Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Misunderstanding Comics
Milt Stanley quotes Ray Ortland
Comic books are not a childish, simple medium, certainly not anymore. Many scholars believe the first novel ever written is in Japanese, The Tale of Genji and it is so thoroughly illustrated as to be essentially, manga, which is the Japanese comic form.
It is true, one cannot communicate as efficiently, or in as great a depth with a comic book as one can with the written word, but it is a valuable and serious medium. It lies between the novel and the movie a a means of telling a story. It can provide far more depth, characterization and treatment of themes than a movie can dream of, but not so much as the novel.
It should be remembered that Shakespeare was the pop culture of the day.
If there is a reason for Christians to dismiss the comic form it is that those which have used it in the name of Christ have been downright awful at it.
There is no substitute for Scripture, but let us not be so fast to dismiss the comic book. Like icons in an illiterate age, it could tell the story to those that will not listen to any other medium.
God did not give us a comic book. But precisely because the Bible is so challenging, it's satisfying. God treats us like adults.Don't want to disagree with Ray's point at all, but do want to pick on his metaphor just a bit.
Comic books are not a childish, simple medium, certainly not anymore. Many scholars believe the first novel ever written is in Japanese, The Tale of Genji and it is so thoroughly illustrated as to be essentially, manga, which is the Japanese comic form.
It is true, one cannot communicate as efficiently, or in as great a depth with a comic book as one can with the written word, but it is a valuable and serious medium. It lies between the novel and the movie a a means of telling a story. It can provide far more depth, characterization and treatment of themes than a movie can dream of, but not so much as the novel.
It should be remembered that Shakespeare was the pop culture of the day.
If there is a reason for Christians to dismiss the comic form it is that those which have used it in the name of Christ have been downright awful at it.
There is no substitute for Scripture, but let us not be so fast to dismiss the comic book. Like icons in an illiterate age, it could tell the story to those that will not listen to any other medium.
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