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Graphic Novels and Comics: A New Step for Saudi Creativity to Connect with Readers

Graphic Novels and Comics: A New Step for Saudi Creativity to Connect with Readers

Saudi short story and novel creativity is recently witnessing a new shift in the context of communicating with various segments of readers from children to adults. Publishing houses are printing various types of narrative creativity in bright editions, and we see the effect of this especially in book fairs. There is significant care for the visual dimension of these works, their designs, and their artistic covers, as these covers constitute visual texts parallel to the content and themes of the books. The Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission of the Saudi Ministry of Culture has moved toward issuing a number of graphic novels where scenes are prepared in drawn form, and narrative and dialogue are managed visually according to the content, which the illustrator inspires and depicts, especially in character dialogues. Graphic novels are printed in large color formats to accommodate the narrative parts and accompanying drawings. While this method has existed in world literature for a long time, especially in children's stories, these graphic novels are directed at all reader segments, where the accompanying drawings themselves become stories through facial expressions and caricatured visions of characters. Among the works converted into graphic novels are the novel by the late Dr. Ghazi Al-,saibi titled "The Genie," originally published in 2006; stories by Odai Jaser Al-Harbash titled "The Tale of the Boy Who Saw Sleep," first published in 2008; and the novel "Al-Wasmiyah" by the late writer Abdulaziz Mashri, his debut novel first published in 1982. These illustrated works and others enhance the concept of comprehensive literature that pairs narrative with drawing and visual art, adding a scenic and visual character to written literary works.

Graphic Novels and Comics: A New Step for Saudi Creativity to Connect with Readers
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