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.