Several months ago in this column, I was lamenting the status of letter columns in modern comics. Letter columns had been slowly disappearing from comic book pages for quite some time, and it seemed that they were to become a thing of the past in most mainstream books. Yes, many letter columns were nothing more than a collection of butt-kissing accolades, but they were also the only real opportunity a fan had to critique a work in print.
I expressed in the aforementioned column that, if comics are to be taken seriously as an artform and a means of creative expression, then there must be some place for amateur critics and scholars to let their analyses of these works be known. Most magazines on the subject of comics that go beyond simple promotion (like The Comics Journal, for example) are not open to submissions, nor do they usually branch out from discussions of independent publishers, allowing an analysis of a mainstream superhero work to sit beside an interview with Adrian Tomine. Nowhere else but letter columns seemed willing to accept the analysis and commentary of fandom for publication, and with letter columns dying out, fans were left with nowhere substantive to have their opinions published.
Luckily that situation is now nowhere near as dire as I imagined at the time. I’m not referring, however, to Joe Quesada’s promise to bring letter columns back into Marvel books once in a blue moon, although that decision was the best editorial choice Marvel has made in quite some time if you ask me. From what I’ve read, Joe Q plans to use those letters for the same purpose as Marvel’s opening text pages, to fill new readers in on what they’ve missed rather than give fans the chance to make their voices heard. Instead I am alluding to recent developments that have broadened the horizon of comics criticism and hopefully will further promote the idea that comics are a legitimate artform.
I call them recent developments, yet in actuality my first example, International Journal of Comic Art, is already in its fifth year of publication. Founded by Professor John A. Lent of Temple University in 1999, this scholarly periodical is dedicated to furthering academic discourse of the various forms and genres of comic art. In the Editor’s Notes of the first issue, Lent stated that his goal with the journal was "to be scholarly, but not stuffy. We will solicit articles that are systematically researched and analyzed, presented in interesting and readable styles" (Lent 1). Now on its fifth volume, this publication is both diverse (the current issue features everything from a brief essay on adaptations of Faulkner into graphic novels to a long-form comparison of Malaysian and Singaporean cartooning styles) and intellectually stimulating (if not a bit dense at times). Clearly Lent’s dream has been realized.
Continuing in that same vein, a new website has arisen that, while still in its development stages, promises to offer many of the same prospects and follow some of the same ideals as IJOCA. Panels is being called a "journal of comics criticism" by its founders, Western Carolina University students Eric Newsom and Sean Bilichka; however, its mission statement seems to slightly differ from the purpose Lent had in mind for his journal. Though they both strive to, as Panels puts it on its main page, "lift the veil of ignorance and apathy that obscures the view of many with regard to the study of comics," IJOCA's emphasis is clearly on the art, while Panels seems to place higher regard on a literary analysis of the story.
Whether you are drawn more to the story or the art of a certain comic book does not matter. What does matter is that both of these publications are providing an excellent outlet for our medium to achieve the recognition from the academic community that we all know it deserves. When I tried to achieve similar goals all those months ago, I asked my readers to submit to me any essays they may have on graphic novels in order to compile enough work to publish them in some form or another. Well, these fine gentlemen have provided us with the form, so I urge my readers, those who pledged back in March to write a paper and those who are just hearing of this idea for the first time now, to contribute to these journals. Write analyses, submit them to these journals, and do your part for the advocacy of comics as a serious artform.
I know I’m going to start working on my paper right away.
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References:
Lent, John A. "Finally, an International Journal for Comic Art." International Journal of Comic Art 1.1 (Spring/Summer 1999): 1-3.
