Comics / Graphic Novels

[Xamonas Chegwé]

• Do you like comics?
• Did you read them as a kid?
• Do you still?
• What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
• Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
• Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
• Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
• What is more important, the story or the artwork?

And shit...

[Jadestone]

-Do you like comics?
Yes

-Did you read them as a kid?
Not really. I've only in the last few years started looking into them/liking them as a genera.

-What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
Watchmen and the Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman. I've never gotten into manga or the like.

-Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
Hmm... equal, I suppose. I don't think that the fact a book is written in comic/graphic novel form should automatically make it inferior or superior but judged by the content. I believe Watchmen is on the best 100 novels list?

-Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
Hmm... not especially, but I haven't made a study of the subject. But in my mind they are different things, though I'm not sure how to explain how I differentiate them?

-Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
I happen to love comic book movies. I can't say it's because they remind me of my childhood because I didn't really read them then, but I loved all the super hero movies and such, even if I know they're technically not good films. I just like them. Unless because my interest is fairly recent I haven't been exposed to whatever atrocious movies exist yet.

-What is more important, the story or the artwork?[/list]
I usually read them more for the story but the artwork really adds to it and defines it.

[Trolldor]

• Do you like comics?
• Did you read them as a kid?
• Do you still?
• What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
• Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
• Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
• Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
• What is more important, the story or the artwork?

And shit...

1) Depends
2) Yes
3) No
4) Didn't really have any. Not a big comic book culture here so it fazed away quite quickly.
5) Depends on the comic, bitches.
6) Yes... except for things like Watchmen which actually ARE novels with too many pictures
7) Cause Hollywood is naff
8) Both as equally important.

[Achtland]

• Do you like comics?
• Did you read them as a kid?
• Do you still?
• What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
• Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
• Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
• Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
• What is more important, the story or the artwork?

And shit...

yes
a little bit
heaps
either 'Sandman' or 'Alice in Sunderland' but the new batman comic from japan are are also good
of course
yes. but some lenthier comic tiles deserve a different tag than just comic books. eg comic novels?
it is hard to express the quality of work in film because there are poor directors who think a comic film is an easy way to make a popular film that needs no skill to do it they are often wrong.
a good ballance of both but if hard pushed artwork.

[Thinking Aloud]

What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
Watchmen and the Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman.

This is also pretty much my whole experience of the genre, plus the "Lucifer" Sandman spin-off series.

When I was very young I remember reading the HULK comic but only for a couple of months. I still recall some of the other stories that were running in that: Ant Man, Nick Fury, and another that I'd dearly like to read again now, which was about some people trapped in a house where unreal things happened all the time. I remember it creeped me out as a six/seven year old at the time, but I'd love to read it again and find out what was actually going on.

[Pappa]

I've never really been into them, I find myself just reading the dialogue and ignoring the pictures. I do like them a lot though, even if I don't actually enjoy reading them much, and I appreciate the visual art much better when I see it out of the context of the story. I don't think they're directly comparable to written literature, it's a different medium, and judging them both by similar standards is a little pointless.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

I used to read comics when I was a kid but left them behind in my teens. It is only in the last 10-12 years that I have begun to investigate them again. I tend to buy the collected versions rather than individual issues - having missed out on 25 years of publications tends to give me plenty to choose from!

Glad to see The Sandman up there in a few replies. That is a stupendous work of fiction by anyone's standards. The way in which disparate themes, often introduced as 'throwaway lines' as early as the first few comics, are woven together into the finale is a wonderful piece of writing. You would also need to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of literature in order to pick up on all of the cultural references. It is a series that I can return to again and again.

[charlou]

Goscinny and Uderzo's Asterix series has been an enduring favourite of mine since childhood. My children enjoy them, too, along with the classic Tintin series, Footrot Flats and the Peanuts books.


As for graphic novels, generally ...

>snip< I don't think they're directly comparable to written literature, it's a different medium, and judging them both by similar standards is a little pointless.

I agree.

[JimC]

Goscinny and Uderzo's Asterix series has been an enduring favourite of mine since childhood. My children enjoy them, too, along with the classic Tintin series, Footrot Flats and the Peanuts books.


As for graphic novels, generally ...

>snip< I don't think they're directly comparable to written literature, it's a different medium, and judging them both by similar standards is a little pointless.

I agree.

I loved Footrot Flats and Asterix

Also was a Marvel comics fan as a teen (and into my twenties... )

And then there were Comix... :hum:

Robert Crumb and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers fed my head...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Goscinny and Uderzo's Asterix series has been an enduring favourite of mine since childhood. My children enjoy them, too, along with the classic Tintin series, Footrot Flats and the Peanuts books.


As for graphic novels, generally ...

>snip< I don't think they're directly comparable to written literature, it's a different medium, and judging them both by similar standards is a little pointless.

I agree.

I loved Footrot Flats and Asterix

Also was a Marvel comics fan as a teen (and into my twenties... )

And then there were Comix... :hum:

Robert Crumb and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers fed my head...

Skeed Pills!

[AshtonBlack]

• Do you like comics?
• Did you read them as a kid?
• Do you still?
• What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
• Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
• Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
• Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
• What is more important, the story or the artwork?

And shit...

1) Yes,
2) Yes, 2000AD mainly
3) I read the odd graphic novel. (Last one was The Watchmen)
4) Dark Knight / Watchmen. (... and Alan Moore!)
5) No, graphic novels, IMHO, are not aimed at children, therefore a differentiator is required.
6) Time.... 2 hours is NOT enough to accurately tell the story from a GN. This being the case, cuts are made and they are subjective and the story sufferes.
7) Good artwork is a factor but a good story is the foundation.

I followed your last instruction.... what now? Hmmm what's that smell?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

• Do you like comics?
• Did you read them as a kid?
• Do you still?
• What are/were your favourite books / authors / artists?
• Do you think that they are inferior/superior/of equal status to written literature?
• Do you think that the term 'Graphic Novel' is a cop-out term used by adults that are worried that others see comics as childish but still love them?
• Why are film adaptations of comics (with a few exceptions) so naff?
• What is more important, the story or the artwork?

And shit...

1) Yes,
2) Yes, 2000AD mainly
3) I read the odd graphic novel. (Last one was The Watchmen)
4) Dark Knight / Watchmen. (... and Alan Moore!)
5) No, graphic novels, IMHO, are not aimed at children, therefore a differentiator is required.
6) Time.... 2 hours is NOT enough to accurately tell the story from a GN. This being the case, cuts are made and they are subjective and the story sufferes.
7) Good artwork is a factor but a good story is the foundation.

I followed your last instruction.... what now? Hmmm what's that smell?

There is a psychology treatise waiting to be written about people's need to follow instructions. Those questions were only intended as food for thought for the thread - I think it is interesting how many people answered them. :hum:

(Although I have a feeling you may be on your own with the last one... )

[Beelzebub2]

I love Bill Watterson's Calvin&Hobbes, Tiziano Sclavi's Dylan Dog and Max Bunker's Alan Ford.

Nothing beats the Calvin, though - it's better than many pieces of written literature, in fact "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" is the book I would take on a deserted island.

[AshtonBlack]

(slight derail.)
I'm a sucker for a good list.

You are of course, correct. I suspect that there is an evolutionary explanation for the individual to "follow" as an aid to the group. Which in turn benefits the individual, not to be confused with group selection. (If I understood it correctly, then I'm with RD on that one.)

(.... and we're back)
As for comics.... Like any other subjective "art" they cannot be compared to other "art". Books have their place, as do films, comics and all other media! Someone somewhere will think it's art.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Ashton,

I was interested in this answer.

5) No, graphic novels, IMHO, are not aimed at children, therefore a differentiator is required.

Would you call the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers graphic novels in that case? They clearly aren't aimed at children?
Also, books such as Tintin and Asterix, along with comic adaptations of children's literature classics, are now frequently referred to as "Children's Graphic Novels".

Just as we refer to adult and children's literature, fiction, text-books, etc. We should say adult and children's comics IMO. 'Graphic Novel' is a somewhat pretentious term used by those that don't want to admit to still liking comics at their age and wish to claim some kind of extra literary credentials for their picture book. I don't read a lot of them but when I do, I call them comics.

There is a huge amount of prejudice against comics in bookish circles. Once a story has pictures attached, it is seen by the snobbish as being inferior. I don't see this as being the case at all. Watchmen, or The Sandman, for example, are dense, thoughtful stories that tell us far more about ourselves than some bollocks by Maeve Binchey or James Patterson. Just as there are great works of literature in the form of plays (including screenplays) or epic poetry, there are great works of literature with pictures.