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).
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.
Thanks Sam. A good opinion piece. Would have been nice to see you grapple with a little more of the Farr (he has a lot more to say about the broad age appeal of Tintin). Otherwise, ok.
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ReplyDeleteComics can be described as one of developed art. There are relations between dialogues, pictures and also extended imagination section. Therefore, comics are the imagination part of the art to make people be impressed with the achievement like the other art genres.
Most people consider comic books as a epitome of having fun but even as a silly book.
I agree that comic books have to be considerably dumbed down and simple. That is why it might be hard to catch the hidden heavy subject of the comics. Not judging as it seems, people should think more carefully when they enjoy comics. In my opinion, adults can understand irony but on the other hand children cannot.