Graphic Novels: An Introduction

Mypersonal affiliation with graphic novels began in the glory days of childhoodwhen Santa Claus still existed and contact with any female of the speciesrequired a thorough post-examination to check for signs of a cooties infection.

It was throughout these days that I lived on a diet of summer holiday morningsuperhero serials before spending the rest of the day creating imaginativescenarios for my Superman action figure to defeat Lex Luther and save the worldfrom evil.

Life is undoubtedly less troublesome when right and wrong can bedefined by whether you hold ownership over a deadly quantity of Kryptonite ornot.

As Igrew older and my parents attempted to lure me into the adult world of bookswhere Sherlock Holmes solves his cases by use of deduction instead of ScoobySnacks I was offered the compromise of the graphic novel.

This early exposurecame in the form the adventures of Asterix who along with his pal Obelix setabout new and exciting ways to vanquish the Roman threat from Gaul during thecourse of each collection.

I say collection because technically such novelswere simply a collation of previously published comic strips brought together,rather than a single publication of comic books.

Equally they lacked the maturestorylines and themes that are synonymous with those graphic novels held inhigher regard.

To saythat I gave two hoots about such technicalities at this point would be anunderstatement though.

If anything there was significant comfort to be gainedin the fact that Obelix would always be blasting through the Roman barricadesby the final third of each story.

It would be a disservice to the series thoughto dismiss these novels as unworthy of any attention.

The juvenile sense ofhumour played out through a classic funny man - straight man charactercombination and a fantastic use of national stereotypes still amused me greatlywhen I dug a couple of issues out for this article.

Eventuallythough I did 'mature' and with my increased grasp of the shades of greyprevalent in life came a life-long obsession with Spiderman.

EssentiallySpiderman is an anti-hero. He did not choose the life of a super-hero, fatesimply handed him his 'great powers' condemning him to a life holding the'great responsibility' that comes with them.

The duty is his alone to protectNew York City whilst receiving little gratitude for this service.

When PeterParker's mask comes off, much similarly to my 12 year old incarnation, he's notpopular and he's certainly not cool.

It's probably this image of a torturedsoul that resonates with so many people making the series so popular.

Theessential Spiderman story is of course his original conception and you can readthis through the 'Essential Spider-Man:v. 1' which is readily available both online and in book stores.

Included inthis edition is the origin tale along with details of Spiderman's firstencounters with long running super-villains such as Doctor Octopus and theGreen Goblin.

What gives these original editions such classic status though isthe combination of Ditko's distinctive angular drawings combined with StanLee's engaging stories and witty one-liners.

However, having quickly read everySpiderman comic and novel I could get my hands on nothing seemed to compare tomy favourite web-slinger and so my affair with the graphic-novel went on hiatusuntil this very summer. [-[more]-]

As my record collectioncontaining numerous one-hit wonders and buzz bands (The Twang, The Others, TheHorrors) will tell you though, I am a sucker for any significant amount of hypesurrounding an upcoming release.

Therefore, given the hysteria surrounding thenew Batman movie 'The Dark Knight' I got my geek back on and invested in the 'Batman:The Dark Knight Returns' graphic novel on which Christopher Nolan loosely hasbased the current franchise.

Unsurprisingly the novel shares the filmsconception of a fallen Gotham City where crime has infested every crevice ofsociety leading to a world where opinion on Batman himself is divided as towhether he is a saviour or a menace.

Such doubt plays masterfully on the psycheof Batman who realises that had he killed many of his previous enemies ratherthan taking the morally correct action and imprisoning them then lives couldhave been saved in the long run through the damage caused by the eventualescape of many of his nemeses.

Also featured heavily across thecourse of the novel are many of the strands from which Heath Ledger pulledtogether his magnificent performance as the Joker.

In this incarnation theJoker remains the manic mass-murderer featured in the summer blockbuster at onepoint engineering the deaths of an entire live studio television audience.

Equally the comic book Joker takes the same delight that Ledger did inreminding Batman of the horrifying similarities between the two characters.

Asmy first step into the world of 'adult' graphic novels 'The Dark Knight Returns'provided a delightfully morbid introduction providing a healthy dose ofphilosophy along with the old-school action kicks.

In fact I was so enthused with 'TheDark Knight Returns' that I went out and purchased what has invariably been describedas the Citizen Cane of graphic novels, 'Watchmen'. [-[quote]-]

This tome is held in suchhigh regard essentially for the way it drew stark comparison between thetension of the mid-1980s Cold War and a parallel world in which every issuebegins with a blood-soaked cover in which a clock counts down further towards midnightand nuclear warfare.

With one notable exception the super-heroes containedwithin this pre-apocalyptic world hold no difference to you or I bar the factthey spend their nights on the prowl in search of crime to intercept ratherthan crashing out after watching the latest episode of Lost.

Not only do these 'heroes' haveno super-powers to speak of but they also hold some serious character flawsincluding among many an over-massaged ego, a conception of justice based onvengeance for a shrill upbringing and predatory sexual instincts.

Such traitsdo not help endear the characters to the reader but they do provide a perfectfoil to the dystopia which they inhabit.

The plot itself is impressivelycomplex and a vast deviation from the 'superman saves the day' storylines whichyou will most likely be familiar with.

The central message of humanity as apowerful force for both good and evil provides a relevant reminder up to thepoint of writing this where war in Georgia and the Olympic Games in Chinaprovide a vast contrast in terms of issues hitting the headlines.

Having completed Watchmen thoughand come to a relative pause in my flirtation with graphic novels unfortunatelyit would be hard for me to recommend one example of the genre over the other.

Ultimately if you are interested in pursuing this important facet of theliterary subculture you have a personal choice to make.

Would you prefer yourcomic book thrills to come as a sweet sugar laced treat to brighten your day ora bitter pill to swallow distracting you from the peril and corruption of a jadedreality?