Week 2

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media?

Personally I believe that comics are not just a children’s genre, but also an adults genre. There are a wide range of comics available and some of which do cater to younger crowds, however quite a lot of comics contain content that adults can find rather enjoyable as well. For instance, the Tintin series appeals to children though its displays of colourful artwork,  interesting companions and exciting adventures, while keeping reasonably mature plots which appeals to adults. What also strengthens my belief is that there is nothing stopping an adult from reading a comic and enjoying it just as much as a child. When it comes to comics, who’s to say what you can and can’t enjoy according to your age. After all, comics like these are created and thought up in the minds of adults. “By devising a character who would appeal to children as much as grown-ups, thought for often quite different reasons, Herge struck gold”(Farr, 2001).

There are some comics geared more towards young adults with story lines which may be too hard for some children to comprehend. Luckily there are more than enough comics aimed at children to compensate for their youth. Also with many comics running series for long periods of time, it’s not impossible to think that young die hard comic fans can someday age into mature die hard fans and I believe that’s what happens to mainstream comics like Tintin.

I think it’s very hard to argue that comics aren’t made for adults as well as children. Especially when widely accepted things like cartoons and movies are often watched and enjoyed by both. It really wouldn’t surprise me at all if a large majority of comic readers were actually adults. Just my two cents.

Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: The complete companion. London: John Murray.

Monique Porteous week 2 - comics/graphic novels

Do you think comics are a children's or adult genre/media? 

Comics are a genre/media which appeal to all age ranges, from children just beginning to read to the elderly in rest homes. The reason being is that it all depends on what the context of the comic itself is showing/portraying and how this content appeals to the reader. While certain comics may be directed to a specific audience, the genre as a whole has no limit as to the age of the reader. 

How does Farr (1991) justify Tintin's appeal to adults? 

Speaking through the element of adventure was key in Farr's justification as to how Tintin appealed to adults as well as children. As Farr stated "The child will be griped by the excitement of Tintin, the comedy, even farce. The adult will additionally find political satire and parody, puns and prescience" (Farr, M. 1991, p.9).  

According to the second Farr extract (p.50-59), how did Hergé research China for The Blue Lotus? 

Hergé was in fact an arm chair traveler at the time he wrote The Blue Lotus (Farr, M. 1991). According to Farr in this second extrat, Hergé was introduced to Chang Chong-Chen by Father Gosset in 1934 which lead onto Hergé's very personal research with Chang. Involved in this research was many hours and time spent talking with Chang and getting a first person's perspective of what China was really like at the time, as well as learning about aspects of China such as traditional art, geography and language (Farr, M. 2001). To follow up from the evidence of Hergé's research, in The Blue Lotus a particular scene portrays this. In the scene it features a very true to life oriental feel as well as being true to the era with political propoganda signs placed all throughout the drawing (Hergé, 1935, p.26). 

How might Hergé's The Blue Lotus address or relate to to what Said (1977) terms 'orientalism'? 

A simple link between The Blue Lotus and Said's discussion of what Orientalism really means would be the vague element towards it. In the comic the way it is drawn (in regards to scenery) is prominently different to that of Hergé's Cigars of the Pharaoh (Hergé, 1934). "Orientalism is a style of thought based upon ontological and epistemological distinction made between 'the Orient' and (most of the time) 'the Occident'." (Said, E. 1977, p.88)

Does Varnum (2001) define the difference between a cartoon, comics, and graphic novel? According to Varnum, what distinguishes comics from other media? 

The definition between cartoons, comics and graphic novels is only very lightly touched on within Varnum's writing. So light that in fact she merely describes them as a large family with cousins and step siblings (Varnum, R. 2001). According to Varnum, comics are distinguished apart from other types of media due to the way of placing pictures with words. Compared to any other media form, the words and images are only combined through visual moving aspects or through descriptive writing (Varnum, R. 2001). 

How and why are comics becoming more accepted as an art form? Can/should they be regarded as a literary genre?

Comics have always been an art form, just not always accepted as one. The concept of having words over images most likely hindered the development of recognition that comics needed to be accepted more widely as an art form. Varnum states that the Chinese and Japanese saw comics as an art form far before other sides of the world began to (Varnum, R. 2001). Through common instinct, the Western/European residences of the world started to recently follow the Chinese and Japanese steps. If taken into consideration the amount of hours and research that Hergé spent on each Tintin album, it is clear to see how comics are an art form. In the modern world just about anything is possible, including having comics as a literary genre. With words like 'selfie' being added to the dictionary in the last couple years, who says that comics shouldn't be a literary genre? 

Farr, Michael. (1991). Tintin: the complete companion. London: John Murray.

Hergé. (2005; 1935). The adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.

Said, E. (1977). Orientalism. In Ashcroft, B Griffiths, G. & Tiffin, H. (Ed), The Post Colonial Studies Reader (pp. 87-91). London: Routledge.

Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Ed). (2001). The Language of Comics: word and image. Jackson: U Press of Mississippi.