There has been much debate on who first used the term “graphic novel” and who created the first graphic novel. Like most of recorded history, there are different versions and the Internet is, of course, very good at propagating information, but not at discerning which information is most accurate.
This article, appearing at Comics Alliance, points to the fact that Will Eisner is often credited as the originator of the term “graphic novel” and that one of its first known or most widely known applications was for Eisner’s 1978 publication, “A Contract With God.”
It goes on to say that Jack Katz may have preceded Will Eisner’s use of the term, at least in private conversations and correspondence. Jack Katz is also the first to announce the creation of a graphic novel, if not the first to actually complete one. Given the scope of “The First Kingdom” and the fact that it took some 15 years to complete, it’s not surprising if he was not the first to market with a “complete” graphic novel.
Read the original article at Comics Alliance by Chris Sims here: The Secret Origin of the ‘Graphic Novel’: Where Eisner Heard the Term