Graphic Novels vs. Novel Novels

After Reading Persepolis I have gained a better appreciation for graphic novels. Although I was not a huge fan of the story line, or even the main character for that matter, I cannot deny that I was intrigued by the graphic novel style of literature. Picking up on the subtle clues left in the drawings that have a 'deeper meaning' became like a game, and made the book more enjoyable. Noting the author's clever use of shading or perspective to represent their main ideas was fascinating to observe. Although I had previously read Mous, Freshman year, it was not until Persepolis that my appreciation for this unique style developed. While reading Mous, I would have to wait until the next day when Mr. V would point out the subtle messages and explain their meaning. Although this made me anticipate English class every day, it made actually reading the book a bit anti-climatic. Now, as I read Persepolis, I was able to pick up on these details myself, thus giving me a better understanding of the protagonist's personal feelings toward the plot. One example is found on page 52, when Laly tells Marjane her father is a hero. In every other panel the two girls are the same height, but after saying this, Laly suddenly becomes twice as big as Marjane. This is done to illustrate how small Marjane felt next to Laly because her father was not a war hero and had never been to prison. Details such as these have given me more respect for the artistic style of graphic novels. I have always preferred literary novels,as I would rather picture the story in my head then have it already depicted. But, after reading Persepolis, my interest in graphic novels has grown and I plan to read many more.