Graphic Life Stories: Memoir, Fiction, or Rated X?

I just got this email from a reader: "I'm curious as to the critical consesus on describing memoirs written as nonfiction graphic novels. To describe them as graphic novels seems dishonest (since they're not really novels). To refer to them as graphic memoirs seems problematic because I wonder if people will mistake the term to mean that the book is a memoir that describes terrible things with lots of detail. Why "graphic" doesn't cause the same confusion when paired with novel, I can't really say. Does the NBCC have an answer?"

What I can say is, the NBCC doesn't have an answer, and neither do I, but it's a very good question. The novel vs. memoir aspect seems clear: a novel is fiction, a memoir isn't. So they're definitely memoir. The "graphic" part is less clear. I had to chuckle at the idea of readers avoiding a book labeled "Graphic Memoir" because it sounds X-rated. Just flipping through the book would solve that confusion, as would smart cover-design. Still, it's true, plenty of American readers might think "graphic = X-rated" and not pick it up at all. (My opinion: those people are weird.)

Is this just an issue of semantics? Well, no: Critics who want to be accurate in their labeling of books care about this sort of thing. So do graphic authors: This kind of labeling decides where books go in the store (memoir v. fiction or children's section if they're labeled comics, or no section if they're confused for X rated, though I doubt many booksellers are that out-of-it), and where books go in stores helps determine who reads them.

Out of curiosity, I checked out Fun Home: The publisher called it a "graphic memoir" in some places and a "graphic narrative" in others. But Booklist, Bookmarks and several others described it as a "graphic novel-memoir," which is weird (makes it sound like memoir ala James Frey). Publishers Weekly avoided labeling entirely and refered to it as an "autobiography by the author of the long-running strip, Dykes to Watch Out For," then later referred to its "drawings." Plenty of these books have been labeled "graphic memoir" (and some kinda meant "graphic" both ways). But many aren't: The books by Art Spiegelman -- the granddaddy of graphic memoir -- are labeled "graphic novels" by his publisher and critics, which is weird, since they're not novels. Amazon markets them as "book-length comics," which works, though you could argue that calling them "comics" could limit readership too (I guess you could call them "adult memoir in comic form," but "adult" flags the X too, and you've still got comic ... that's when you start spiraling into things like, "serious memoir in comic-strip form," which is downright silly).

Is this a problem? And if so, is there a solution? I have no idea. But it's an interesting question. I (and the person who posed the question) would be curious to see responses from others.

(By the way, I don't recommend going to google images and searching the phrase "warning graphic content" ... I was looking for an image that said "warning graphic content" ... that's not what I got. Blech!)