The Advantages of a Graphic Novel

Usually when we think of graphic novels the first things that come to mind are light-hearted kids' books without a deep story.  Perhaps this is because there is much less text than in a traditional novel.  However Persepolis is not like this.  The format of a graphic novel works to emphasize and augment the concise words of the story with powerful images.

I think the reason that this novel brings forth so many emotions is that it tells the story in these two separate ways, combining words that tell you the history with pictures that show you what words alone cannot.  A good example of this is the bottom panel of the first page in which all of the little girls are playing games with their veils.  In this frame we, as westerners, are instantly made aware of the fact that kids do the same things in Iran that they do everywhere.  Also, we see one of the Islamic government's policies through the eyes of these children.  Through the graphics, it is clearly evident that the kids do not see the veil as something of religious significance deserving of respect.

Another way the graphics in this novel are used is to emphasize the descriptions of what these people went through.  A great example of this is the frame depicting Marji processing the torture the political prisoners went through.  Because this is shown graphically, the torture seems much more intimate and terrible and the effect of this knowledge on Marji is very clear.  She hears of tortures such as whipping followed by the torturer urinating on the wounds, but the one that seems to stick with her the most is the iron.  She is shocked by the fact that the iron could be used for torture, and from the bottom frame on this page it seems like she will never look at an iron the same way again.  

These are just two examples of how the graphics contribute greatly to the reader's perception of the story.  I think that this format also makes it easier to process the difficult topics presented in the book and is certainly easier to read than a traditional text-based novel.  Do you like reading such a dark plot in this format?  Does the graphic novel format take away from the seriousness of the issues presented.