Week One

'Do you think comics are a children's or adults media?

Tintin comics are somewhat blurry when trying to analyse whether or not comics are an adults or childrens genre in the sense that, obviously they appeal to children through the cartoons and humorous action delivered through herosim and adventure. But where it becomes slightly more mature are when the plot of the comic becomes centered on drug trafficking and kidnapping. I remember reading about the multiple kidnappings of Lois Lane in the Superman comics when I was younger, but with that level of fantasy in the story, the kidnapping serves only as a trap for the superhero to come save the day. Tintin is a little different, he is not a superhero, he is a human and therefore anything happening to him has a much more realistic impact on the audience. Comics have always exaggerated the antics of its protagonists so it will appeal to the little boy/girl who wants to fly around and save the day but they also contain themes, as to also appeal to the adult audience. The Blue Lotus for example contains the typical hero story in which the good guy saves the day, but an adult can see the messages put in by the author which speaks of drug epidemics and the lunacy associated with drug use, all of which a child may find amusing but to an adult is a commentary on society.

'How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art form? Can/should they be accepted as a literary genre?

To argue that comics are not a form of literature would be close minded, obviously with much of the story delivered through text and what the character's saying, the literary aspects cannot be ignored but in saying that, comics do contain less literary quality than say a novel or a poem. The words, although the plotline requires them for clarity reasons, are not always well chosen, nor is it of a high quality, but as Varnum and Gibbons (2001) state that "stories, in comics are received as a graphic whole and as the creation of a single 'graphiateur'". Suggesting that although the comics are a mixture of both art and literature, the purpose is to unite the two, allowing the reader to see the comic as a whole rather than a story with pictures.

In that same sense they are becoming more accepted as an art form because the illustrations are not just the charicatures and characters but also the speech bubbles and the words being spoken by a character. (Varnum and Gibbons 2001) mention that Kordoc focused on the speech bubbles in Asterix, stating that "the ballons tell the reader how to hear the message. They are visual symbols for sound". This is why I believe comics should be classed as both art and literature, not excluded because of it's hybrid nature.