sequential art can help children retain knowledge which is another benefit of using graphic novels for non-fiction. However, if you are proposing to create a novel based on two years research, with a bibliography of facts and figures it’s probably best to stick to writing.