ABSTRACT
Graphic novels have been entangled with stories of crime since their beginnings. In the United States, the genre has been closely linked with stories of heroes and villains, and thus with narratives that deal with the perpetrators, the consequences and the costs of crime. Graphic crime novels allow for a combination of the familiar and the disruptive, of “imitation and transformation”. In addition to adding complexity to typical narrative tropes, graphic crime novels can engage with some of the social functions of the modern crime narrative. The medium has struggled historically with a reputation for providing juvenile, simplistic or lowbrow stories. The reader must act as a detective, decoding images and text in order to uncover an unexpected narrative about heroes as criminals. In terms of graphic design, multiple parallel images cause the reader – perhaps unconsciously – to act as a detective, questioning the generic conventions of the superhero/supervillain narrative.
