Week Eleven: Comics as Contemporary Literature

This week we discussed the idea of the graphic novel putting it's foot on the door of sophisticated literature. For a long time comics were not considered 'real' literature, as a novel was. However, over time the graphic novel found it's way into a type of storytelling so sophisticated that it's impossible to deny its literary importance. Some graphic novels have been written with such deep attention to the media that their story is being told in that many argue that these stories are ones that could not be told effectively in any other medium besides sequential art.

 The required reading was Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli, which I enjoyed quite a bit-- it's probably the best graphic novel I've read in years. I found deeply immersed in the book, not even finding my mind wander or wondering when the story was going to be over at any point in the book. I didn't feel that the story faltered at all, and it kept my attention.

There are a couple elements of this book that I think really bump it to the next level as far as being considered literature. What really caught me was the way that Mazzucchelli weaved visual narrative into the written narrative to create a sort of 'layered' storytelling. As the narrator spoke of the inevitable isolation one feels by never being able to truly 'mesh' with another's personality or lived experiences, Mazzucchelli used different styles of drawing the characters and environment that corrollated with what kind of person that character was. As two characters began to get along, their auras started to mesh-- if one was jolted to reality by a harsh example of the other's specific forthcomings, they were sent right back into their original, unaltered style. The artist didn't overuse this, either; it felt like he knew exactly where and when to implement this sensation. 

I think this well-done added layer of narrative-- a visual one that the reader is able to control the timing of-- is a big part of what prompted people to start considering graphic novels to have their own seat in the literary world.

Week Ten: Introduction to Manga

Illustration of Taiyo Matsumoto's Sunny

This week we discussed manga, the blanket term for Japanese comics. I've read manga since I was in middle school, and I credit it for getting me back into comics for the first time since I was a young kid, as well as getting me so deeply into comics that I now make comics myself. Since then I've started reading many more contemporary American and European indie and small-press comics, but I know it all started in manga.

Manga has an interesting stigma in the US. Even though many, many people in my generation who are now interested in comics grew up reading manga, many people belonging to older generations consider it immature or just a bad form of art, especially in the art school community. I remember one of the times when I was first visiting Ringling, I mentioned to an instructor that I really liked comics, and when he asked me which comics I liked I couldn't bring myself to give an answer, because all I would have listed were manga and even though they were great comics, I knew that he would have either laughed at me or told me that if I wanted to be serious, I'd better drop the manga. Others had already mentioned this to me, and I was well aware. Nobody took you seriously if you drew manga.

Something was mentioned earlier in the semester that I found really interesting. It was pointed out that, unlike American comics, in Japanese comics there are huge, entire genres of comics made solely for women and girls of all ages. In America, the most manga sold of any genre is shoujo manga, the genre of love stories targeted at girls. I think it's very telling of the audience that the American comic industry favors, and why manga is so overwhelmingly popular in today's upcoming generations-- woman want to read stories about women!

Some of my favorite creators making manga and anime today are comic artist Taiyo Matsumoto and animator & director Masaaki Yuasa. They both have a very unique but beautiful style that they like to create in, and at times have collaborated to create amazing works. Matsumoto has authored many successful stories, such as Sunny, GoGo Monster, and Tekkonkinkreet (now adapted into an animated movie). Yuasa has worked on different anime series and movies such as Kemonozume, Kaiba, Kick Heart, and Mind Game. Even with such unique styles, the visual languages of the two work together exceedingly well, and recently they collaborated on a show called Ping Pong the Animation. The show is based off of the 5-volume series by Matsumoto, and was adapted and directed by Yuasa. It's easily the best television show I've seen in a very long time. The two creators are very contemporary and I'm glad that their work is starting to get more popular. They're often my go-to examples for when people try and argue that manga and anime are super homogenous and never differ in style.

Week Nine: Wide World of Comics

The European comics scene is one that I wish so hard that I could have been more aware of by now. There's a huge world of comics (for instance, Hergé's works) that I have no idea about, because they don't have as much of a place in American comics culture, like Japanese comics do, for instance. I want to learn French essentially so that I can read French comics, and also talk to French cartoonists about their work. There are even a ton of French cartoonists who put their work on their blogs that are just astounding. Many people say that America is the comics capital but I would argue that the French comic industry is on par or even better on a national scale.

This week I chose to revisit a comic I read a little while ago, and still sticks with me today: Notes for a War Story, by the Italian cartoonist Gipi. What jumped out at me first about this comic was how different it is from the typical American war comic. Notes for a War Story is definitely a war comic, no doubt about it, it's right there in the title. But not only did it capture my attention for more than a few pages, if at all (something that near never happens with American war comics), but I loved it. As I said before, it stays with me to this day as a go-to recommendation I will give people who are looking for this kind of comic. I still think of it when thinking of writing great graphic novels of my own.

There are a few reasons I think that this story means so much more to me than a typical American war comic. I respect American war comics hugely and what they mean to the demographics they are made for. Many of these comics act as healing stories for people who went through similar experiences and act as a way to document, in a personal format, the way that life was back then. Accurate documentation is incredibly important, especially of war stories.

But I think in general, European comics tend to strike a more passive, emotional chord than the American stories do. There's no doubt that American war comics feature lots of action, lots of explosions, lots of violence, and a gritty realistic style meant to make you feel like you're watching a live action film. European comics however, also tend to contain more passive stories as well as aggressive ones. Notes for a War Story is a great example of this. For a graphic novel about war, you never once see a typical war scene in the entire book. There's still a lot of action and violence-- but what makes the book memorable comes from the very personal experiences of these characters and the way their personality develops through their war. Many of the conflicts are internal as well as external, and the art style is thoughtful and quiet-- and furthers the tone of the story in a visual way.

From what I've seen, European comics often stray from the beaten path much more so than American comics tend to. I'm sad that there are not more European comics translated and available in America than there are currently, but luckily they are getting more popular and we're headed in the right direction.