I've been having some fun on AOL's Favorite Fiction message board. Seems folks there have discovered that a favorite author, Jodi Picoult, is writing Wonder Woman. This post is one of the thread that entertained me. It is interesting to be reminded that graphic novels have only recently come into the consciousness of the general population of readers. But I did resent seeing comments such as this one:
"There are some graphic novels that are more sophisticated than one usually finds in the genre."That just irritates me. The whole if it isn't high art or "sophisticated," it's not worth the attention of anyone with taste. Comics and graphic novels might be gaining some ground and aren't automatically viewed with suspicion, especially GNs which are now sold in actual bookstores, but they still have a long way to go toward universal acceptance. Stories with pictures are still considered childish by too many people and are viewed as being inferior by many people.
We want to see comics grow, and many of us who don't enjoy reading comics online want to see print comics continue. Growing readership is behind DC's Minx line, a push to bring in teen girls. But how far can DC and Marvel and the rest go when there still is this resistance to the format?
Sure, a lot of comics are crap. So are a lot of books, including ones that end up on the bestseller lists. So what. They must be entertaining someone, many someones. Quality is a subjective thing, anyway.
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