Max Damerell: Tintin (Comic) - Can Comics be Regarded as a Literary Genre?

Reading Varnum’s 2001 essay “The Language of Comics: word and image”, I found a reference to Marion Perret’s ‘Not Just Condensation: How Comic Books Interpret Shakespeare (2004). She wrote of Shakespeare’s works being condensed and interpreted as comics; it made me think about Shakespeare and the comic–like qualities of his work.

                 

There must have been discussion and controversy when his plays first went to the stage. Was the work literary enough when it was clearly written for popular appeal, across classes? Comics have come up against such scrutiny too. The comic book’s partnership of language with the visual element is a move away from text only to image plus text. Shakespeare’s early admirers must have enjoyed the highly visual element of his story telling; along with the witty dialogue, the puns and the political references, he was first, and foremost seeking to entertain. Like a comic book author he was trying to appeal to as many people as possible, the visually literate viewer/reader.

                  Perret’s essay says  “ a comic book version of Shakespeare can…help the college student begin to recognize critical problems and theoretical concerns”. I would argue that Herge’s “The Blue Lotus” also informs in much the same way. The theoretical concerns here are the accuracy of the imagery, words and pictures. In “The Blue Lotus” Herge was documenting a time and place. He sketched people, scenes and activities with enormous accuracy. He felt a responsibility towards the subject matter. In interviews he said he felt he was discovering a whole new world; his previously held prejudices were most likely those held by many Europeans of the time. He describes a belief that the Chinese were vague and cruel and ate things unacceptable to European tastes. Then he met Chang Chong-Chen, which led to brilliant discussions and inspired extensive research. He became really interested in the people and the culture he was writing about. “The Blue Lotus” shows political and cultural understanding. It is empathetic towards its subject whilst still telling an exciting and entertaining story.

                 

Shakespeare wrote about Julius Caesar and various English Kings, and in doing so he informed and entertained at the same time. Herge wrote with honesty and political accuracy about China between the two World Wars. His format was a comic book but the literary outcome of both authors was the same. Readers get a convincing view into a world unlike their own. Herge was an artist, a writer and a researcher.

If literary genre is defined by technique, tone and content, his comic book “The Blue Lotus” must be considered a work of literature, and comics a literary genre.

References:

·       Herge. (2005; 1953). The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. London: Methuen.

·       Perret, M. (2004). Not Just Condensation: How Comic Books Interpret Shakespeare. College Literature, 31(4), 72-93.

·       Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Eds.). (2001). Introduction. In The Language of Comics: word and image (pp.ix-xix). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.