Comic Books and Literature

Transcription

1 Comic Books and Literature Why an American Classic Doesn t Get the Same Respect Chances are if you have picked up a copy of Wizard magazine, you already know Superman s Kryptonian name as well as your own middle name, and a lot of you may know all the Avengers that were missing from this year s record-breaking adaptation of marvel s ultimate iconic team. One thing still mystifies nearly every die-hard comic book reader that has ever blazed through Watchmen or Maus and knew their world could never be the same again. That mystery is: why don t others realize that comic books deserve to be viewed as Literature? Literature in this sense refers to creative works that would be termed as refined, classic, able to withstand critical analysis gracefully and circulate the reading lists of higher learning. This Capitol L Literature is not simply written work. Are picture books really to be considered literature? Creating a case for the real scope and meaning that comic books have accomplished requires much more than the superhero stories common in modern movies. Even the highestbrowed reader would begin to understand comic books as being more sophisticated if they knew what they really are, where they have come from, and what critics have already recognition. For much of this century, the word comics has had such negative connotations that many of comics most devoted practitioners have preferred to be known as illustrators commercial artists or, at best, cartoonists (18)! Comic books have long been seen as children s literature. American children s books have rarely been appreciated as significant writing (Literature), as much of the public would agree. The problem with this dismissive perspective is that this bogging down is almost entirely unique to American children s stories. Would such a dismissive view be acceptable for Peter Pan, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Hardly! Most likely these two children s novels have been viewed as classics, and always garner high respect. This difference is most likely attributed to the time since their publishing, and how so many people have grown up with these stories. This could become the case with comic books in the future, but many classic comic series have been around for well more than fifty years, and have little more of a legacy than its appeal to children or incarnations as summer blockbuster movies. The overall youth of comic books may be detrimental to their likelihood of receiving a sophisticated public said about the best the medium has to offer. Action Comics, issue no. 1 opinion. Another reason comic books carry a stigma of lesserliterature THE STIGMA is the view of comic books as a genre as opposed to a medium of writing. Calling comics an medium, however implies that there is much more to the art form than To explore the stigma against comic books: The general public s perception of great art and great writing colorful tights and capes. Comic books being seen as a hasn t changed much in 150 years (McCloud 150). This genre is an isolating and restrictive view that creates a creative cage restricted to the likes of Superman, Batman, presents a huge problem in the way of helping the public changes its mind on anything let alone such a young genre as comics. Understanding this idea that the public is Spider-man, and Captain America. While the superhero identity associated with comic books is a dominant portion, there exist many other stories, especially those with rarely ready for a shift in perspective, we will later return to the important role critics have to play in this battle for higher critical acclaim are left out by this cynical defini- 1

2 tion. WHERE COMIC BOOKS COME FROM Comic books have been an integral part of American culture since the early twentieth century. They have a complicated history, but they are just not taken seriously. There are many reasons for the negative stigmas that comic books have had for their time as pop culture mainstays. There is much more to comic books than non-readers assume. The world of comics is a huge and varied one. Our definition must encompass all these types while not being so broad as to include anything which is clearly not comics. (McCloud 5) Many would define comics as children s picture books, but a more appropriate definition would be sequential art. This definition however, is not quite broad enough, as McCloud continues to explain. After extensive additions in his own attempt to come up with a most complete description, he comes upon juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence (9). The artform the medium known as comics is a vessel which can hold any number of ideas and images (McCloud 6). This medium, by the most open-minded view, includes even ancient forms of communication, including Trajan s column, Greek painting, Japanese scrolls, and even hieroglyphs (10, 15). WHO S WHO IN COMICS: THE CREATORS Understanding where comic books come from matters a lot in opening one s mind to accepting them as literature. People are more ready to appreciate something as higher art when they know that the piece is created from a foreign country or culture. This is often true with foreign films, theater and still art. Most comic books have their origin in the North America, with companies like DC and Marvel. As of late, with adapting comic books into highbudget and high-grossing motion pictures, Marvel has gained the most attention, making the following adaptation of the beginning of the Holy Bible appropriate. In the beginning Marvel created the bullpen and the style. And the bullpen was without form, and was void, and darkness was upon the face of the artists. And the spirit of Marvel moved upon the face of the writers. And marvel said, let there be the Fantastic Four. And then there was the Fantastic Four. And Marvel saw the Fantastic Four. And it was good. Stan Lee (Howe 57). As Howe continues to say, Marvel s classic writer and character creator s name might be used in the above quote to replace the word Marvel suggesting his Godhood over the currently dominant entertainment company (57). Most of the major works of all comic books are indeed American, coming from creators like Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel (Superman), Bob Kane (Batman), and the aforementioned Stan Lee (Spider-man, Hulk, Captain America ect.). However, since the genre became popular in the modern western world, it has spread to the British islands and as far eastward to The Land of the Rising Sun. While comic books Stan Lee in 2007 have their place in nearly every culture in the world, North America, Britain, and Japan command the majority of the world s comic creative energy. Some of the many talented writers from the British islands would include Grant Morrison (The Invisibles), and the revered Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen). AMERICAN COMICS OR JEWISH COMICS? There is likely no culture anywhere in the English speaking world that is more a part of the history of comic books than those of Jewish descent. An entire book, Jews and American Comics has been written on this subject alone. In fact, Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, Batman creator Bob Kane, as well as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Lee s creative partner through much of his time as a writer for Marvel) are all of Jewish descent. The praised creator of Maus, Art Spiegelman was a Jew as well. With this all-star cast played out, we can see that virtually every major superhero was created by someone of Jewish descent. Joining this impressive roster would be 2

3 Harvey Pekar, Will Eisner, Jules Feiffer, and Harvey Kurtzman. This has caused some comic book characters to also be Jewish or reflect Jewish qualities. Even the obviously non-jewish Osamu Tezuka could not help but get in on the trend of involving Jewish culture in his series Adolf which explores the lives of three men named Adolf during World War II, a Jewish boy, a boy aspiring to the ranks of Hitler s youth, and the Fuhrer himself. All of these points make Jewish culture, either as plot or as the part of a creator s identity, an integral part of understanding where comic books come from. MANGA: JAPAN S COMIC BOOKS An often forgotten portion of the comic book genre is the Japanese variation called Manga. The word Manga translates as irresponsible pictures, but despite that name, the Japanese are anything but dismissive of their comics. Nowhere else in the world do comics appeal to a wider audience or achieve greater financial success than in the land of the rising sun (Duncan 294). This is one of many reasons that any discussion of comic books should include the consideration or at the very least mention of the Japanese variation of a genuinely American method of storytelling. Thanks to the seminal influence of comics creator Osamu Tezuka, Japanese comics have a long rich history of iconic characters (McCloud 43). Osamu Tezuka is referred to in many places as The God of Manga, like a Japanese version of Stan Lee. While British authors work with the major American comic book companies (DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, IDW, Image, Vertigo) Japanese Mangaka typically tend to publish through smaller companies and magazines in their own countries, and then distribute in the rest of the world using equally small or more private publishers. Another force in Japanese Manga/ Naruto vol. 1 Anime would be Hayao Miyazaki, who made the choice to distribute his work in the Unites States in partnership with the what is considered the biggest name in animation worldwide, Disney. Miyazaki s award winning contributions include epics like Castle in the Sky, 3 Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. While certain comics are targeted to young boys there (America) as in the rest of the world, so-called shonen manga are not the only comics products available to eager audiences. Manga addresses diverse audiences, including young girls (shojo) and more mature women (redikomi), and they offer subjects as varied as historical drama and cooking (Duncan 294). While English-language comics have a wide variety of popular writers and artists working on recurring and new characters, Japanese Manga is usually more individual, with few popular creators, while maintaining an evergrowing collection of characters that are never serialized. Popular Manga is usually picked up to become Anime, the animated version of the Japanese comic books. For the sake of reference, some of these Manga would be Tezuka s legendary Astro Boy, the popular action show Dragonball Z, The video-game-adapted Pokémon, and modern popular hits like Bleach and Naruto. COMICS AND CRITICAL ACCLAIM Critics have not ignored comic books and graphic novels as much as the general American public would think. There are few Graphic novels that have truly risen up as timeless classic literature. When Art Spiegleman s Maus won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992, it confirmed what many had long believed: graphic Novels had finally started gaining widespread recognition, and in 2005, time named Alan Moore s Watchmen to its list of best 100 English-language novels since The following year, Alison Bechdel s graphic-novel memoir fun home made many publication s year-end best-of lists, earning a best comic book nod from publishers weekly and topping Time s 10 best books list (Kan 45). Some reasons for this recognition would be that these stories communicate similar emotional depth, plot complexity, and eloquence in composition as any other work

4 that is commonly considered art among novels and short stories. Part of the problem may be that most people do not get a chance to see comic books as literature. If the public were given an honest opportunity to realize and accept the critical reverence that stories like Watchmen and Buddha have, the childish connotations would likely be lessened, or entirely removed. This is especially true since neither of those stories are childish in tone, content, or in any other respect. Highly respected critics are not the only ones that do believe in and push for greater appreciation of comic books, however. Articles have been published colorfully dressed men and women, aliens, or talking animals can teach us anything so cultured and refined as hundreds of dry pages of small letters can. According to Scott McCloud, Even today there are those who ask the question, can comics be art The answer is yes (163). Using the visual nature of the book, McCloud explains; There are properties that comics share with all other art forms (163). This is done in reference to the vast and established refinement in the appreciation of visual art. along the same lines, with titles like; Comics are legit lit, Comics no longer a joke in Academia, Comics ghetto: graphic novels as serious literature, and From pulp to Pulitzer: how the underground comic found its way into the mainstream (kan 45). Pictures are Received information. We need no formal education to get the message. The message is instantaneous. COMIC BOOKS AND VISUAL ART Writing is per- ceived information. It Another way to help remove the immature sentiment attributed toward comic books would be to realize that the use of pictures makes them more of an art form than less. This may be counter intuitive to the American educational progression. Generally, in schools, students move from picture books in youth, with an understanding that since children young enough cannot read, they are best suited to such a visual method of storytelling. As a student progresses from elementary to middle and high school, the Marvels #2 Cover takes time and specialized knowledge to decode the abstract symbols of language. When pictures are more abstracted from reality they require greater levels of perception, more like number of pictures reduce dramatically, although there are still a few cover illustrations, chapter illustrations, or helpful diagrams. This is often to the great angst of many who learn much more efficiently from visual expression than abstract deduction. As well, this is about the time when most children would feel less accepting of comic books because they are being constantly told that so many visuals are childish and below them. Finally, there must words. When words are bolder, more direct, they require lower levels of perception and are received faster, more like pictures. Our need for a unified language of comics sends us toward the center where words and pictures are like two sides of the same coin! But our need for sophistication in comics seems to lead us outward where words and pictures are most separate (McCloud 49). come a time in High school and into higher education where people reach totally picture-less books in maturity. This pointed departure from the infantile nature of needing pictures in order to grasp what is going on or being explained has a solid hold on the majority of aged society. As McCloud is so willing to state, the Japanese have reconciled this difference and is a problem of the past: The Japanese offer a vision of comics very different from our own. For in Japan more than anywhere else, comics is an art (81). This view that betrays public education s paradigm Our culture simply does not accept the sentiment that is obviously one people are not willing to accept too 4

5 quickly. If, as mentioned before, it has been a long time since the last public opinion of literature has changed, it would be much more difficult to make people comfortable with a medium that goes against the progression they grew up with that felt as natural as moving from grade one to two. To acknowledge the counter-arguments, against viewing comic books as literature, there is one quote that comes from the very heart of the comic books itself. Harvey Kurtzman remarked in an interview he gave late in his life that the comic book industry was cursed by the power of its entrepreneurial founders, accountants with no vision and no interest in art. But they knew their business (Buhle 56). CONCLUSION To the relief of the Comic Book enthusiast in all of us, there is a strong case for viewing comic books as literature. This may be against many people s nature due to the nature of pictures and words sharing so much space, but there is a strong case for graphic novels as being part of higher culture. In order to understand this, it is necessary to understand the beginning of comics, and its farreaching effect as part of a world-wide culture. Armed with an understanding and knowledge that comic books are more than men in tights, one can be enlightened to the true power of the medium. Critics have already begun to accept such writing as a means for sophisticated storytelling, although the rest of the world may take some time to follow suit. Nathan Orgill Works Cited Buhle, Paul. Jews and American Comics. New York: The New Press, Print. Duncan, Randy et al. The Power of Comics: History Form & Culture. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., Print. Howe, Sean. Give Our Regards to The Atomsmashers! New York: Pantheon Books, Print. Kan, Kat. The Reference Shelf: Graphic Novels and Comic Books. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, Print. McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperCollins Publishers inc., Print. Image Credits Action Comics no. 1: retrieved through Google images from en/5/5a/action_comics_1.jpg Stan Lee in 2007: retrieved through Google images from thumb/8/84/stantheman.jpg/446px-stantheman.jpg Image is used according to the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Image owner(s) do(es) not endorse the use of this work. Naruto vol. 1: retrieved through google images from Marvels #2 cover: retrieved through google images from mg/6/80/4bc35fc269093/detail.jpg 5