Humour and absurdity, both leading to laughter, are often used by writers to disrobe many of the human race’s inmost prejudices and zones of discomfort. It happens all around us, where even in our conversations we resort to a joke or witticism to covertly refer to something that either we are uncomfortable with, or that we feel the other will take offence to. Usually it is more the latter.
So it is in writing that writers like Johnathan Swift (or John Dryden, or Samuel Beckett or G.V. Desani) use humour to outline man’s tendency to often take light things too seriously, or conversely, serious things too lightly. Some writers eventually hit upon the comics medium as one of the most potent forms of expression for non-mainstream views and expressions.
Over the past half-century, comic books have become more mature and more hard-hitting than anything we’ve ever seen. The medium has picked up issues like the Holocaust and Iran’s cultural revolution, teenage drug-abuse and military occupation. In India, extremism and unrest in Kashmir has become a 'hot' topic.
There seems to be something about a medium, that is visually piercing and stereotypically perceived as juvenile, that plays a double whammy of sorts for writer-artists with a vision to express something atypical. It seems to find a middle ground between taking something seriously or lightly, that is just to see it as a personal vision.
The only way to understand why a children’s medium suddenly takes on the terrifying aspect of the ‘graphic novel’ is that somehow the child-like way of telling a story is intense and cuts out all the subtexts, notes, strings, orientation, and left-right and gets to the heart of the matter which is surprising and informative, like stories of ghosts whispered into each others ears when we were five.
The first ‘graphic novel’ that plunged me into a world of such abnormalities was a terrific work by Art Speigelman, ‘Maus’. It is a memoir of the Second World War as told by the author’s father and is made fantastical by the use of animal imagery, like if it were an epic fairy tale. A must read. Another discovery was the enchanting ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi who’s blunt and bare tale of growing up during a great cultural shift in her native Iran is something no one may have bothered to read in word form, for it is the story of a million anonymous others, but here told differently and glaringly.
The trend has such momentum that a giant comics publishing house like DC has it’s own imprint called Vertigo that encourages what would formerly have been underground comics, to make a mark in the mainstream, because the mainstream in comics is much more inclusive that any other medium right now.
That last point alone should be reason enough for the comics blitzkrieg to be given due notice as a medium that has come-of-age. And it is also for readers to note, that while they may never have noticed it, but even familiar comics like Tintin are actually formed by contemporary events from around the world as much as by the need to entertain children.
For, children are smarter than they may seem.
So it is in writing that writers like Johnathan Swift (or John Dryden, or Samuel Beckett or G.V. Desani) use humour to outline man’s tendency to often take light things too seriously, or conversely, serious things too lightly. Some writers eventually hit upon the comics medium as one of the most potent forms of expression for non-mainstream views and expressions.
Over the past half-century, comic books have become more mature and more hard-hitting than anything we’ve ever seen. The medium has picked up issues like the Holocaust and Iran’s cultural revolution, teenage drug-abuse and military occupation. In India, extremism and unrest in Kashmir has become a 'hot' topic.
There seems to be something about a medium, that is visually piercing and stereotypically perceived as juvenile, that plays a double whammy of sorts for writer-artists with a vision to express something atypical. It seems to find a middle ground between taking something seriously or lightly, that is just to see it as a personal vision.
The only way to understand why a children’s medium suddenly takes on the terrifying aspect of the ‘graphic novel’ is that somehow the child-like way of telling a story is intense and cuts out all the subtexts, notes, strings, orientation, and left-right and gets to the heart of the matter which is surprising and informative, like stories of ghosts whispered into each others ears when we were five.
The first ‘graphic novel’ that plunged me into a world of such abnormalities was a terrific work by Art Speigelman, ‘Maus’. It is a memoir of the Second World War as told by the author’s father and is made fantastical by the use of animal imagery, like if it were an epic fairy tale. A must read. Another discovery was the enchanting ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi who’s blunt and bare tale of growing up during a great cultural shift in her native Iran is something no one may have bothered to read in word form, for it is the story of a million anonymous others, but here told differently and glaringly.
The trend has such momentum that a giant comics publishing house like DC has it’s own imprint called Vertigo that encourages what would formerly have been underground comics, to make a mark in the mainstream, because the mainstream in comics is much more inclusive that any other medium right now.
That last point alone should be reason enough for the comics blitzkrieg to be given due notice as a medium that has come-of-age. And it is also for readers to note, that while they may never have noticed it, but even familiar comics like Tintin are actually formed by contemporary events from around the world as much as by the need to entertain children.
For, children are smarter than they may seem.
The timing of your article couldnt have been better, what with the Comic Con in San Diego attracting over 140,000 people this year. More importantly, it attracted a fair sprinkling of mainstream celebrities also, which only augurs well for the adoption of this medium as a first rate artistic expression in the mainstream consciousness. I mention this because comic as a medium, as you rightly pointed out, has been considered a juvenile one for so long, and (correct me if I am wrong), it was only through recent films like Batman Begins that the mainstream as a whole has started focusing on comics (this btw is also equally attributable to the immense genius of a director like Nolan). Now top actors are queuing up to play the latest Marvel comic hero being adapted for the big screen, and its funny to see this because sometimes many of these big names are being overlooked for lesser known niche actors. Hollywood (for all its ruthless churning out of pop fodder year after year) is surprisingly focusing a lot on big screen adaptations of comics, and although all efforts might not be in the league of a Dark Knight, it still is giving immense visibility to the comic book genre at large, which is seeing more and more newcomers hooked onto it every day. Hardcore comic buffs might call it commercialization, I prefer to be more inclusive and rather call it the democratization, as I mentioned previously, of a first rate artistic expression.
ReplyDeleteUntil Batman I think comics in general were seen as a separate part of pop culture, something more niche. The movies (and I think it started with the Tim Burton ones, and with Batman Forever after that) brought it into the mainstream of cinema. Comics have been adapted into TV series and movies since the 60's but only now (particularly with the Dark Knight) has it burst out into public consciousness.
ReplyDeleteThere are only a few places where comic books seem to command their due respect and Comic Book Conventions are major crowd pullers. As with anything else this takes times I suppose. Let's hope we in India shall also see some such stuff happening.Until then we wait for news from the West.
@Sumit: Excellent blog! Keep up with the good work. :D
ReplyDeleteExactly, their jump onto the mainstream was much earlier, but I feel the earlier films did rather a disservice to these franchises (who can forget the obnoxious Batman films of that period!). I feel that it took a visionary like Nolan (in the AV medium) to fully understand and direct as complex a series as Batman, with all its awesome connotations.
ReplyDeleteAnd that in turn 'raised' the profile of comic book movies so that the public at large started taking it more seriously, something that could be discussed as an intellectual topic rather than just another kiddie movie!
ReplyDeleteThe movies have undergone progresive changes as have the comic books. What is wonderful that with the comics we see the entire medium developing in our own time. Each stage of the development also reflects the comic's inteaction with contemporary pop culture. Batman emerges as a stunning new comic character, becomes more defined, then becomes 'campy' then becomes dark, then becomes metaphysical. But each stage has it's own beauties and are worth their own salt. I rate Batman Forever higher than Batman Begins. And I rate Batman: The Animated Series higher than almost any other adaptation.
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