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April 16, 2005
Artistic Legitimacy
In this current age of information the various means at our disposal to disseminate ideas are increasingly diverse. As new forms of media are created and find footing, often within a specific sub-culture, those in the establishment are often quick to cite their shortcomings and advocate a return to more traditional modes of communication. Others, with the intention of making a quick buck, seek to translate already established works into an alternate form hoping both the fans of the old and the previously unexposed masses will take part in the consumption of the new creation.
Typically this takes the form of movies being made from books with the most notable examples being the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the numerous comic-book conversions that top the list of summer blockbusters. Entertainment value aside, at the core of these enterprises sits an idea that was wildly successful in its original form with the assumption being that its translation into an alternate medium will increase its audience and therefore further legitimize it's already established success.Though I can understand the apparent logic of the whole affair, something inevitably gets lost in this rephrasing process.
Since a book can easily be put down to finish reading at a later date it can take its time to further describe specific details where a movie is forced to move along in order to accomplish the major plot points in two hours. Though I applaud Peter Jackson for his efforts, no rational being who read J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy would disagree that the film version falls far short in it's power to convey the enormity inherent in the story on which it was based. The integrity of the original artists vision gets lost for sake of adapting to the current stage on which the idea now sits.
So why am I telling you all this?
Today I came across this wonderful comic entitled Mom's Cancer which chronicles one family's struggle to cope after their mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. (Read it quick though, it was recently acquired by the publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc. for a print run in 2006 and only remains online for a short while because it was nominated for an Eisner.) Though Harvey Pekar did a similar thing through his underground strip American Splendor the medium of comics is traditionally viewed as the stage for super-hero battles and other far-fetched story telling.
In Mom's Cancer the juxtaposition of caricatured imagery with simple ballooned dialogue powerfully conveys the multifaceted emotions and experiences revealed during this intense struggle. Each frame becomes an intensely private window where the viewer is given an unfiltered view into the differing characteristics of each member of the family's coping mechanisms.
Actors on a screen or over-descriptive prose could never accomplish what Brian Fies did in this magnificent expression of sequential art. This does not mean that the aforementioned forms of media are somehow inferior and could not do a satisfactory job in telling the same story. My contention is that though they could take part in a close emulation, prose or moving pictures couldn't tell this story with the same purity as it's original author and creator with his voice of the comic medium. If you need any convincing on the legitimacy of comics as a way to communicate mature themes to a demographic beyond adolescent boys then this masterpiece truly deserves your undivided attention.
Posted by Jon at April 16, 2005 07:45 AM