Initial efforts to map the history of comics gave rise to the ongoing debate about the delineation between comics and graphic novels. While varied nomenclature exists throughout the world,  for the purposes of this project, we define the graphic novel as defined by the creators of the GNC: “book-length comics that exceed 64 pages in length, tell one continuous or closely related stories, are aimed primarily at an adult readership, and form one single volume or a limited series (such as a trilogy).”  This definition is analogous to the distinction of graphic novels as a subgenre of comics. Moreover, although a definition always has to be established in order to categorize data, this definition severely narrows what can be included in the corpus. It excludes a wide range of very popular comics and other graphic novels that may have been shorter in length or a book that has a collection of shorter comics. As opposed to strips or short books of comics, the power of the graphic novel’s length is able to encapsulate the full emotional rollercoaster of a character’s experience, though opinions vary on how to reconcile definitions including those of non-fiction natures. Regardless of length, these narratives are able to transcend linear reading by taking advantage of the initial view of figures blending beyond the confines of their boxed lines to form a whole image.