Why graphic novels? The illustrations and sound effects can add a different layer to a novel. One of the questions that came up on the course, which took place online at the City Lit, was “What can the illustrations add to the experience?”. Someone answered that the illustrations in the book we were looking at conveyed the idea of silences more than a narrative text alone ever could. The word that came to my mind was “cinematic”.

There were many such insights and discussions, including one about the “secondary victims” of crime — a term I hadn’t come across before. The tutor, Peter Cherry, is a university lecturer so you’d expect him to provide the class with some challenging questions to grapple with, and he did.

The course also forced me to read Maus, which has been on my bookshelf for years, Tintin in Tibet, Fun Home, and Sabrina. (Those are all Amazon affiliate links, by the way.)

On the whole the course was excellent, with great discussions and a lovely friendly atmosphere. However, I have a couple of suggestions.

Firstly, I found the 90 minute sessions too short. It would have been nice to have had more time in breakout rooms to discuss some points in more detail.

Secondly, there weren’t enough of them. Four sessions, covering four books, is just enough to whet your appetite, and then it’s all over. Hopefully, a follow-on course will be put on, with longer sessions or, at the very least, a greater number of them.

Here is my “graphic novel summary” of the above: