When I was ten years old, I fell in love with comics. I don’t mean the crime fighting, “caped crusader” sort of comics. I mean comic strips, like the ones you find in the back of the newspaper: Calvin & Hobbes, Foxtrot, Zits, and The Far Side. In the fifteen minutes I had between waking up and dashing to school, I’d shove a waffle in my mouth, tear open the newspaper, and hungrily devour the comics page.
I loved comics because they cracked me up, but that wasn’t the only reason. Since they use both art and words, comics are able to say a lot in a small amount of space. In just four short panels, my favorite strips communicated deeper truths than I’d found in most books. Calvin & Hobbes reminded me of my childhood and Zits guided me through a hopelessly awkward adolescence. All it took was a few charming, black-and-white sequences to make me realize I wasn’t the only person in the world with a goofy sense of humor and a paralyzing fear of the opposite sex.
Today my comic obsession has morphed into a love of graphic novels, which are pretty much comic strips with longer storylines that come out as a book. Since I’m a “visual person,” I enjoy pairing amazing artwork with an entertaining story, which is kind of like watching a movie. It’s not that I don’t love regular books, but sometimes I need a break from staring at nothing but text. Graphic novels to the rescue! By combining the best parts of books and movies (complicated characters and thought-provoking descriptions with stunning visuals and snappy dialogue), graphic novels are a totally awesome art form.
Graphic novels told from a girl’s perspective used to be pretty rare, but that’s started to change within the last few years, and now there are more funny, girl-positive graphic novels available than ever! The Plain Janes is about a group of girls who form a secret art gang. Coraline and Nancy Drew feature spunky female protagonists with a love mystery and adventure. And then there’s Girl Stories, which follows an 11-year-old loner named Lauren as she navigates the treacherous waters of middle school and is pretty much required reading for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider (which is, um, everyone).
Listen, if you like a good Spiderman story, by all means, go for it! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading about Peter Parker’s charming, angst-filled antics. But if superheroes never clicked for you, don’t give up on comics all together. There are tons of different stories out there—from secret agents to small town girls. By blending together art and stories, graphic novels can put you in someone else’s shoes, make you feel less alone, or crack you up before you head off to school. Just try not to spew Cheerios all over the newspaper.
Image © Sebastian Czapnik | Dreamstime.com