Continuing the Webcomic theme

I will be the first to admit that growing up, my perception of comic-lovers was filled with derision, mainly because of my absolute loathing of anime (for reasons totally unrelated to the art of anime or storytelling aspects). I bought into the idea that the only people who liked/read comics were nerds, and potentially out of touch with reality.

I want to say that my perception improved as I got older, and while it did, the truth is that I still looked at the comic-booking community with my nose turned up, thinking myself clearly superior. (Because my likes and interests were so different.)

But the funny thing is, I've always been a closet nerd, a secret trekkie, and a science fiction/fantasy fan. (And I've always been a little ashamed of myself for liking these things.)

A few years ago, however, I began reading my (then) boyfriend's brother's online comic, The SuperFogeys. And I liked it. And I began to realize that I really enjoyed the web comic community. And then I realized that I liked reading comic books (though, my appreciation is still mainly focused on story lines and characters, rather than artwork--I really have to step outside of myself to see the beauty in the artwork of the comic itself).

And I realized that I had been exploring different avenues of literature in pursuing my English degree, and had never given graphic novels a chance. Surely they are as deserving of study and analysis as any other book. I went my whole college career as an English major, and never once saw a graphic novel in class. (Though, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer does some interesting storytelling using pictures, and it would be interesting to compare his style with that of a graphic novel. Very different, but with a few interesting and key graphic novel elements).

Anyway, the whole point of this entry comes down to this--I'm grateful for the fun I've had in broadening my horizons and stepping out of my comfort zone to give legitimacy to the art and skill and depth behind comic books and webcomics. It really has been a lot of fun to explore, and let that inner nerd break out and enjoy herself. I think a lot of people would really be surprised with how clever some comics are/can be.

I was.