Are Comic Books Literature?

[Kilgore Trout]

Of course! Anyone who doesn't think Archie has as much literary merit as War and Peace is obviously a moron.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Depends on the specific comic.

 

[doppelganger]

Of course! Anyone who doesn't think Archie has as much literary merit as War and Peace is obviously a moron.

Not all literature is "great literature" (which is ultimately in the eye of the beholder anyway). The Scarlet Letter is one in the "canon" that I particularly frown upon, for example. I could easily be convinced to replace it with The Watchmen.

 

[J Bryson]

Of course! Anyone who doesn't think Archie has as much literary merit as War and Peace is obviously a moron.

Let's reverse that, shall we? Anyone who doesn't think that The Da Vinci Code has as much literary merit as Maus is obviously a moron.

 

[rojse]

Of course! Anyone who doesn't think Archie has as much literary merit as War and Peace is obviously a moron.

Dare I ask, but what graphic novels have you read that lead you to make such judgements about an entire genre?

 

[Quagmire]

Not all literature is "great literature" (which is ultimately in the eye of the beholder anyway). The Scarlet Letter is one in the "canon" that I particularly frown upon, for example. I could easily be convinced to replace it with The Watchmen.

I feel the same way about Crime and Punishment.

I get a deeper catharsis from reading The X-Men.

 

[rojse]

I feel the same way about Crime and Punishment.

That is my opinion of "Pride and Prejudice". Admittedly, I don't like romance novels, but that is the nineteenth-century equivalent of a Mills and Boon novel.

 

[Quagmire]

That is my opinion of "Pride and Prejudice". Admittedly, I don't like romance novels, but that is the nineteenth-century equivalent of a Mills and Boon novel.

Never read any Emilie Bronte' (if I'm getting the author right) but I'm crazy about a lot of the authors from that time period.

But I wonder: if H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Victor Hugo to name a few were alive today, what do you want to bet they'd be working for DC or Marvel?

 

[cardero]

Not all literature is "great literature" (which is ultimately in the eye of the beholder anyway). The Scarlet Letter is one in the "canon" that I particularly frown upon, for example. I could easily be convinced to replace it with The Watchmen.

I was thinking it would have been a good idea for TreyOfDiamonds to suggest the last comic people have read before posting their thoughts. For some people I am sure the only lasting experience they have with comics is Hot Stuff, Hi And Lois or Little Lulu which may be a bit juevenile, if not an incomplete study of sequnetial art. Comics have changed and matured over the decades. Some have rightfully been considered works of art. A beautiful marriage between the written word and visual medium.

 

[Quagmire]

Never read any Emilie Bronte' (if I'm getting the author right) but I'm crazy about a lot of the authors from that time period.

It was Jane Austen, you moron, and the time period isn't even close.

Stop posing!

(just thought I'd do that to myself before anybody else noticed).

 

[J Bryson]

It was Jane Austen, you moron, and the time period isn't even close.

Stop posing!

(just thought I'd do that to myself before anybody else noticed).

No worries, I never bother to read your posts that closely, anyway.

Okay, last comic book I read...I believe that it was the Johnny The Homicidal Maniac collection. Before that, it was Fables. I also re-read the Preacher series that I linked upthread.

 

[Magic Man]

First, Green Lantern Corps #35, per Cardero's suggestion.

I feel the same way about Crime and Punishment.

I get a deeper catharsis from reading The X-Men.

I haven't read any X-Men title in years. It got to be too much for me. However, Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books. I can see what one might dislike about it, but it had a lot of good themes to it that made the story great.

Yes, comic books are literature. Some are no better than romance novels in substance while others are right up there with War and Peace and Moby Dick in substance.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I was thinking it would have been a good idea for TreyOfDiamonds to suggest the last comic people have read before posting their thoughts.

Locke & Key by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, very much literature in my humble opinion.

 

[Nanda]

I read several graphic novels/comics in my English seminar. In fact, my thesis was on graphic novels as literature. I referenced Maus, a graphic adaptation of Paul Auster's City of Glass, and Krazy Kat.

 

[Nanda]

Personally, I consider comic books to be more of an art form, rather than literary efforts.

I have to disagree. It's all about the writing. The best art in the world won't save a bad story, but great writing forgives a myriad of artistic sins.

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

I have to disagree. It's all about the writing. The best art in the world won't save a bad story, but great writing forgives a myriad of artistic sins.

Amen, said the aspiring writer...

 

[Magic Man]

I read several graphic novels/comics in my English seminar. In fact, my thesis was on graphic novels as literature. I referenced Maus, a graphic adaptation of Paul Auster's City of Glass, and Krazy Kat.

That's cool. My sister-in-law did her thesis for her Master's in English on graphic novels. I don't know which all she referenced, but I think it included Maus (of course) and Watchmen. Needless to say this meant that I approved of my brother's choice when I first met her.

 

[Magic Man]

I have to disagree. It's all about the writing. The best art in the world won't save a bad story, but great writing forgives a myriad of artistic sins.

It's funny. From the age of 8 when I got into comics to the age of 12 or so, the art was the most important thing to me. I loved the great artists, and overlooked a lot of bad writing in the process. After getting back into them when I was about 19, I still really loved the art, but the writing became the more important thing to me, and now I can forgive bad art as long as the writing is great.

 

[J Bryson]

I have to disagree. It's all about the writing. The best art in the world won't save a bad story, but great writing forgives a myriad of artistic sins.

However, some art is simply so distracting that one can no longer concentrate on the writing, as it tends to suck everything into a black hole of incompetence. I call this the Liefeld exception.

 

[Magic Man]

However, some art is simply so distracting that one can no longer concentrate on the writing, as it tends to suck everything into a black hole of incompetence. I call this the Liefeld exception.

I think that's pretty harsh for Liefeld. Sure, he's not the best artist out there, but he certainly isn't in the bottom third of artists. He just doesn't live up to the "superstar" status he gained.