Canadian Lit Prize Snubs Graphic Novel’s Graphic Artist

By Ron Hogan on November 13, 2008 8:56 AM

When the nominees for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced last month, the children’s literature shortlist included Skim, a graphic novel written by Mariko Tomaki with illustrations by her cousin, Jillian Tamaki. The citation for the “audacious and original” and “heart-breakingly fresh” story, however, only mentioned Mariko’s involvement, which prompted Canadian comics artists Chester Brown and Seth to write an open letter of protest. “As individuals involved in the art form of comics and graphic novels, we are glad to see that a graphic novel has made the short-list for this year’s Governor General’s Literary Awards,” they write. “But we’re troubled by the fact that only one of its co-creators is receiving credit for the creation of the book’s text. We understand that an award-category exists for illustration, but to have nominated Jillian in that category would not have rectified the problem. Indeed, that would have highlighted how our medium is misunderstood.”

We’re guessing that the jury who read Skim saw it as an illustrated novel,” the letter continues. “It’s not; it’s a graphic novel. In illustrated novels, the words carry the burden of telling the story, and the illustrations serve as a form of visual reinforcement. But in graphic novels, the words and pictures both tell the story, and there are often sequences (sometimes whole graphic novels) where the images alone convey the narrative. The text of a graphic novel cannot be separated from its illustrations because the words and the pictures together are the text. Try to imagine evaluating Skim if you couldn’t see the drawings. Jillian’s contribution to the book goes beyond mere illustration: she was as responsible for telling the story as Mariko was.”

Brown and Seth emphasize that they aren’t seeking a new “graphic novel” category for the GGs, and that “it is best to see graphic novels appear in literary awards only when they deserve to compete equally against prose on their literary merit alone.” They just want the judges to recognize the collaborative nature of Skim. Jillian Tamaki’s website includes a six-page excerpt from Skim; judge for yourself how much her artwork brings to the storytelling process.