Graphically Reading: Thoughts on the Graphic Medium

One of the wonderful benefits of blogging has been the chance to broaden my reading horizons. Until I started Beth Fish Reads, my exposure to comics consisted of my lifelong, daily addiction to comic strips and the comic books I read as a kid.

I guess I should start by admitting I was kind of a lame comic book reader. My favorites were of the Richie Rich ilk. I loved Archie, and I read Superman sporadically, but I was never a superhero fan. I have a few bound comics from my childhood, including a couple of Tintin books as well as some comic strip collections.

I was/am completely eclectic when it comes to daily comic strips. I read everything except Mark Trail. I remember Apartment 3G and  Mary Worth (neither of which appear in my current local paper); Peanuts when there were still new strips; and Pogo, Bloom County, and Calvin and Hobbes (R.I.P.). I read them all from Prince Valiant (so slow but oddly addictive) to Shoe, Nancy, and Doonesbury.

So why did it take me until 2009 to return to reading graphic books? No idea. (Note: My reviews for all the books shown in this post, except the last one, can be found by clicking "Graphic Novel" or "Graphic Nonfiction" in the "Select a Label" pull-down list in the sidebar.)

Over the last few weeks, my Twitter stream has shown a rise in interest in the graphic format, which prompted me to check my archives. I was surprised to discover I've written 80 posts tagged as either graphic novel (includes comics) or graphic nonfiction, especially because I haven't written about all the graphic books and series I've read since I picked up that Nancy Drew (don't bother) almost six years ago.

One of the points I like to make when I review GNs (the term I'll use here for fiction, nonfiction, comics, series, and stand-alones), is that graphic is a format, not a genre. No matter what your reading tastes are, there's a GN for you. So many people associate GNs with only superheros or only fantasy. Others are sure they all are geared to children or teens or that they're meant only for fun escape reading. The truth is very different.

I've read GNs that have explored serious issues, such as the Holocaust, immigration, family, love, sexuality, death, and sickness. Others took me into the kitchen, back through history, into the future, and to makebelieve lands. From fantasy to historical fiction, from mystery to true crime, from contemporary novels to contemplative short story collections: artist/writers have covered every conceivable genre and have written to audiences from the earliest readers to the most sophisticated scholar.

My own tastes are wide ranging, although I tend to be attracted to fantasy (as a huge, broad category) and memoir. I still don't read X-Men or superheroes, I'm not much taken by Manga (yet), and I don't like traditional print novels that have been turned into GNs (based on a sample of about four). I love beautiful, colorful art (Saga) as much as simple black and white (Anya's Ghost). I am as addicted to more literary GNs (The Unwritten) as I am to the fun and goofy (Bones).

If you're new to the graphic medium, you might want read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. I read it soon after it was published (my copy is from 1993), and I remember it as being a fascinating look into the graphic medium throughout history and as comic artists geared up for the changes coming in the twenty-first century. Although the book may be due for a revision (adding eComics and new color technology, for example), it remains a serious, comprehensive introduction to this form of storytelling.

Among other topics, McCloud discusses comics lingo, different styles of art, and the evolution of common icons. He talks about how and why comics work as sequential art and explores some of the issues unique to the format (such as how to draw sounds, movement, and time). If you're unsure how to read a GN or want to know the difference between Western and Eastern comics, McCloud comes to your rescue.

One of the more frivolous things that stuck with me was this (and I'm paraphrasing): When it comes to comics, you really can judge a book by its cover. After all, comics (GNs) are where words and pictures meet.

Thursday: There is still so much I want to say about the graphic medium, I'm going to continue this discussion later this week. I want to talk a little bit about the range of artwork in GNs as well as the different forms (collected issues, single issues, series, stand-alone titles). In addition, I want to share some of the GNs I've read and not yet reviewed plus the titles I have on my reading stack.