Page 8- The Michigan Daily- Thursday, December 5, 1991 Four colors and thought balloons: comics grow up by Nick Arvin Unknown to all but a few is an art form that has lain dormant for many years, one that has finally be- gun to stir and shake off the bonds that have been cast over it. A re- markable storytelling device, this art form has the potential to com- bine the best of the world of litera- ture with the finest aspects of two- dimensional art, creating a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Among the art's craftsper- sons, a select few have finally begun striving to uncover the possibilities of the form. Americans know this art form by an unfortunate name: "comic book." The utterance of the word brings to mind, for most, images of muscle bound superheroes in tights end- lessly battling evil super villains, while mindlessly spouting a litany of good, solid establishment clichds. Admittedly, this sort of comic still reigns supreme in the comic book world, albeit with the modern addition of bloody violence. But, ex- isting in a small sidestream, riding on the coattails of these formula comics, are those attempting to de- stroy the notion that the combina- tion of words and pictures is suited only to children's stories. The cre- ators of these comics are trying to establish their medium as one suit- able for the distribution of adult ideas and stories. The task is a formidable one, and some of the achievements thus far have been ex- traordinary. The comic book, like lacrosse, jazz and the demolition derby, is a distinctly American creation. The first appearances of anything resem- bling comic books were collections of newspaper funny strips in the '30s. Then the publishers began to create original stories to print in this fashion. Finally, with the re- lease of Action Comics number one - the first appearance of Superman and the first superhero story - the comic book reached the form that most Americans now recognize. A government investigation of the comic book industry in the '50s fining the possibilities that the comic book presents, the Japanese, as with so many other things, have taken the idea and run away with it. In Japan, comics, or "manga," as the Japanese call them, have achieved so- cial acceptance and are widely read by all classes and age groups. The Europeans have also picked up on the form as a venue for adult stories and art. America, the ancestral home of the comic book, is left in the unfor- tunate position of trying to catch up. Happily, despite the preconcep- tions most Americans have toward comics, many comic books of excel- lent quality, containing stories written by and for intelligent adults, have been published in recent years. In some, such as Alan Moore's Watchmen or Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, writers and illustrators have stretched the boundaries of the standard comic book story by taking the superhero story into the realms of social commentary, metaphor and reality. Others, such as Art Spiegelman and the Hernadez Brothers, have gone beyond even this level, using the comic book medium to relate tales of "normal" people living in our "normal" world. A thousand more variations exist and, as with any art form, the possibilities are literally endless. Sequential pictures combined with words to tell a story. A sim- ple idea that has finally begun to reach its potential as an artistic medium. Comics of quality and originality are littered about comic shops throughout the nation, and they can even occasionally be found at mainstream booksellers. Too many visually and intellectually impressive comics have been created for even a partial list to be pre- sented here. But if you try a couple, you may well be happily surprised by how far the stories told in four colors and thought balloons have progressed. resulted in the creation of the Comics Code Authority, a self-im- posed censorship agency which vir- tually eliminated the possibility that books of any maturity would be published by the mainstream comic industry. Not until the '60s, when an underground comic indus- try began to develop, did the seeds of today's adult-oriented comics first appear. While America has lagged in re- UAC /VIEWPOINT LECTURES PRESENTS Gender Issues: Today and Tomorrow BETTY FRIEDAN LEADER OF THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT CELEBRATED AUTHOR OF THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE CHANNEL Z Tonight, fiber-anchor David Brinkley hosts Pearl Harbor: Two Hours That Changed the World (9 p.m., ABC), a documen- tary examining the 50th anniver- sary of the Japanese attack that changed the face of World War II, which will feature interviews with President Bush and Japan's Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. Or you could just watch The Simpsons (8 p.m., Fox) - in tonight's episode, Homer gets laid off. Dohhh! Kortes The path to a man's sensibility is through his stomach? Aim a little lower. When Athenian and Spartan warriors won't listen to reason, the women of Greece resort to the only thing that will'get results --a sex strike. Thus evolves AristophanesY bawdy comedy, Lysistrala. Freshlj adapted by Residential College writing instructor, Carolyn Bat ducci, the RC Players and the RC Drama Concentration promisea show of classic hilarity. Anessa Kortes will star as Lysistrata, the woman who puts the safe-sex plan into action. The show runs tomor- row through Saturday and Friday and Saturday, December 13-14 at 8E p.m. in the RC Auditorium in East; Quad. Tickets are $5, $3 for studentis and seniors. When Richard Bugayski's films were banned in his native Poland, he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, and life has been pretty grand ever since His film, Interrogation was success- fully screened at the Cannes Fes- tival in 1990 and won the Bes: Actress award. He'll speak tody about the glamorous 16 hour working days enjoyed by film direc tors. Wow, don't you wish you could be one too. The fame, the glor'hfinlancial responsibility! Bugayski will be at the MLB, Lec are Hall one, at 4 p.m. Admission p.is ree. uitru i at Qud ikt r -,$ o tdns WRITE FOR THE MICHIGAN DAILY p0 Tickets Available at all Ticketmaster Outlets University Activities Center 764-0552 If you're looking for theatre that is fiery, startling, ribald, bold, funny, passionate, poetic, frenetic, barely controlled, over the edge- don't miss MaratiSade Peter Weiss' award-winning drama with music University Players " Power Center " Dec. 5 - 7 at 8 PM; Dec. 8 at 2 PM Student tickets $6 at the League Ticket Office. The U-M School of Music- Celebrating 75 years of'U-M theatre nonru Pqthon Two Collections of their BEST Sketches December 6&7 8:30pm, MLB aud. 3. Monday, Dec. 9, 1991 7:30pm Rackham Auditorium : : M-Flicks A ATE ROR61470 5TH AVE. AT UBERTYJ61.000 r $3' O o DAILY SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM .UU RGAJN TliES. RETURNS IN JANUARY) Now on sale- Gargoyle T-shirts Buyone rand I'l be **9 your best fr;end. of course, you b eS+ NAG4l/N %5.~ im O~-. . .1NE Rea~ves. ,< t t ;Rear view of Arnold "No Arms, no legs, no head" McCarthy sporting Gargoyle's new T-shirt (legs not shown.) ** Ever have trouble finding the Arb? The UGLi? The STUDENT WttH ID. $3.50 Black Robe(m The Man in the Moon imm Combo Coupon! 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