Comics/Manga are literature, damn it!!!!!!

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jointron33

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#1  Edited By jointron33

I'm tired of being looked own upon for reading comics, but not something like Twilight! If one is a legitimate form or literature, so is the other. For every Harry Potter, there is an All-star Superman. For every To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a Watchmen. And for every Twilight or smut novel, there is a Youngblood or Clone Saga. Damn literature Nazis to hell, along with that bastard Shakespeare.

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BatteredArmor

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#2  Edited By BatteredArmor

That being said comics will never be taken seriously for the same reason that they are awesome. The pictures. Most I've talked to who don't like comics sat it's because they equate them to picture books

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JediXMan

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#3  Edited By JediXMan  Moderator

Most comic books should never be considered literature, just like most novels should never be considered literature. Only the select few comics and novels should be considered as such.

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deactivated-5d921c81bd12c

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I agree. My mum used to tell me off for not reading enough "proper literature". The most irritating this was that I actually did read the kind of books she wanted me to.

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SmashBrawler

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#5  Edited By SmashBrawler

@jointron33 said:

I'm tired of being looked own upon for reading comics, but not something like Twilight! If one is a legitimate form or literature, so is the other. For every Harry Potter, there is an All-star Superman. For every To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a Watchmen. And for every Twilight or smut novel, there is a Youngblood or Clone Saga. Damn literature Nazis to hell, along with that bastard Shakespeare.

LOL

I agree, comics are overlooked way too much.

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AssertingValor

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#6  Edited By AssertingValor

If u go with the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" then comics are like novels i guess

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Aiden Cross

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#7  Edited By Aiden Cross

Why not read both? Best of both worlds =)

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TheBlueAngel93

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#8  Edited By TheBlueAngel93

Books are books to me, including comic books.

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The Poet

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#9  Edited By The Poet  Moderator

but literature is defined as WRITTEN word. Comics still belong on a book shelf, but I don't think they should be called literature because they are written and illustrated work.

I think the word you want more is "Classics". To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic to some people, and so is Watchmen. So I think the word you want is classic...

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JediXMan

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#10  Edited By JediXMan  Moderator

@The Poet said:

but literature is defined as WRITTEN word. Comics still belong on a book shelf, but I don't think they should be called literature because they are written and illustrated work.

The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive terms. Comics are still written.

Still, I don't feel right calling "comics" literature. Just a select few GNs (throwing Sandman in there)

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MrShway88

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#11  Edited By MrShway88

Comics are more than just literature. They are a combination of literature and modern art.

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cuddles666

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#12  Edited By cuddles666

We're getting there. I wrote my undergrad English thesis on Grant Morrison's portrayal of Darkseid and my graduate university even has a graphic novel specialist in their English Department! People have even written doctoral dissertations on Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis!

People in general tend to be pretty idiotic and close-minded, but that doesn't change the fact that five decades after Wertham and friends butchered the comics medium, we're taking it back and the people in the know are taking notice.....not that you'd have a terribly good chance of making that point to someone you just met on the street. But who cares about them anyway?

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geoff2005

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#13  Edited By geoff2005

i think most people look down because it has pictures

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BumpyBoo

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#14  Edited By BumpyBoo  Moderator

Many books that are considered literary classics are illustrated. Ask Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, or A. A. Milne. Ask Hunter S Thompson. Just because a piece of work is illustrated does not mean that any prose contained therein should be automatically dismissed as "not being real literature".

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YourNeighborhoodComicGeek

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In my opinion, Comic Books are literature, only expressed in a different method.

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Eternal19

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#16  Edited By Eternal19

@geoff2005 said:

i think most people look down because it has pictures

this, because it has pictures people equate them to childrens books and dont give the comics or the people who read them respect. Im so sick of the insults and laughs when im reading a comic in public.

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Imagine_Man15

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#17  Edited By Imagine_Man15

I'm slowly convincing friends and family of this very thing. I even got my dad, who spent years making fun of me for reading comics, to read Watchmen and he loved it.