On the Afterburn Message Board today, one of my colleagues expressed the possibility of graphic novels having more subtle covers so that the reader of those books would not be "outed" as an adult reader of comics. He cited the old (or so I thought) idea that comics were thought of as kiddie fare.
And it got me thinking...is this still true? Do regular people still see comics as being just for kids? Given that a tenth of the movies out in the next few months have some connection to comics, and several of the recent highest grosses were from comics, is this still the common idea?
I can't gauge myself because I have always read comics in public and buy most of my graphic novels from regular bookstores. Given my size, I am rarely if every accosted by anyone and instinctively ignore people looking at me in strange ways.
My thoughts on this is that the general public are ignorant basing their ideas on notions that they heard second hand and facts that are decades old. These are the same types of people who write stories on comics and begin them with "Bam" and "Pow". Comics have grown up many years ago and now cover subjects ideas and themes that the average person could not imagine. Sure there is kiddie fare, but it is work that is DELIBERATELY geared towards children. Sure the gaudily clad superhero still exists, but he is now a fully realized person with problems, feelings and quirks that mirror those of the person holding the book and then there are books that examine the mental, the ethereal, and the metaphysical, in ways that would give Jung a reason to show up on Wednesdays.
Comics are literature. Take your graphic novel to the park and read it in the sun. And if anyone gives you any crap, smack them with a copy of The Collected Dark Knight saga...that sucker is heavy. :)
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1 comment:
Sheesh - who brought up that arguement on ABM?
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Sadly - I think the general public still views them as kiddie fare. You and I know better. There in lies the problem (I think). How can graphic novels be marketed to an audience that still may hold onto an old belief?
As far as the movies being based on comics - sure people know the superman, batman, hulk, spider-man, and Xmen flicks are backs on comics. HOWEVER, I have run into a SURPRIZING ammount of folkd who did NOT know bout the comic roots to movies such as BLADE, the CROW, 30 days of Night, etc. These people were shocked to find out those stories came from comics.
It's hard trying to get people to accept the graphic novel medium when they come into it PRESUMING the worst. ;(
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