[comics] The Boston Globe wonders if Comics are Good or Bad … [Related: Metafilter Thread, via Neilalien]
Comics: a vast universe to explore … ‘Reading McCloud’s first book, you may find yourself feeling a peculiar combination of exhilaration and exhaustion. It’s a feeling that I’ve come to recognize as part of the comics-reading experience, at least for me. Absorbing complex ideas through the combination of pictures and words is a new skill for most of us, and one that takes a particular kind of intellectual effort. But it also rewards that effort in ways that neither words nor pictures alone can do. When we simultaneously experience both the visceral effect of pictures and the intellectual engagement of words, our brains connect with the material in a richer and more interactive way. Because we have to put the words and pictures together, we’re more actively involved in constructing meaning, and the effort wakes us up. That’s how it feels to me, anyway.’
Got plot? Complex thoughts? Imagination? ‘Growing up, on the rough streets of Chestnut Hill, there were two groups: the comic-books kids and the others. While I found myself drawn to such wholesome preteen activities as shoplifting Atari cartridges and sneaking Marlboros at the town dump, the comic book kids – identified by the Marvel classics they kept protected under plastic – chose the world of fantasy. These weirdos scared me: A kid named Brian who spent hours at Hebrew School composed a ”hit list” of countries he would like to bomb. A group of peers at grammar school formed the ”Chinese Ninja Club.”’
Comics: a vast universe to explore … ‘Reading McCloud’s first book, you may find yourself feeling a peculiar combination of exhilaration and exhaustion. It’s a feeling that I’ve come to recognize as part of the comics-reading experience, at least for me. Absorbing complex ideas through the combination of pictures and words is a new skill for most of us, and one that takes a particular kind of intellectual effort. But it also rewards that effort in ways that neither words nor pictures alone can do. When we simultaneously experience both the visceral effect of pictures and the intellectual engagement of words, our brains connect with the material in a richer and more interactive way. Because we have to put the words and pictures together, we’re more actively involved in constructing meaning, and the effort wakes us up. That’s how it feels to me, anyway.’
Got plot? Complex thoughts? Imagination? ‘Growing up, on the rough streets of Chestnut Hill, there were two groups: the comic-books kids and the others. While I found myself drawn to such wholesome preteen activities as shoplifting Atari cartridges and sneaking Marlboros at the town dump, the comic book kids – identified by the Marvel classics they kept protected under plastic – chose the world of fantasy. These weirdos scared me: A kid named Brian who spent hours at Hebrew School composed a ”hit list” of countries he would like to bomb. A group of peers at grammar school formed the ”Chinese Ninja Club.”’
Are Comics Good or Bad?
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 30th, 2002 at 9:16 am and is filed under Comics.
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This actually moved me to respond to the troll columnist. I feel dirty.
“…Surely someone cooler should be scoring with “the girl with the wet T-shirt.” Like you maybe – who might be bitter because others don’t fully appreciate the importance of his interests. That would make for a fun yet delightfully complex plot line.
blah, blah, blah,
P.S. Rock and roll will rot your brain.
Cheer up,”
I had to reread this again b/c I actually this might be extremely oblique satire, but I don’t think it is.
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