COMIXXXX

In Comix Poetics, Andrew Arnold explains the debate that comic art can or cannot hold as much merit as poetry such as Shakespeare or T.S. Elliot. He answers no, but not from lack of ability to do so. He explains that the relationship between the pictures and the words brings new meanings that are different than just words. He compares, “This is not just a different ballgame but a different sport.”

Arnold takes us back to the explosion of newspaper comics in the 20th century. The lack of rules resulted in some of the wildest artistic feats in the history of the medium. The comic craze, including comics such as Superman, not only brought popularity to the medium, but it also brought a sort of stereo type along with the cheap comics. Finally people stated selling comics of real merit “underground” and a kind of movement started. Comics started expressing things that were more profound about the culture of the time.

Slowly these “underground” comics started to emerge. People were reading comics that were closer to art than just mere stories of entertainment. These new comics were meant for “grown ups.”

Arnold explains how such profound ideas can be explained only through comics. He states, “The words and pictures are totally dependent on each other to convey the meaning of the work, which reads as a compressed, playful examination of regret. In sum, it is a graphic poem.” Comic artists and poets have more I common than meets the eye. The main difference is the respect that one medium has attained over the years. Although, comic artists have been gaining respect over the year due to the mediums boom in the last 5 years. These new comic poets are paving the way for more to come


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