Comics?

Comics aren’t considered “real” books. When people think of them, they are generally thought of as inferior to books “with no pictures at all.” ( page 808, Show and Tell) But why? What is it about images that make comic books so repelling to people who are more “intellectual”? When this question was posed in our Ap English class the other day, the conclusion made was that it is because comics are commonly associated with children’s books. As comics do, children’s books usually contain many colorful pictures that aid in the storytelling. After all, that is how kids begin their learning: with visual demonstrations. It is also how they start off by trying to communicate, with hand gestures and drawn photos since they haven’t attained the ability to verbally describe what they want or need because they don’t have as an extensive vocabulary. So, people who read comics are then thought as less intellectual because comics don’t need many words to convey any meaning, they have the photos to do that.

Personally, I love comic books. I grew up on manga and DC comics. However, like many others who enjoy them, I’ve been chastised for reading them. “They won’t help you with your learning or writing in school” my dad would say. “They’re useless, just pictures that you stare at.” I would get angry. Why did everything have to be about learning? Why can’t I do something purely because I loved it and found it entertaining? Over time, they got used to the idea of me reading comic books, so long as I still got stellar grades. However, here and there, whenever they found me reading one, they’d shake their heads and walk away or tell me they wished I wouldn’t read them. This is a perfect example of the common misconception described above. In my opinion, comic books can be just as “intellectual” as books with words. One photo could have several interpretations and just because it seems like it doesn’t have much complexity into its creation doesn’t make it any less meaningful. Besides, they could have rhetorical devices in their stories too. For instance, allegory and foreshadowing are used in the story Maus that our class was assigned to read starting this week.

In the end, comic books have always had a bad reputation and there isn't much that can be done to change that. Though, I really hope that people would read this and come to the realization that comic books can have value as well and give them another chance.