SOURCE: "Beyond Superman," in The Progressive, Vol. 56, No. 11, November, 1992, p. 12.

[In the following essay, Nore discusses the thematic concerns that distinguish graphic novels from other comics.]

For generations of young readers in North America, comic books have been the ultimate reserve of escapism: Saturday mornings, a trip to the corner store, a soda, and a furtive dawdle with The Flash or Superman.

The superhero comics for kids are still around, of course, but so is a growing subculture of alternative comics aimed primarily at adults. Their sales barely register a blip against the mammoth DC and Marvel Comics, but they are carving a new niche in the comic culture.

Instead of superheroes, the grown-up consumers of comics—at least some of them—prefer narratives by real people. Instead of guileless showdowns between good and evil, they elect for the murky reality of unresolved conflict.

One icon consigned to...