| I grew up loving comic books. I always thought | | | | of their "holiness". The Bible has so many vivid and |
| they were great storytelling vehicles, and they | | | | graphic descriptions, and so much quotable text, |
| held out great possibility as a future form of | | | | that it would be an awesome challenge for a |
| great literature. They were engaging and easy to | | | | comic book artist to translate. But it's a worthy |
| read. Although reading assignments in school were | | | | goal which to aspire. I myself have written a |
| often a bore, comic books were always | | | | superhero comic book translation of the Jewish |
| fascinating. All that action and adventure and | | | | prayer book, and there are some very interesting |
| muscles and costumes! Plus great sound effects | | | | and challenging philosophical issues that cropped up. |
| and wicked wit from the most bizarre villains! | | | | One of the more frequent issues that popped up |
| Comics introduced me to the world of art in a | | | | was the observation that when you rewrite the |
| way that was understandable and exciting. How | | | | holy language in the Bible to wisecracking comic |
| often have you walked into an art museum, only | | | | book style of language, you actually end of tone |
| to wonder, "what am I looking at"? Art can often | | | | of the Bible, and that has philosophical implications. |
| be hard to understand, or require some familiarity | | | | A change in the tone of voice can signal a change |
| with the history of art in order to place any | | | | in the Relationship between, in this case, Man and |
| particular work of art in its proper context. To | | | | God. But this relationship gets changed only |
| appreciate fine art, you have to be aware of | | | | because my decision to adopt a comic book style |
| other artists, and times in which they lived, and | | | | in presenting the prayers. So working with comic |
| perhaps something about the life of the artist, in | | | | book translations or interpretations can be risky, |
| order to really appreciate a museum visit. Not so | | | | because you run the risk doing something very |
| with comic books! With comics, you either get it, | | | | offensive. That's why it's always a good idea to |
| or you don't have time for it. The stories are | | | | work with an authority on your subject whose |
| gutsy and visceral, so it's easy to jump right in | | | | opinion and expertise you respect. |
| and start appreciating the entire comic work. | | | | Those who worry that comics are a weak |
| When I was a kid, there was "Classic Comics", | | | | substitute for a page of text are correct. Authors |
| which translated great novels into easy-to-read | | | | of the written word have done amazing things |
| comic books. Sure, the language was simplified, | | | | with language, and taken readers places that |
| and the plotlines were abbreviated, but for a | | | | artists can only dream of. But if the reader |
| twelve-year-old kid, they opened up a new world | | | | doesn't want to read a page of text, then you've |
| of literature. Not just the world of comic book | | | | got a problem. Illustrations are naturally easier to |
| literature, but the world of the great books from | | | | understand than written language, which is really a |
| which those Classics Comics sprang. I learned | | | | form of code. You have to know how to |
| about books that I'd later read (or never read) | | | | decipher a language in order to understand it. Not |
| through those Classic Comics. They were an | | | | so illustrations. Or at least the forms. |
| entrée into the world of literature. | | | | Literacy requires knowledge and familiarity. To be |
| Comics made it obvious to me that there was a | | | | "literate", you must know how to read text. To |
| link between the words and the pictures, and that | | | | be literate in comics, you must be familiar with |
| each relied on the other. In fact, the word | | | | comics and also know how to read them (that is, |
| balloons helped explain what was going on in the | | | | how to read both the words AND the pictures, |
| drawings, and the drawings illustrated the meaning | | | | and how they work together) Art (without text) |
| of the words. For a young reader, back and forth, | | | | requires another type of literacy in order to |
| a sort of visual "call and response" made learning | | | | understand it, a literacy with pictures and symbols. |
| vocabulary so much fun. When a villain is spewing | | | | Can sacred literature be transformed into a comic |
| out a very literate insult, you (as a young kid) are | | | | book or graphic novel, and still retain its sacred |
| motivated to figure out what he's actually saying. | | | | qualities? Can a comic book version of |
| The picture serves as a motivator for the reader | | | | Shakespeare also be great? Yes, and it depends |
| to pursue reading the contents of the word | | | | on the talent and skill of the artist. If the artist or |
| balloons. Reading word balloons leads nicely into | | | | writer did a good job making a text to comic |
| reading more complicated text, such as the | | | | book translation, or vice versa, if its any good, |
| newspaper or novels. | | | | you'll feel it in your heart it won't be the same as |
| What about sacred or religious literature? The | | | | the original, it will be a translation. But how good is |
| Bible, and other sacred literary works, seem to be | | | | the translation? How good is the comic book |
| set apart; that they are too special to be given | | | | version? It depends on who is doing the writing, |
| the comic book treatment, lest they lose some | | | | and who is doing the drawing. |