The literature of comics

The graphic novel “Go Girl!” is one of many that has struck a chord with women. An all-girl panel will discuss graphic novels at Litquake on Wednesday. (Courtesy photo)

SAN FRANCISCO — The graphic novel has come a long way.

In the last 25 years or so, the artful mode of storytelling has moved beyond the comic book community and into the literary world. With the popularity of Chris Ware’s “Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth” or Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis,” which was recently adapted into an Academy Award-nomiated animated film, it’s hard to overlook the fact that the graphic novel is a force to be reckoned with.

The medium certainly hasn’t been overlooked by Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary fete — which runs Friday through Oct. 11 and includes dozens of programs.

In partnership with Not Your Mother’s Book Club, the 10th annual festival presents the “Kick-Ass All-Girl Graphic Novel Panel,” featuring the likes of Cecil Castelluci (“Janes in Love”), Shaenon Garrity (“Narbonic”), Devin Grayson (“Batman”), LeUyen Pham (“Prince of Persia”) and Trina Robbins (“Go Girl!”) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Books Inc.

“I’m really excited to be a part of this panel, which features nothing but women creators,” says Garrity, freelance editor for VIZ Media and Web comic cartoonista extraordinaire.

“I think it says a lot about how far we’ve come in the industry. The comics industry in America has traditionally been pretty male-dominated, but that’s changed a lot, especially in the last few years. A lot of that has to do with manga becoming more popular — a lot of Japanese comics are written and drawn by women and aimed at female audiences. We have this whole generation of female fans in America interested in comics and interested in creating comics now.”

The tipping point for graphic novels, says Garrity, was around 2002, when publisher TokyoPop switched to doing the majority of its collections in a graphic novel format. Since then, the genre has exploded in both the comic book and prose publishing worlds, which have capitalized on the fact that the audience, many of whom are young girls and women, is growing considerably.

“Graphic novels have really changed the comic industry. Up until graphic novels took off, if you said comics, you thought Spider-Man and Batman. I realize that there are people who love Spider-Man and Batman, but it ain’t literature,” says underground comic book icon and historian Robbins.

Garrity and Robbins both point out that graphic novels have reached out and appealed to women in a way that the traditional, monthly comic book hasn’t before.

“Graphic novels are real — they tell real stories. They aren’t about overly muscled guys with thick necks, punching each other to bloody bits,” Robbins adds. “I’m so delighted when we reach girls because they haven’t had anything. My hope is that we get them fired up; they may not want to [create] graphic novels, but I hope they’ll be interested enough to buy some and give them a chance.”

If you go

Litquake events