Comics weren't always these fictional superheroes living in this nonexistent world fighting off evil beings. But, that's how we think of them to be. Nowadays, we think of Marvel Comic and DC Comics basically being the only type of comics that exist. Clearly, these two companies share the same idea: make a superhero that's totally unrealistic and make a plot that lasts for oh so many years.
But comics probably didn't start like that. It just grew to be that. The only difference between a book and a comic is the absence/inclusion of pictures. When reading those long sections of just words, we have this motion picture going on in our minds. Comics lay out the picture for us to help us visualize it the right way. Because of that, people deem comics to be something "childish" or "noneducational" since we're not "thinking."
When you open up a comic, it's immediately colors. Colors and speech bubbles in panels accumulating to a max of 30ish pages. That again, is what makes people think that comic books are nothing more than a child's book. Adults probably think that"great works of art and literature" are worth looking at because it looks like there's effort put into it and that you need to think and interpret the meaning for yourself.
People count "intellectual" as having only words or only pictures, having the other one not being used "exploring a wider area" and leaving it up to interpretation. The whole point of a story is to get the meaning and plot across the reader's mind. Books, comics, movies, and everything else do just that. It's only popularized to believe that comics are less intellectual because of the fictional characters that have taken over the basic concept of comics. Pictures and words make it easier to read, but it's the meaning of the story that matters.
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I totally agree. I think it's pretty sad that so many people believe that stories are only smart if it's one or the other. Words and pictures, when used together, do a way better job of conveying a meaning than either thing can do alone.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really new and unique perspective. I never thought about how comics used to be a thing made by adults for adults for a little quick and fun read. Like the morning cartoons in the newspaper or political cartoons to show humor in a serious topic. It's sad how it has become just a silly little "kids thing".
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. You approached the topic of comics not being childish in a different way than I did, and I completely agree with this too. There are adults that think that reading is only intellectual because there is work that needs to be put into understanding and interpreting the story. However, I say that the same thing goes for comics. Not everything is laid out in black and white. There is, in its own way, a level of interpretation and understanding that comes with reading comics. Understanding this, I'm really excited to delve into the hidden messages and symbolism in Maus.
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