[lit-ideas] Re: What if we show the book on TV?
- From: "Veronica Caley" <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004 13:20:17 -0400
I read the two volume work by Art Spiegelman, dealing with the Holocaust
and his relationship with his father relating to that. I thought it was
excellent. I would probably like other serious works in this format, but I
don't see them advertised, one has to really dig to find them.
I heard Spiegelman and his artist wife on NPR about a year ago and they are
not working on high quality, artistically oriented books for children.
I think it's very gracious of you Andreas to call Donald 'Mister.' It
shows good character.
Veronica Caley
Milford, MI
> [Original Message]
> From: Andreas Ramos <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 7/14/2004 12:31:22 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: What if we show the book on TV?
>
> > > Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of
American adults now
> reading literature...
>
> > What constitutes "literature" in this study? Are they drawing lines
between
> > fiction and non-fiction? Classics and new authors? Is "literature"
merely
> > "books"? Or "anything in print that isn't news"? I don't know what
"literary
> > reading" means....
>
> I read Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, over the weekend. Well, I looked
at the book. It's a
> graphic novel. No, not that kind. It's what most of you would call a
comic book. Except it
> is a hardback book, and if you saw it in a bookstore and judged it by its
cover, you'd think
> it's a novel. And it's in the novels section in the bookstore.
>
> It's odd to read these graphic novels. I've also read/viewed Joe Sacco's
graphic books.
> There's also the Japanese illustrated books. I've read a number of these.
>
> These aren't really "illustrated books". An "illustrated book" is a book
where there's
> occassional illustrations that are added to the text, but the text could
be read without the
> illustrations at all.
>
> In these graphic novels, the drawings are central to the book. The text
isn't literary. The
> text is mostly descriptive annotation, or an explanation of the image.
For example, there is
> a drawing of a fellow standing in a doorway. The text explains that he is
a missing cousin
> who has been away for 12 years. Often, there can be a whole page of
panels without any text
> at all.
>
> Frankly, I don't see a fundamental difference between these and Donald
Duck (I use Mr. Duck
> as an example because a friend gave me a collector's issue a few months
ago.) The difference
> is that Donald Duck is comic and Sacco/Satrapi's books are serious, but
that's only a
> difference in style. They are basically the same: the drawings are the
main item and the
> text is a distant second.
>
> I also saw Spiderdude 2 a few days ago (Highly recommended. It's a great,
fun movie with
> very good acting.) Spiderman was one of the first serious comic books.
The movie is one more
> of the "movie of the comic book" fad.
>
> Have others read Sacco, Satrapi, or similar novels? Is anyone using these
books in courses?
>
> yrs,
> andreas
> www.andreas.com
>
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