Oddly enough, I woke up this morning, thinking about comic books. You see, I recalled an incident, back in the late 1950s or so. My two brothers would come home from school, retire to the room they shared, and would lay on their beds, reading comic books. All was well until report card day arrived and it was discovered that they could have spent a little more time on homework assignments. A grade of B+ was marginally acceptable in my home, and a C or below would wreak havoc similar to that of lightening striking.
So, there was but one thing to do. My father gathered up all of the comic books, that my brothers had purchased with money earned from delivering newspapers, and he created a large bonfire in the backyard. He was so angry, in fact, he burned an old rocker that my mother was going to re-glue and refinish “someday,” but never had.
In thinking about the comic books, Dad might have been slightly mistaken, for several reasons. While it would have been good to encourage the boys to study more, burning the books only served to create resentment. (These same comics would be worth a fortune on today’s collectibles’ market.)
While I do not personally enjoy the kind of comics they read, I feel that “good” comics serve a place in our society. Comics (cartoons) are “outsider art.” They entertain, they can present opinions in a humorous way, and sometimes, they satirize. One only has to look at the “Los Caprichos” sketches of Francisco de Goya to understand how he attempted to change Spanish society vis a vis his art commentaries that were both political and social, in nature.
The personal attributes of many cartoon characters seem to be based on observations of real people. One fine example is the cartoon, “Maxine.” Show me a middle-aged woman who cannot identify with her! We see ourselves in Maxine and we laugh. That is part of what a good cartoon does: it reflects life as it is, and stimulates our thinking by the art of subtle overstatement.
If we look at some of the most beloved reading material and video footage from the last half century, we will see that children (and adults) take great delight in the cartoons of Charles Schulz who created “Charlie Brown” and other characters.
We still enjoy the clever works of Dr. Seuss, (an original edition of “The Cat and The Hat,” was recently offered on amazon for $9,000.)
Of course, we love “Big Bird,” and “Snuffaluffagus” and “Oscar, the Grouch,” and all of the other imaginary, furry animals on Sesame Street. All are fantasy, but they teach us about life.
For some reason, myths, legends, and fantasies are easier to “take” than the real world, and they can all teach us value lessons.
As a society, we have to consider the “whole enchilada.” Shakespeare’s sonnets have their place, as do the works of other fine writers and accomplished artists. People who create material objects and/or share their thoughts, or music, help us to define who we really are, as a society.
Perhaps fine literature is to comics/cartoons/and fantasy, as symphonic music is to folk music. All have their place. In each case, they use some of the same words, and some of the same notes, yet each genre is entirely different.
I should think that to encourage children to read, every tool should come out of the tool box. If an isolated school lesson involves comics within the context of their meaning, and in consideration of a comparative study of their place in society, all the better!
Today is National Quilting Day! Make something beautiful!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Be sure to see our file with Irish quilts!
Patricia
