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Graphic

A reflection

by Raymond Blanton

Graph-ic: (adjective)

1. Vividly detailed; including a number of vivid descriptive details.
   
2. Shown in writing; representing something such as a sound by means of letters or other written symbols.

Here are some other ways of explaining this word: Explicit, vivid, striking, detailed, full, lurid, garish, gaudy, shocking, brassy, strident, grating, vulgar…

What does it mean to be graphic? I mean really? Graphic can be quite arbitrary. When someone sees a violent scene in a movie or television show you might hear it described as “graphic.” When someone is referring to promiscuity or sexuality you might also hear it—“graphic.” For those out there that follow Brian Michael Bendis, Alan Moore or Frank Miller, you also know it: graphic. These graphic novel writers and artists are the up-and-coming storytellers of the post-modern era.

These variegated tales are permeating the pop culture landscape in a big way. So what exactly are graphic novels and why are they important? When is it okay to address mature matters in creative and artistic ways? How thoughtful are we about this technique historically? What about the ancient artistry of Egyptian murals: storytelling in colorful and creative form in a systematic pattern, with structure? Is it more than a low-brow art form? I believe it is. It has a significant place in the current market and is a viable means of conveying the essence of the human condition via story.

Not many folks will read this article or hear about these artists and head on out to the local comic book shop to pick these stories up. So what will it take for us to appreciate how the comic book and graphic novel are viable and influential means of storytelling? Or to put it in pop culture terms, I’ll frame it in the question a young boy posed to a willing owl in a commercial I watched growing up: “How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” Well, in the words of the old owl, “Let’s find out”?

First, why are we even having this discussion? Consider this: in the last five or more years, a myriad of comic books and graphic novels have been adapted to film unlike any time in the history of filmmaking. Batman was re-launched in the 80s by Tim Burton, then by Joel Schumacher and most recently by Christopher Nolan, whose Batman Begins and the highly touted and upcoming Dark Knight (the last complete screen role by Heath Ledger) evokes the darker themes of graphic novelist Frank Miller. This is just one example. Among others already released or in production that stem from comic book and graphic novel adaptation are Catwoman, Spider Man (3), X-Men (3), 300, 30 Days of Night, Fantastic Four (2), Hulk, Blade, Men in Black, The Crow, Hellboy, Van Helsing, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Daredevil, The Punisher, Constantine, Aeon-Flux, Alien vs. Predator, Elektra, Road to Perdition, A History of Violence, V for Vendetta, Sin City, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, Wonder Woman, Silver Surfer, Nick Fury, and Superman (both the Richard Donner series of the late 70s and throughout the 80s and the more recent Bryan Singer project).

What does this trend suggest? There’s clearly an audience for the stories that are found in the pulp pages of comic books and graphic novels. Whatever the past might suggest, the future promises a continuing trend. Paramount Studios, the studio owned by corporate giant Viacom (masterminds behind Blockbuster Video), has a mega-deal with Marvel Comics, which should keep a steady stream of adaptations flowing in the coming years. This medium of storytelling seems to have a voice that resonates with the human condition. It spells big budgets and bigger profits for studios. With merchandising and the steady fan base, we ought to consider these stories more seriously.

Graphic novels, if you’ve not read any, are quite captivating.  I particularly enjoy the work of Frank Miller, whose recent works have been adapted to produce 300, Sin City and Batman Begins. Then there’s Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta which was a subversive comment on Reaganism and Thatcher’s leadership in the UK in the 80s, which was recently adapted by the Wachowski brothers of Matrix Trilogy fame.

Now, I could just give the standard pat answer that graphic novels are too “graphic.” Regardless, I think there’s quite a bit we can glean from the graphic world. If we’re honest, we don’t have to thumb through the pages of our Scriptures too long before we find some graphic stories. What I enjoy most about graphic novels and comics, in addition to the technical aesthetics, is how they’re colorfully honest about human nature. I believe these stories can challenge us.

I watched a lot of movies growing up. My dad was a big fan of Smoky and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds. One of my favorite characters was Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by the great Jackie Gleason. He had a distinct southern vernacular, always “in high speed pursuit” of ole Smoky. I think we should adopt a similar approach to comics. We need to examine why this market is becoming so viable. What in the human condition is being represented that makes it so appealing to so many people? I think we should consider Princeton professor Robert George’s words: “It is very important for us as Christians to appreciate the value of knowledge in all domains. We must not assume that there are some branches of knowledge not relevant to Christian concerns and others that are.” Media has the potential to open up and lay bare vast descriptive elements of the human condition and more, and we’ve yet to plunder this with gospel compassion and vigor. 

Bottom line, we’re talking about common grace. All of culture touches on a basic element of common grace, the idea that God’s goodness is evident in the works of his creation. In creating images, we manifest our being created in the Creator’s image, even if it’s to oppose him. John Calvin wrote it like this: “Some men excel in keenness; others are superior in judgment; still others have a readier wit to learn this or that art. In this variety God commends his grace to us, lest anyone should claim as his own what flowed from the sheer bounty of God."

Knowing the context can help us better appreciate any work of art. For example, Superman, which began in Action Comics #1 1938, was created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, both sons of Jewish immigrants. Appropriate to their context, Shuster and Siegel create an all powerful hero in an age of oppression. Often such stories are hyperbolic, fantastic or mythical, yet they’re drawn from real life.

Before the pulp pages of H.L. Mencken’s Blackmask magazine in the 20s, it was Vidocq, a criminal who had escaped and eventually was utilized by the French to study criminals. He founded the Sûreté and his criminality led to a splendid career and his renowned memoirs. According to master criminologist Joseph Geringer, “Vidocq’s factual successes inspired world-class authors who borrowed his brilliance to embody their fictional heroes. Doyles' Sherlock Holmes character is much based on Vidocq; so are both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in Hugo's Les Miserables. Dickens mentions Vidocq in Great Expectations; Melville cites him in Moby-Dick; and Poe refers to Vidocq's methods in Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Vidocq’s real life and experiences inspired other creative artists to draw from his and their own experience to tell stories. This is the crux: human experience—struggle, hardship, pain, loss, tragedy, comedy—all framed creatively as an attempt to make sense of existence.

Additionally, our knowledge of graphic culture can allow us an opportunity to engage the worldviews of others in a way that’s clear and vivid. Through knowledge of cultural context, the apostle Paul was able to speak to people who wouldn’t have been familiar with the Scriptures. He referenced their poets instead—several of them in fact. By utilizing their language he was able to appeal to his audience’s religiosity and proclaim the gospel. I hope we can endeavor to a similar end though I know it is a challenging one.

Yet, I realize that some out there believe that there’s still nothing these stories offer, like New Yorker film critic David Denby, who notes, “Pop cannibalizes and regurgitates everything, including history, and in normal circumstances only a literal-minded prig would treat graphic novelists or big-screen fantasists as if they had any responsibility to truth.” However, I’d like to suggest we begin by simply opening up by reading a comic or graphic novel, seeing one of these film adaptations when they come out and talking to fans about what this movement means for us, the current culture. That doesn’t mean we hold the genre in faultless regard.

In conclusion, I recall the wise words of Edward R. Murrow when he addressed another influential medium of media, the television: “I have reason to know, as do many of you, that when the evidence on a controversial subject is fairly and calmly presented, the public recognizes it for what it is--an effort to illuminate rather than to agitate. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends.” May we utilize our wits and the gospel to do just that.