I like to think I’m the kind of person who is open about who I am and what I do but there is one thing that even I have a hard time admitting: I’m a grown woman and I read comic books.
The idea of comic books are changing. There are now classes that teach comic books and graphic novels as literature. They are no longer the Archie comics you pick up for a little kid or Saturday morning cartoons. Some such as Art Spiegalman’s “Maus” or Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” qualify as high quality literature and use the comic medium to add to the story and character development. Still, the little voice in the back of my head tells me I should be reading a book that only has words, not where I get to look at the pictures.
Comics can tell stories that some traditional books can’t. Comics combine the visual element with the words on the page, where a single panel can tell a story complete with details and complex emotion that would take pages to describe. There is great value to text-only books where you get to picture the characters in your head, instead of having someone decide for you how they should look but comics are still a valued literary form.
The best way to read is to read a little bit of everything, including novels, poetry, newspapers, blog posts and yes, graphic novels. In one of my favorite ongoing series I love seeing how the different artists choose to draw the character because each artist shows different dimensions of the same characters.
Don’t think that well known characters such as Batman or the X-Men are shallow characters from the days of corny cartoons. There is something to be said for companies such as Marvel or DC where they have large budgets and the ability to get some of the best artists and writers in the industry.
One of my favorite ongoing series is Batwoman from DC’s the New 52. The character is relatively new and has the added bonus of being one of the few powerful women in comics and also is out of the closet. The comic also features breathtaking art. “Batman: Hush” shows the true dark side of the dark knight and brings up issues of his past that even Batman can’t run away from. “Maus” still brings me to tears every time I read it and it remains one of the best representations of the holocaust.
I am slowly learning to accept that there is no shame in being a comic book nerd. Comics are another piece of the art and literary worlds where words and pictures are combined to create one breathtaking work of art. Go to Coe and pick up a graphic novel sometime. I promise they are anything but for kids.
