Photo by Miika Laaksonen on Unsplash
As you think back to your youth, do you remember comic books? They were fun to read and reading them, instead of “real books” fed our rebellious side. Many of us know young folks these days who love reading graphic novels. Those young folks probably tell you about the great works they’re reading and about how you should give it a try. Well, comic books turn out to be all grown up and developed into a literary art form. There’s a new truth about graphic novels.
I started thinking about graphic novels when I was writing about Dorian Gray, who is one of the characters in the graphic novel “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”. In my quest to know literature, I’m seeking out some of the classic examples within this form.
Have you ever wondered if they were really anything more than comic books?
Art Spiegelman wrote “Maus” a biographical account of his father’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. This book won a Pulitzer Prize. Watchmen is a graphic novel that deconstructs and even satirizes the popular notion of “superheroes,”. This book won a Hugo winner. Jimmy Corrigan’s book the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware won the Guardian First Book Award.
We consider these classics, but, too often, for some reason, Maus, too often, doesn’t appear on lists or classic literature. And other works old enough to be classic and known for their quality are V For Vendetta and Watchman. Check out some more of these amazing works https://www.wired.co.uk/article/best-graphic-novels
“A classic, according to the usual definition, is an old author canonized by admiration, and an authority in his particular style.” By this definition, and just about any other, some graphic novels qualify as classics.
You probably know someone who knows and loves them
My youngest kiddo loves them. He loves and recommended The Amulet and The Vox Machina: Origins Books. I also know an adult who reads them; Travis says he likes Spawn. Another young person I know, my niece, Kami, loves Manga. Most popular, as with any genre, is not always the award winners. The most popular items aren’t the critically acclaimed ones. The NYTimes bestseller list for the graphic novel genre includes as wide variety of topics and styles as any category’s NYTimes bestseller list.
I remember a time when I like the idea of reading comics. Then, as well as now, I have difficulty reading “real books” because of the large blocks of text. My eyes don’t work right, so I am learning disability, which was diagnosed till it was 30. Comic books were easier for me to read, not because of the pictures but because the words were larger and more spread out. The pictures helped me stay in the reading also. Even so, my parents and teachers told me I had to read “real books”.
Since I’ve grown up and am more mindful of teaching young people to be readers, I think there’s worth and value in anything that will teach folks to enjoy reading.
Beyond that, there are some beautiful, powerful, well-told stories on those pages.
Think again on the nature of graphic novels
We need to reconsider the disposition of graphic novels. There are signs graphic novels are getting more respect and attention. The highly used resource for finding books to read, Goodreads, has a category for graphic novels. Forbes and the New York Times did a “best graphic novels of 2020” article in 2020. It seems as though the kids who grew up wanting to read this form of literature are now the ones who get to decide what good literature is. They have not dismissed this form as out-of-hand as their predecessors did.
Do you remember parents and/or teachers dismissing graphic novels/comic books? Have you recently read any graphic novels? Have you read any classic graphic novels? Tell me about your experience in the comments below?