When I tell people that I’m into comic books, they look at me funny. They seem to think I sit alone in a dank, dusty basement, clutching a copy of Superman: Doomsday in one virginal hand while I stroke my pocket protector with the other. I can personally attest to the fact that I have never been in such a situation. I’m terribly allergic to dust and my pocket protector has been missing for some time. In all seriousness, I usually respond to those who would lambaste my chosen form of entertainment by saying that I consider the comic book to be a modern form of art.
This usually gets me another look. The comic book is a form of art that not only grows with society, but reflects its values. Looking back on the history of mainstream comics, you can see the issues of each day and age being tackled just as society begins to tackle the issues itself. In 1971, DC Comics, the home of superheroes such as Batman and Superman, published a Green Arrow comic book story arc that addressed the issues of youth and drugs called “Snowbirds Don’t Fly.” In the arc, it is revealed that Green Arrow’s sidekick, Speedy, is actually a heroin addict. This sparked an era of socially relevant comic stories that opened the DC world — and arguably the world of fellow heavy-hitter Marvel — to many other “issues” concerning marginalized groups, such as homosexual characters. It could be argued that this age climaxed in 2004 when Mia Dearden, the second Speedy, revealed herself to be HIV-positive and was subsequently accepted by her friends, the Teen Titans, who treated her no differently.
Nowadays, most comic book fans can easily name multiple homosexual characters: Batwoman, Northstar, The Pied Piper. There are sixty-five gay characters in DC Comics, several in Marvel, and one is set to be introduced into Archie Comics. This is because the comic book is not just a form of entertainment for the nerds many people suppose its fans to be, but because it is a reflection of society. The comic book is a depiction of what we want to read with plots that are relevant and microcosmic to the world at large.
Self-portrait by Ken Wheaton
I can claim that comic books are relevant, but how does that make them works of art? For this question, I had to consult with some people who truly know what they’re talking about: Toronto-based writer and founder of Rise Comics, James Cooper; The Simpsons and Popeye comic book artist Ken Wheaton; and Batman Adventures, The Simpsons and Stig’s Inferno writer and artist Ty Templeton.
Comics are “the most basic human art form on the planet,” according to Templeton, citing ancient cave paintings as evidence. Fifteen thousand years ago, people painted stick figures fashioning weapons on one side of a cave, and as you walked along the cave, you could see the whole story of hunting and cooking an animal play out. These are, as Templeton puts it, the first comics. He also believes comics to be a universal language. For instance, when you go to an international airport, all the directions are done in the style of pictures.
“People say music is the international language,” he says. “But a comic book can tell you how to put a model airplane together.” He also notes that ancient languages such as cuneiform and hieroglyphs are all thoughts in the form of images. The pictures became words, which became language. Our own English language is based on images: the letter “A,” for example, is an upside-down ox’s head. The idea of picture following picture is the basis of the way our brains created language, so how can a comic book be seen as anything less than art?
When asked if “art” was too pretentious a word to relate to comics, Wheaton explains “We can’t just think about art as drawing a picture or putting paint on a canvas. Art needs to be seen as an expression of creativity, and comics doubly so, since it’s a collaborative marriage of story and sequential pictures.”
Indeed, when so many people today consider art to be something that is hung in a gallery, the idea of the comic as an art form can seem ridiculous. But as Templeton argues, “There’s art to be found in a well-made chair. Art is whatever people do to express themselves.”
Cooper dismisses the idea of pretension entirely. “What’s pretentious is a few splotches of paint on a canvas being considered art.” Cooper explains that most mainstream comics are not considered art on the grounds that they feature well-known superheroes. It is by no means negative, in my mind, to associate comic books with superheroes, but it is a shame that people don’t see how many beautifully illustrated comics there are.
Portrait of James Cooper by Minhee Bae
The evolution of comics, in Templeton’s eyes, is the evolution of society. In the ’70s, there were comics about cocaine; in the ’90s, indulgence was a common theme. Currently, a popular theme is freedom for the people.
“Like any art form, it goes through trends depending on the zeitgeist of society around it,” says Templeton, who cites the Internet revolution as making it possible for everyone to release a comic. Following September 11, the comic book industry created “The 9/11 Project,” which sought to put out 9/11 related comic books. The heroes became policemen and soldiers and it became “crass” to write for Spider-Man as people wondered whether he was the true hero.
Wheaton highlights another important use of comics throughout history: propaganda. Many comics produced during World War II were pure propaganda for the war effort. What better form of escapism to influence the youth than watching Captain America pummel Nazis?
“I think mainstream comics came into their own in the late ’60s, when they presented flawed, less idealised protagonists, used challenging vocabulary, and addressed social mores of the time,” says Wheaton. “All of a sudden, comics were being read at colleges and universities. They started to deal with issues like politics, race relations, and drug use, and didn’t talk down to the readership.”
As Cooper argues, “Just as any medium, comics need to evolve with the audience. This means dealing with tough subject matter in a way that doesn’t alienate the audience.”
There is a lot of concern that the comic book as we know it will soon be dead, as kids are picking up comic books less than they used to and new readerships are not being engaged. Cooper agrees that if kids stopped picking up comics, soon there would be no one left to support the industry, but he doesn’t think that will ever happen. “Cartoons, TV shows, and blockbuster films featuring comic characters come out en masse,” says Cooper. The popularity these characters are seeing in other mediums makes it more likely for new audiences to seek out the source material.”
I agree completely. Nothing makes me want to buy Green Lantern comics more than the thought of Ryan Reynold’s rippling abs in the upcoming film.
Templeton reacts to the notion of the comic book dying with gales of laughter. “Movies didn’t go away because of TV; TV didn’t go away because of Youtube. Entertainment is recession-proof. The idea that no one is buying comics is ridiculous,” says Templeton.
Self-portrait by Ty Templeton
All three of the interviewees agree that comic books are a modern art form. Templeton says that “We are the universal art form… grown with every generation,” while Wheaton calls comics “legitimate literature” and cites their mainstream acceptance as forms of expression. Cooper notes that “if comics hadn’t grown with society, the industry would be dead.”
It’s true: any thriving social organism must be able to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. The marriage of words and pictures is as old and timeless as the cave images Templeton described. The comic will always exist, in one form or another.
When asked what they would say to someone who dismisses comics as nerdy or childish, Templeton puts it best: “You’re missing out, you poor bastard.”
