With James Gunn’s DC Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe entering new phases, comic book adaptations are holding steady as a prominent part of cinema.
Being the two biggest superhero publishers, Marvel and DC are both releasing massive projects to create alternative universes to explore their often decades-old characters in interesting ways with the Ultimate universe (2024) and Absolute universe, respectively.
Superheroes are becoming more diverse; the writing rooms, audience, and characters themselves are more representative of the population than they used to be. The common stereotype of the average comic-reader is way off-course as the community is more diverse than ever.
After enrolling in one of the classes Missouri State University offers on comics like ENG 216 or DES 323, you’ll find people from all walks of life with a common interest in the art of comics.
Comics are also not a monolith in storytelling. There is often a perception of comics as superhero stories, but that is far from reality.
“That’s the exciting thing about comics,” said Jennifer Murvin, assistant department head and an assistant professor of English who teaches courses on comics. “It’s a medium itself, it’s a way of writing, of expressing narrative through the combination of words and imagery.”
You can find any genre, style, age rating — and everything else you would expect from an artistic medium — in comics. Superman and Batman might be titanic figures in pop culture but so is Snoopy. Everybody knows who Garfield is in the same way they know about Spider-Man. People are growing up with things like “Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson and “Dog Man” by Dav Pilkey and want to tell stories that ask the same questions and dwell on similar themes as those books.
The diversity and accessibility of comics make it a really easy medium to get invested in. The biggest barrier people have when wanting to get into comics is themselves; they get inside their own heads and intimidate themselves. Often, the stereotype of the average comic reader scares people into thinking there’s a gatekeeper, which is far smaller of a population than stereotypes would suggest.
Even groups who have been historically kept out of comic spaces, like women or LGBTQ+ folks, have spaces to meet with accepting communities who just want to meet like-minded people. It’s not always easy, and there are people who look down on others because of bigotry, but there has been a large backlash to this type of person over the past decade.
DC and Marvel are a minority of the comics published in the U.S. — the country where you would most likely run into an issue — but even within those spaces, the community is far more accepting than the stereotype would have you believe.
“I think the best way to get into comics is to go to the library and visit the comic section,” Murvin said.
Libraries often have more comics than you would think, and even if they don’t have everything you want, you can request the library to get a copy of a book they don’t already have. If you don’t know what you want, you can always ask a librarian for any recommendations based on what you want to read about. Since comics have such a wide range of stories, general recommendations are hard to give.
“That’s a really hard question because it depends on the person,” Murvin said. “I know for my students, I like starting them out with Lynda Barry’s book, ‘One! Hundred! Demons,’ and pairing that with ‘Understanding Comics’ by Scott McCloud.”
You can always consult the internet for lists of comics based on whatever specific genre might interest you.
The internet is also home to plenty of webcomics, from small comics posted on social media like “Haus of Decline” by Alex Hood or big names like “Batman: Wayne Family Adventures” by CRC Payne and StarBite, which can be found on Webtoon.
In the past decade, comics have been democratized a great deal. There are even comics published online that eventually get physical prints, like “Heartstopper” by Alice Oseman, which also has a highly successful Netflix adaptation.
As far as superhero comics go, both Marvel and DC offer subscription services for reading their massive backlogs and for a little bit more money, the newly released books. If you like physical copies, there are a couple of options, but the one I recommend is Comic Force on Campbell Avenue in Springfield. If you prefer reading comics in volume form instead of single issues, you’ll be able to find a vast selection of titles in most bookstores or online.
As far as milestones for comics, Murvin mentions three books: “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel and “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” by Scott McCloud.
Some works I’ve been reading recently are “The Power Fantasy” by Kieron Gillen, a story exploring the power politics of superpowers; “Poison Ivy” by G. Willow Wilson, which explores body horror and the anti-villainous side of Poison Ivy; and “Ultimate Spider-Man” (2024) by Jonathan Hickman, which follows a Peter Parker who gets powers while he is already a married man with kids.
To point to something that’s not a superhero story, “My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” by Kabi Nagata is an autobiographical manga detailing the life of a young queer woman and her struggles with mental health.
Missouri State offers both a BFA in Sequential Art and a certificate in graphic narrative for those interested in comics, especially in making them yourself. The program focuses on being able to write and draw to build both of those skill sets.
Follow Robin Garner on Twitter, @yippieRobin
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