Graphic Novels - 'the literary comic book'

When I suggest that graphic novels are capable of having as much literary merit as a Dickens or a MAN Booker Prize nominee, I sometimes meet with snorts of derision from not only English teachers but my fellow librarians too. Their ill-informed perspective is that a graphic novel is essentially a trussed up comic book; that is, superheroes in tights fighting moustache-twirling villains over 100+ pages.

This is true to an extent, of course. Trouble is, people seem to think that it's truer to a greater extent than it actually is. It doesn't help when Waterstones seem to only stock superhero graphic novels (that's certainly the case in the branch at Leeds), and graphic novels are tucked away in the teenage zone of the public library, a place the rest of us tend not to 'invade'.

Anyone who's read Watchmen will testify that superhero graphic novels can be literature. The weighty ethical and political issues dealt with in this chilling alternative reality, in which Nixon is still president in 1985 and a consequence of superhero-assisted victory in Vietnam is a countdown to nuclear Armageddon, are as excitingly thought provoking and stimulating as just about any novel I can think of. Ditto Frank Miller's Batman books, a clear inspiration for the recent excellent Batman Begins and Dark Knight films.

But there are reams of brilliant graphic novels out there in which there isn't a cape or 'BIFF' sign in sight. Anyone who thinks the comic book medium can't grapple with truly powerful and horrifying episodes from human history, such as the Holocaust, should really read Art Spieglman's Maus books, which deal with precisely that. Marjane Satrapi's bittersweet memoir of her life before, during and after Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Persepolis not only reads as a great history lesson, but it's a truly moving and involving rites of passage autobiographical tale in its own right.

And if intellectual mysticism is your bag, check out the brilliantly demented Neil Gaiman's Sandman books, in which the reader is invited on a dizzying, non-linear trip through space and time in the company of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, and his family Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium and, grandest of all, Destiny, complete with a supporting cast that borrows deities from just about every culture in the world. Believe me, these books have as much philosophical, metaphysical and theological meat to get your teeth into as a Dostoyevsky.

I could go on and on, but that's enough from me. Open your mind to graphic novels, and you won't regret it. In case you're wondering I'm a school librarian, and had I not been one I'm not sure if the literary merit of graphic novels would have been something I'd have been alerted to. I definitely wouldn't have been aware of the merits of teenage fiction had I not got this job: and a post on why you shouldn't rule those out is what I'll be nagging you about in the near future...

U.S. Elections and Conspiracy Theorists

Barack Obama has had to re-take his inauguration oath because there was a slight mix-up with the words first time around. They were worried about conspiracy theorists getting excited. BUT I hear that the second oath was taken without a bible. Apparently there wasn't one to hand.

Surely that will have the conspiracy theorists jumping up and down even more? Anyway, I hope this daft-as-brushes minority doesn't cause too many problems. Obama has enough on his plate. He'll need a very big mop and bucket to clear up after Dubya.

The very best of luck to him. Expectations vary from 'Barack walks on water' hysteria in some quarters to 'anything must be better than Dubya' from the cynics. Personally, I think he will beat the latter minimum by some distance. Let's hope so.

Cultural Imperialism

Michael Balcon, the heart and soul of the post-war Ealing Studios, said 'the only Imperialism worth anything is Cultural Imperialism'. It's hard to disagree with this statement. Think how much cheaper it would be to subsidise the making of a few film comedies or to properly fund organisations like the British Council than it is to spend £££££££££'s on military adventures like the Suez Canal and the Falklands, or latterly in trotting obediently after the Americans.

news gathering

I often think it's the small items of news that say more about the state of the world than than the leader articles...take this for example

"A man has been prosecuted for attempting to smuggle an iguana into the US inside a secret compartment in his prosthetic leg."

Now whatever happened to ferrets and moleskins?

US Elections

Why is the UK media so obsessed with every little detail in the run-up to the Presidential elections in the USA? The elections don't even take place until the end of the year.

Granted that the US President is an important figure in international politics, and the World will be very glad to see the back of Dubya and his cronies in November, but we in the UK have absolutely no influence on the outcome of these elections. Let's face it: the American people don't have much. We're talking about the politics of a Plutocracy, not a real Democracy.

courtesy

Whenever news programmes want to run a predictable item on obesity they then settle for the predictable background footage in some shopping mall, showing various citizens with corpulent spreads and large behinds. But do they ask these people's permission to photograph them at such a disadvantage? And if not isn't the whole process incredibly rude? It maybe that if the PC Republic is ever declared we'll find that simple old-fashioned courtesy is a thing of the past.

Headlines

Remind me of what a headline is supposed to do..........this grabbed my attention alright but as for giving me any clue as to the contents of the article........

"Pop goes chance of Beckham hit with Haircut 100" Daily Telegraph, last week.

Any guesses? Answers on a postcard please....

Healthy? You're a burden on the state

I've always instinctively known this, but am glad that there's finally research to prove it. Dutch researchers have proven that healthy people are a greater burden on the state than smokers and the fat. A person of normal weight costs an average £210,000 over their lifetime whereas a smoker costs up to £165,000 and the obese about £187,000 each. So if you're a fat smoker, the government should be paying you to stay that way. It'll be cheaper in the long run!

Valentine

Administrative Shortcomings

Administrative shortcomings? Apologies? Ten days suspension? If you're going to be a benefit fraudster, you should know which benefit to defraud. Derek Conway certainly does.

Creative Writing

Overheard on the radio - politician unknown.

"Ticking boxes is so yesterday's story..."

I wonder what kind of story that would be? I thought politicians told the truth? And I didn't know they ticked boxes, either? Saying they think outside the box, yes, in a transparent kind of way but all the time sending out strong signals in a robust fashion as they float off their raft of measures on their level playing fields....sorry, getting carried away with my own story....

ID Cards

How could an MOD car containing a laptop computer with the personal details of 600,000 people be left in a car park overnight for anyone to steal? Thank goodness our ID Card data will be in safer hands. What was that? You're a cynic, you are.

Words

I may not do this, for I feel it would surely characterize me as something of an Anorak, but I should love to sit through next year's final of the BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' and actually count the number of times judges and commentators use the word "fantastic". I suspect that this year's count would have run into several dozen.

Words

A few months ago, the England football captain, Steven Gerrard, looking for reasons why his side lost 3-2 to Croatia, "pinpointed" the fact that they had conceded two goals early on. Sounds like shrewd analysis.

Mobile Madness

Mobile phones have made people careless about making private phone calls in public places. Even so, I thought the lady I heard on a crowded bus shouting her credit card details down her handset must have been very trusting.

Words

Is any term in the arts (and in literature in particular) now used as relentlessly as the ubiquitous "innovative"?