Since its birth, the comic book as a genre has been disregarded as kids' stuff. However, for a long time, there have been very important pieces of literature that happen to take the form of the comic or graphic novel. E.g. Watchmen, Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, Arkham Asylum, The Killing Joke, The Sandman series and Maus. These novels feature some of the most in depth exploration of philosophy, human psychology and morality I have ever read. Watchmen asks the ultimate question of morality: do you kill millions to save billions?
It is a genre that combines art and language. Beautiful language and stunning artwork. Arkham Asylum is stunningly beautiful. The first thing you notice about it is the aesthetic quality of every page. And at the same time it is able to tell a fantastic story and explore characters in astonishing psychological detail. What's not to like?
A lot has been written about this. The case has been made, if not won. I have, however, a more specific defence of this genre.
I was very down-heartened when reading Sebastian Faulks' book On Fiction. In his discussion of heroes, he stated that the true hero has all but disappeared from literature, and has been gone a long time. The word hero now only means protagonist, and they rarely feature heroic qualities. The character who observes injustice and strives to defeat it is all but gone from our culture. The Lord of the Rings is likely the latest true work of literature that features valiant heroes, and simple folk doing decent things (that I can think of). Personally, I feel that there are two areas where the true hero persists to this day: child/teen novels and comic books.
The child/teen novel is very important in conveying ideas of heroism into young people, and can sometimes include great storytelling (Harry Potter, The Hunger Games). However, they rarely have a nuanced exploration of the topic. It is also true that many comic books only offer this primitive presentation of the hero. The bad guy robs a bank and the hero stops him.
There is, however, a breed of comic book that is able to explore the hero properly: adult graphic novels that still feature true heroism.
Yes, these are often anti-heroes with darker aspects to them, but that is what it is to explore a real character in a real world:
What would it take for somebody to really go out and fight crime or save the world? For Bruce Wayne, it took the trauma of his parents' murder. He is a broken man, and yet he is one of the most moral characters in all of fiction - one who never kills and always seeks justice. Rorschach is very clearly mentally ill - and yet he shows uncompromising determination that evil is punished.
But often, graphic novels do not feature dark heroes. As a DC fan I will only mention Superman (the ultimate archetypal 'hero'), Wonder Woman (an icon of feminine empowerment) and Green Lantern (protector of the galaxy, striving for justice). These characters seek 'the good' and show definitive examples of virtuous lives that make a difference. The graphic novel is now the only place where a grown-up can explore true heroes and do-gooders, which is why I feel it is a very important genre to maintain.
There's a TV show called Luther that, at least in the second series, did something very important. It glorified the hero and debased the villain. Now, this is not to say that the 'hero', John Luther, is not a dark, psychological tormented individual - he is. However, he always strives to do good, and obey the law. He becomes someone unwilling to do solve problems outside of the methods of the police, despite killing an enemy in the very first episode. Most importantly, though, the show presents the psychopaths and killers as pathetic failures. The danger of a character like the Joker is that people start to idolise the villain, as we have seen in the James Holmes Aurora shooting, in a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Luther presents its villains as pathetic wimps desperately trying to seek attention, that ultimately fail. All villains should fail - just like Iago, the greatest villain of them all. Joker fails repeatedly, but somehow always seems to have the last laugh, which is what makes him appealing as a character, but a dangerous villain, in more ways than one.
Batman is the ultimate character for exploring profound questions, where the answer is heroism. It features a man with no superpowers (unlike may of his allies), living a life more worthy than virtually any other could be. It asks the most deep moral questions.
However, the character of The Joker allows it to also explore the boundaries between sanity and insanity. The Killing Joke: "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy" - for the Joker it did, but for Commissioner Gordon, it didn't. Thus asking the question: Is Bruce Wayne sane or insane? Did his bad day drive him to insanity, or turn him into a hero. The answer, of course, is both.
Heroes are necessary, and fiction should be the optimal place for virtue, morality and heroism to be explored, in order to inspire people. The graphic novel seems to be the only option if we want an interesting exploration of the hero.
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