I consider most comics to be “real” literature. In school
though, comics were never part of the conversation. If I brought a comic book
for reading sessions I was asked to bring a “real book” instead. True, some
comics aren’t exactly masterpieces and are more straightforward entertainment,
but there are plenty out that that can taken as serious works of literature.
This week I read Bottomless Bellybutton. I really liked this
story. It’s pretty different from a lot of stuff I’ve read. The story is about
a children dealing with their parent’s divorce. Except the children aren’t
literal children. They’re adults! With kids of their own. Their parents are
getting up there in age and the kids (especially the older son, Dennis) can’t
understand why after so many years together, they would want to separate. He
thinks that there must be some other reason they’re splitting up, something
they’re not telling him, and he goes in search of evidence.
It was really cool, because when I got to the part where
Dennis discovered his father’s coded letter to his mother, whoever read the
book before me had solved the code and left a piece of paper where they wrote
out the decoded letter. It was pretty awesome.
I think this story is a good example of why comics can (and
should!) be taken seriously as literature. The subject matter is definitely
adult, the main characters are adults and they’re dealing with situations and
feelings that real adults might find themselves in too. The book is very large
and long and is very honest about the things these characters are experiencing.
And its got everything you could want in a work of literature- humor, drama, teen
angst and even some sex!
People shouldn’t be afraid to consider comics in the same
way they do traditional novels. There’s great things to be discovered there,
and look! There are pictures too!
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