|
|
|
Home::Entertainment
Comic Books Can Be For Professionals Too
Author : Gideon O
Copyright 2006 Gideon O
The most recognizable and triumphant periods in the comic books
era were: the Golden age, Silver age and the Bronze Age. We've
all heard of the saying, "what goes up must come down." This
seemed to apply to the comics industry as well because it didn't
only come down in the mid 1990s, but it came down with a crash.
Lately the comic book industry has been trying to pick itself up
through the aid of comic 2 films. This approach has proved to be
helpful for titles like Spiderman, X-men, and Sin City in sales
but it may have been hurtful for other titles that flopped in
the Box office. That is why this is not enough to bring
redemption to the industry. One of the problems that led to the
downfall of the comics industry was said to be accessibility due
to the removal of comics from stores and shops. This can no
longer be true for the reason that comics are getting exposure
through animations, movies, and the internet. Then why is this
industry still struggling? I'll ask another question, why is
anime doing so well? The simple answer is better storyline and
the fact that it is made for a broader audience. Japanese comics
are usually in the form of graphic novels 60 to 200 pages. As
long as comics are seen as a kid thing, or for the
unintelligent, it would be hard for major growth in the American
industry.
In the past, there were a lot of criticisms about comics making
the readers delinquent and depreciating their reading abilities.
These criticisms resulted in drafting of the comic codes.
Parents believed the claims and criticisms made toward comics
and were not elated about their children reading these "picture
books." I intentionally wrote "picture books" because picture
books are related to little kids learning how to read.
Many of us read comics when we were kids, but when we hit
fourteen we are feeling closer to adulthood. We're teenagers,
young adults. This meant anything synonymous to children had to
go, including our comics. The problem was, we knew we couldn't
just stop reading comics or dispose of them, so some of us
decided to read our comics in private. We even played the hide
the comic book inside another schoolbook trick, going as far as
to dis comic books in front of all our friends, to make sure
that no one associated us with such "childish things".
Some of you may have experienced looking at comic books at a
store ready to purchase, when one of your friends walk into the
store. You are walking to the cashier and notice her walking
towards you. You're now trying to hide the comic book behind
your back and talk to her as calmly as possible, praying that
she doesn't see this comic book you're hiding. You greet each
other and chat a little. Unfortunately for you she notices the
comic book behind you and asks, "What's that you're holding
behind your back." You begin to sweat and all that runs through
your mind is "Oh no!" You now begin to think of all the possible
excuses you could give to explain why you're holding a super
friends comic book in 2006. Bingo! You've got an idea, so
you confidently begin to explain to her, "Oh this thing, my
little brother likes to read this piece of trash." Fortunately
for you she believed it and your reputation is safe.
Let's be real, if we saw anyone around the age of seventeen to
fifty reading comics we would think to ourselves, "Isn't he to
old for that?" This grown man may be a genius or even a great
athlete, but if he picks up a comic book, he's just another
unintelligent geek. The whole point I'm trying to make is comics
and adults don't mix in our society. As I mentioned earlier, it
is because of the perception created about comics. Theories like
comic-books are picture books for little children or comics make
readers delinquent and reduce their reading abilities helped
build the perception. And neither has been proven.
If anything, comic books are helpful to readers because it is a
form of story telling. The pictures only help one capture the
story being told, leading to the creation of a visible scene.
Movie makers, coaches, video game designers, Scientists,
engineers, etc, all implement this method.
Related articles
|
|
|
