Graphic novels are the beautiful sweet spot between the written word and a fully visual movie
As a child, I was always told that reading helps you access new worlds and opens horizons you didn’t even know existed. I’ve enjoyed the printed word for longer than I can remember now. But, I think I was made fully aware of what the medium can actually do once I was introduced to the world of Graphic Novels.
A lot of people I talk to about this usually tend to react with, “Oh, so you mean comic books?”
“Yes, comic books. For adults. They do tend to be a little darker, a little more real.”
What I have now realised is that they tend to be a beautiful sweet spot between the written word and a fully visual movie. They allow for very complex and non-liner narratives. They also allow for your imagination to open up via the visuals. All in all, an absolute treat.
My first foray into this pretty niche world was in my early 20s. My then boss’s boss, was a fan and I hadn’t a clue – and this was my sole driving factor, apparently appearing clueless was a sin I wanted no part of at 20!
So, off I went to my favourite stand-alone book shop, located in the bylanes of Bandra. These places don’t exist anymore. The owner was this quirky, white-haired lady who seemed to know everything about everything.
“I want to explore graphic novels.”
“Ah! And have you read any before?”
“Not really, no.”
“Why don’t you start with Sandman?”
And the rest, like they say, is history.
If you’re at a place currently, where you want to try something new and different, hold a beautiful book in your hand, and get lost in worlds that may or may not exist, here are two you could try:
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
If fantasy as a genre is your thing, this one is sublime in how it’s written and evolved over 10 volumes! The story, in essence, follows Dream, a being described as a part of the Endless – a group who are older than Gods & time, and play an important part in human existence – all of them an anthropomorphisation of human feelings.
The oldest sibling is called Destiny, then there is Destruction, the coolest of all – Death, twins Desire & Despair. Of course, Dream, the protagonist. And lastly, the youngest – Delight, who, over millennia, changed into Delirium.
Sounds interesting? It is. Very.
What does it do for you? Give you a different perspective; a different take.
And sometimes, that’s all life is about.
Maus by Art Spiegelman
This one is the only graphic novel that has won a very well-earned Pulitzer. The book is the author’s lived experience of the Nazi Death Camps and the World War – his father and mother were survivors, and he, simply and beautifully, explains what it has meant to his life.
The characters here are modelled as animals – the rats are Jews, the Nazis cats and every race has been depicted through an animal to take on the characteristics. The line drawings are simple, the narrative linear and yet this one hits so hard, given you already know how it ends.
If you’ve made it till the end of this article, I strongly recommend you explore this world. You never know where it will take you.
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