Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Comics ain't just for kids

When most people think of comic books, the first thought goes to the ones they read as children.

These were normally the superhero genre featuring such characters as Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Thor, etc... Of course, there were other comic books available for younger readers, or for those who preferred something other than people with super powers. There were also comics about war.

Randy Duncan, a professor at Henderson State University who teaches the class Graphic Novels as Literature, points out there are other types of comics as well.

During the so-called golden age of comics, the books were usually eight to 12 pages in length, telling the stories in panels. These comics were aimed at 11-year-old boys, he said, while todays comics arent.

Most people think of comics as being flimsy with garish characters, Duncan said. The characters are getting darker in nature. Daredevil ha gotten darker and is aimed at older readers.

Some are more complex and explore their spiritual nature, which is unusual, but not totally new for comics.

Comics, he said, picked up steam in the 1960s. Marvel gained a following among college students, and the comic story lines became like soap operas. Spider-Man had problems DCs Superman and Batman didnt have.

According to Duncan, Marvels comics became more grounded in the real world and showed issues of the day, including drugs. Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, he said, wanted to deal with the drug issue and had Peter Parkers friend, Harry, develop a drug problem. Lee was contacted by the feds and told comic books was a way to reach young people with such messages.

During the decade of the 70s comics took on more and more issues, such as racism and other social issues. It caught peoples attention, Duncan said, but they still didnt want to give up the 11-year-old boys, so they still beat people up.

Things were happening outside the mainstream, he said, which affected comic books. This included the Vietnam war. Comic books began mirroring what was going on in America, especially with the creation of underground comics.

Underground comics began in Texas but migrated to San Francisco and became associated with the hippy culture. These comics werent sold at newsstands, but through record stores and head shops. Comic book artist and writer R. Crumb even sold copies of his work out of a baby carriage.

Underground comics spread across the country. They dealt with issues, though some were done for shock value alone. The idea, Duncan said, was to break all taboos. Crumb always shocked the readers with how he presented things. He offended everyone.

Will Eisner was not an underground comic artist. His career began at the start of World War II when he drew the comic Spirit for newspapers, which used to carry comic books as supplements. Eisner was important to comics, Duncan said. He was the Orson Wells of comics. His work became the textbook for future comic artists.

Eisner was the first to use a cinematic approach with black and white. He was drafted for WWII, picking up Spirit after getting out of the Army. He didnt have a life, Duncan said. He worked 18-hours a day. He also made comics for the Army. Those comics were used as instructional manuals.

It was in the Army where Eisner realized comics were a powerful educational tool. He did some comics for corporations before founding his own company  American Visuals.

Eisner disappeared in the 50s, resurfacing in 1978 because of underground comics. The comics he did upon his return were of a personal nature and included the creation of the graphic novel: Contract with God, which was three short stories. He had to explain the concept to publishers, Duncan said, and came up with the term graphic novel. Hes the father of the genre and showed it could be a success.

Eisner, like many others in the mainstream comic industry, was Jewish, though a lot had Anglicized their names, such as Stan Lee.

Art Spiegleman was impressed by underground comics and started RAW, aiming for a higher art form. He did avant guard comics, with RAW not being a crass commercial product.

Comics grew up in 1986, Duncan said, with the Dark Night Returns done by Frank Miller. This graphic novel portrayed Batman as a cranky 60-year-old legend. It was an examination of the superhero concept.

Watchman, he said, was the deconstruction of the superhero and was done by Alan Moore. Watchman had a complex structure and was the first comic to be annotated.

Annotation was also used in the comic Maus, also done by Spiegleman, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work. Maus is a comic about the Holocaust and Spieglemans relationship with his father. The comic anthropomorphizes animals and is carried by book clubs.

Other comics became more sophisticated and complex as well, targeting an older audience. Today, movies are being made from graphic novels. These include: From Hell with Johnny Depp; Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks, and Sin City with a host of stars.

Hendersons library, Duncan said, has a Will Eisner reading room. Eisner died this January at the age of 87. He hit his stride in his 70s and did his best work.

According to Duncan, the Internet will likely be the future of comics.