Did Osamu Tezuka invent the graphic novel?

[Angelcake the Fox]

I was recently going through the bookstore which I work at, and I was browsing our comics/graphic novels section. While there, I came upon the omnibus edition of Will Eisner's famous Contract with God trilogy.

However, I was troubled by a statement in the inside cover, which stated that Will Eisner invented the graphic novel.

Now, there have been many different names that have come about on who exactly invented the graphic novel, from Will Eisner to Jack Kirby.

However, they're all wrong, because they fail to recognize any work in comics that happened prior to this.

I'm talking about a particular manga work by Osamu Tezuka called Lost World. In the linear notes, Tezuka stated that "this is neither a comic nor a novel". He also talked of how the work was structured as a concrete, albeit crude,novel-like work.

So, I want to ask all of you, did Osamu Tezuka invent the graphic novel? Or was it someone else?

[Ben]

Not to knock Eisner, who was a miraculous artist, but he didn't invent the graphic novel. I can't confirm or deny if it was Osamu Tezuka; I don't know enough about his work (yet).

[Fliege]

I don't think either of them invented the graphic novel. I think that there were manga in japan before osamu tezuka, and manga were often basically graphic novels.

[go]

Dear Readers,
I recently took a class about Ukiyoe wood block printing.
The professor said Ukiyoe is manga.
Check it out:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/1 ... stage.html
Thank you all for the fun!
Best wishes,
go