 |
|
|
||||
 |
|
|||||
 |
|
        |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
||
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
|
BEYOND "THE
PHRASE": By D. Aviva Rothschild "Comics aren’t just for kids any more." How many times have we heard, read, and said that? I know I’ve been repeating it mantra-like for at least seventeen years in the rather naïve belief that saying it often enough will make it true. Well, in a sense it isn’t naïve, because it is true; but I didn’t come to this conclusion from chanting. And likely no one else will, either. Which means that we, as serious supporters of comics and graphic novels, have got to find better ways to indicate to non-comics readers that drawn literature is worthy of their attention. As we’re all aware, comics are treated like the catfish meals of the genre food chain. I don’t know where people tend to rank them in relation to romance, but they sure fall below fantasy and science fiction. I know many avid SF/fantasy readers who sneer at them (only to then extol the virtues of the latest Piers Anthony or Anne McCaffrey titles, but that’s a different issue for another magazine). Why? They couldn’t give me any kind of reason, beyond "Comics, ugh!" It’s a cultural thing, of course, since these people haven’t read enough comics to have any actual knowledge behind those sneers. Still, if we get "Ugh" from this natural audience, how are we to convince people who prefer mainstream fiction that "comics aren’t…"? For me, graphic novels are the best answer to this question, and here’s why: To "normals," single issues of comics are inherently ephemeral, something to be read once or twice and tossed in the trash can. And a stack of comics is positively intimidating in its fannish, fringy quality. Worse, the cultural cachet attached to comic books is overpoweringly children’s lit, and disreputable children’s lit at that. Many of us have childhood horror stories of having our collections tossed away because our parents didn’t consider them "real" books. I lost a bunch of my beloved Walt Disney Comics Digests at the age of eight, when we moved from Toledo to Denver and my parents decided they didn’t want to haul those books along, so they donated them to some orphanage. (Once in Denver, I replaced them with Archie Comics Digests, but they just weren’t the same somehow.) However, one rarely hears of anyone doing such violence to book collections, except religious fanatics (especially newly minted ones) and relatives looking for a quick buck at the used paperback store. Books are more… sacred, more respectable, more serious. So there’s our real challenge: replace preconceptions about GNs with the truth, and not with some wimpy catch phrase, either. How to do it? Simple (well, sort of simple): describe GNs in language that minimizes their "childlike" qualities and maximizes their "adult" ones. Obviously, this requires some thought before you promote a particular GN. But if you are serious about spreading the good news about GNs and comics; if you truly want to prove their literary value to someone (e.g., potential reader, reporter, teacher), you have to use the language of legitimacy. I’ve prepared a list of ten strategies that have been useful to me in the past. Some of the tips are no-brainers, but better to list them than to forget them. Some are common sense and could be applied to anything. Some are unique to the GN/comics experience. Note that these tips are meant to be used on newbies; you won’t have to be so careful once you’ve gotten your reader used to the form. And you probably won’t need all of these tools; pick and choose among them for ones that make the most sense to you or to the book you’re recommending. 1. Never use "cartoon" or "comic strip" when describing a GN to a non-comics reader (unless you know that the NCR dearly loves strips). Those terms are way too loaded with negative cultural baggage. You might as well just toss the book on the couch and try again with someone else. "Comic" isn’t great either. I don’t mean for you to hide the nature of the GN, but you don’t want to put yourself at a disadvantage right away, either. You can use something like "drawn book" or "sequential art," or even "illustrated novel," though the first two terms might bring up images of art books; still, better the initial image of a series of pictures than the image of a kids’ book. 2. Be sparing with the term "graphic," for you don’t want to imply that you’re pushing pornographic literature. (This issue is likely going to be the subject of my next column.) Especially don’t start your pitch with, "Wanna read a graphic novel?" Believe me, this is NOT the best time to launch into an explanation of what a graphic novel is. "Have I got a book for you!" or "Wanna read a cool book?" are much better. 3. Emphasize the GN’s story. Although there are certainly a lot of GNs out there whose primary attraction is the art, the story is central to a book. And we’re pushing the fact that a GN is a book. 4. For
certain books, take care how you describe aspects that could
be misinterpreted. Elfquest is, IMHO, one of the top
three fantasies in any format, with an impressive depth and range.
However, on the surface, it’s about-well, a bunch of cute little
elves. "Elves" is yet another loaded word, often bringing
up images of Tolkienesque/D&D elves in the minds of fantasy
fans, if not the Keebler crew or Santa Claus workers. Tolkienesque
is not as bad as Keebler, but it’s entirely inaccurate and also
overused. "Wow, how original," is my usual reaction
to novels that use elves. So in your pitch of the book to the
NCR, you can’t casually say, "Oh, Elfquest is about
a tribe of elves who ride wolves and go on a quest." I promise
you, the image generated in the NCR’s mind will bizarre him/her
right out of any interest in the book. Same with Maus.
If "Maus uses animals to tell the biography of a Holocaust
survivor," you’re going to get some strange looks (though
perhaps not from people fond of Animal Farm). 5. Mention awards, especially mainstream ones, that the GN has been nominated for or has won. Pointing out that Neil Gaiman won the World Fantasy Award for "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" will give Sandman that much more credibility as a work of fiction. It also doesn’t hurt to say that "So-and-so from [Magazine or Newspaper X] thought this was one of the best books she had ever seen." Note: If the NCR is not a Netizen, quoting online sources won’t be as effective as quoting paper ones. 6. Tailor your GN suggestions to your NCR (i.e., know your audience). Talk up a SF title to a SF fan, a war-related one to a war buff, etc. I successfully got a history-loving NCR to read The Secret of San Saba, something that never would have caught his eye otherwise. (He enjoyed it, too, and is now open to more GNs.) 7. On a related note, start off by recommending stuff that you yourself like. Why push a book that you don’t care for, even if it’s gotten critical praise? The point here is for your enthusiasm to rub off on your NCR and make her/him that much more eager to read your title. 8. Choose a book whose art isn’t going to weird out or confuse the NCR. This is another "know your audience" issue. An older person whose experience with comics is confined solely to newspaper strips isn’t likely to be attracted by, say, Julie Doucet or some of the messier Japanese artists, but might do very nicely with the clear, straightforward work of individuals like Alex Ross or Batton Lash. On the other hand, someone fond of MAD magazine might really take to Phil Foglio’s work, and a person with a fondness for fantasy art would likely enjoy Moebius. And be careful with gross-out art! You’d better be damn sure your NCR can take it. 9. Point out how the art adds a dimension to the story that isn’t possible with a plain text book. This will take a bit of careful reading of your chosen graphic novel in order to highlight special features of its visual vocabulary. But GNs can do things that are totally beyond standard books. For example, in Ethel & Ernest, the art gets slowly softer and grayer as the characters grow older, a phenomenon that absolutely cannot be conveyed by mere text. And, recalling Maus, there’s a scene where Vladek points out that while he could "pass," Anya couldn’t-and this was visually depicted by having both of them wearing pig masks, but Anya’s tail poked out from her clothing. Such a scene spelled out in text would have been anti-climactic at best, clumsy and awkward at worst. 10. For nonfiction, use personal experience whenever possible to highlight the book’s utility/authority. One thing I’m able to do is to tell people that reading The Cartoon History of the Universe helped me ace an ancient history test back in college. It was a lot more fun to read than the textbook! I’m sure there must be other good ways of talking up graphic novels; I’d love to hear them. Anyway, good luck with these strategies. Convincing the larger world that GNs and comics are as deserving of its attention as regular books is a tough job. We’re battling generations of preconceptions and prejudice. But it’s a worthwhile endeavor if you love comics.
|
