Leave Comic Books Alone!

A lot of people when they think about books, tend to think only about novels. It doesn't matter the genre, the novel is often the first and only thing that pops into your mind when you think about books. But what about the comics? 

Look at this beauty!

When I started reading back in second grade, the first books I read were "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Matilda". No comics whatsoever. My life was filled with novel after novel, all of them temporarily satisfying a need for literature.

Truer words were never spoken. 
Credits to Simini Blocker for the art work. 

As an adult, I discovered the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs the World", which is based on the "Scott Pilgrim" comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The movie adaptation inspired me to read the source material, and they were my first comics. I didn't know what to expect, since before them I had only read novels. I didn't know if I would like them, or if their writing style would be for me. Oh boy... I was in for a treat! 

Let me tell you that all my negative assumptions were wrong, and I was more than happy about that. I fell in love with those comics from the very first page. I loved the characters, the witty writing style, the action, the art work (which was beautiful), the incredible story and the whole concept behind this masterpiece. "Scott Pilgrim" was my introduction to the comic book world, and I do not regret any second of it.

These comics are PERFECTION. 

From "Scott Pilgrim" I moved on to other comic books. I wanted to see what was out there expecting me in the literature world. I wanted to explore something more than novels. During my search, the trailer for the first season of "The Umbrella Academy" came out, and when I found that such a cool series was based on a comic book, I knew I had to read it. I got obsessed with "Umbrella"; I bought the comics, a t-shirt and recommended the story to anyone who would listen. The comic book world was getting more and more appealing to me. I needed more. 

I wanted to have The Rumor's powers. 

After finishing "Umbrella Academy", I decided I wanted to move on to Alan Moore's comics. Alan Moore is well known in the comic book community, as he is the creator of many famous stories, mainly: "Watchmen", "V for Vendetta", "The Killing Joke", and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". I read the first two, and I am currently waiting for "League" to arrive in the mail. Now, these comics were extremely different from all the rest I had read so far. They were more adult, darker, gorier, and filled with a heavy social criticism. In order words: perfect for me! 

"Watchmen" made me look at superheroes in a very different way, and at society as a whole. It made me reflect on the dangers of apathy, on what it means to be a superhero (it's not all fun and games), and the darkness that lies within each and every one of us. 

My heart, my soul, my mind...

When I got to "V for Vendetta", my perspective on the government and history changed forever. I learned many important things from that story, such as placing more value on history, arts and the truth. Also, I learned not to be afraid of speaking against the government and all its corruptions. 

ANARCHY!

I am currently waiting for "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" to arrive in the mail, and I couldn't be more excited!

I NEED to read this. 

Now, what's the point of all this gushing over comic books? 

When exploring Booktube and listening to other people's opinions, I was surprised to find so many negative thoughts about comic books. A lot of people don't even consider them books, or actual literature. I met people when I was back in college who looked down upon comic book readers, and even laughed at them. They believed themselves to be superior just because they only read novels, mostly classics. For them, comics seemed to be childish or a waste of time. 

One of them was trying to force me to read this novel.

Bye Felicia! 

And boy, do I have something to say about all of this... 

First of all my beautiful people: comics ARE real books. You do know what a book is, don't you? It's basically a bunch of pages put together that have written information in them. They may be for educational purposes or they may tell a story, but either way, there is a written message lying there. Guess what? The comics fill all of these characteristics. They are books, even if you don't want to consider them so. 

Can I get a hell yes?!

Second, why do people think of them as not being literature? The latter is defined as a written work of fiction that tells a story; it doesn't have to be written in prose. Poetry itself for example is not written in the same way as novels, and it's still considered literature. Just because you don't see a lot of paragraphs in a comic, that doesn't mean it's not literature. It doesn't matter if you think it's "trashy" or "light" literature: it's still a valid form of literacy. 

YES GIRL!!!

Also, why would some people look down upon others who read comic books? As opposed to them who only read novels. I have said this before, and I'll say it again: just because you have different tastes from other people, that doesn't make you better than them. It doesn't make your tastes any better than theirs' either. It's a very stupid idea, at least for me, to think yourself better than others for having tastes that you believe are superior (for some reason). In summary, here's a quick reality check: hating on popular things doesn't make you an interesting person. 

This one looks so good, to be honest. 

Another thing that bothers me is how some people think comic books to be childish. Why? Because they're full of drawings? So what? Do you know how hard it is to build a comic book? From the story, to the conversations, to the drawings... it's one hell of a job! When you lack paragraphs to describe the story line, you must rely on other sources, such as all the drawings in the pages and the conversations themselves. I believe it's no easy job to do all of that, and it's disrespectful when people just disregard all of this effort. 

Don't be a hater dear. 

It's funny though, how so many people treat comic books poorly but then go to the movies to see the new Avengers installment, or the new DC movie. You do know that beloved movies such as "Black Panther", "Captain Marvel", "Wonder Woman", "V for Vendetta", "Iron Man" or "Batman" all come from comic books, right? That anime series came from manga before you could see them on TV. That series such as "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and "Watchmen" come from comic books as well. So... you're bashing the source material because you think it's stupid, but then you go and watch the adaptation? How does this make any sense?? 

Don't you people dare make a live adaptation of this story!
This needs to be an anime. 
Period. 

Did you know that a lot of kids start reading with comic books? I have students whose first steps into literature were guided by comics. They started reading any comic book they could find, and then moved on to classic novels such as "Dracula", "Frankenstein" or "Coraline" that were adapted into comic book style. From there they continued with novels. As a teacher I can tell you that's an amazing thing. Any book that gets a kid into reading is a great book, no matter the written style. It's something very beautiful to see.

See? Told ya! 

If reading comic books is not for you, then it's more than okay. I am not saying you should read them if they're not really your style. But stop attacking them and the people who love to read them. If you don't want your tastes to be bashed without pity, then don't do the same thing to others. Comic books are pure art, even if you don't know how to appreciate them. You don't have to read them to value the effort and creativity used to create them. 

Creepy bleached ass bitch. 

And that's the last thing I want to talk about in this post. You can like different things from others. If for example a lot of people around you saw the entire "Game of Thrones" series but you're not really interested in it, that's perfectly fine. But that doesn't mean that the art work is trash or boring; it's just not for you. If you don't like it then don't listen to it, or watch it, or read it. Do the things that bring you joy, and let people enjoy their tastes in peace.

Fantastic job guys! 
Pun intended.

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For the blog itself, I am thinking of promoting it more, and that will probably include more writing. When I get the hang of this new school year and manage to organize myself completely, I'll start writing at least twice a week. 

This is all for today! Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you next Sunday. 

P.S. This post is dedicated to Zulmarie, one of my closest friends. Girl if you're reading this, thank you for making me fall in love with comics and for inspiring me to try new things. Love you to the moon and back.