We can conclude that the author is referring to a book when saying "novel", because:
"novel" is a kind of a book
the location where the novel can be found indicates that it is a book ("the store")
words "comic" and "novel" are not interchangeable; the comic is a periodical which includes strips/cartoons, while the synonym for comic is comic paper/cartoon paper
words "movie" and "novel" have completely different meaning
as an adjective, word "novel" does mean "new", but in this context, it is not used as an adjective
