Thanks to everyone who responded to my post, International Book Club Theme.  They were all great suggestions.  I decided to go with Amber’s recommendation, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.  The plot about a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution intrigued my fellow book club members, and I welcomed the opportunity for our group to collectively read our first graphic novel selection.

The illustrations of graphic novels are able to tell a story in a unique way that differs from their text novel counterparts.  The pictorial representations, whether dark or comical, are able to create settings and translate personalities of characters in a fresh and direct way through the use of visual images.  Some of my favorite graphic novels include the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, the Fables series about fairy tale characters making their way disguised as humans in New York City, and Watchmen, which will soon be released as a movie.