Speaking broadly, “comics” and “graphic novels” typically refer to the same materials, though single issue comics tend to be called “comics” (sometimes a longer single issue comic will be called a “graphic novella” ) and bound collections of single issue comics as well as book-length stories (“book length” being a fairly subjective designation) are generally referred to as “graphic novels.” In a number of public libraries, the terms “comics” and “graphic novels” have also been used to distinguish between children’s and teens’ materials respectively.

Manga refers to comics published originally in Japan and translated into English. Manga has a distinctive style that has been copied by American writer and artists, giving rise to what’s known as OEL manga, or Original English Language. Manga books tend to be digest-sized, while American/European-style comics are usually larger (61/2” x 91/2” give or take), though this is not consistent universally. Manga also can be read from left to right or right to left, the latter preserving the art as it was originally published in Japan.