Postmodern Theories on the Graphic Novel

Definition

Postmodernism and postmodern theories of art can shed light on the medium of graphic novels and its importance. In general, the medium relies on two art forms—textual writing and the visual arts—and combining these two traditionally separate arts is a performance of postmodern theories that value the deconstruction of their differences.

Introduction

According to literary theorist Jean-François Lyotard, writing in Condition postmoderne: Rapport sur le savoir (1979; The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 1984), the postmodern act of writing takes place when "the artist and the writer . . . are working without rules to formulate the rules of what will have been done" according to "the paradox of the future (post) anterior (modo)." As it relates to the graphic novel, this paradox occurs as the deconstruction of the divisions between the writing and visual arts, as they are used without concern for the rules associated with each to formulate a new art form. The graphic novel is best reflected in terms of this postmodern writing since the division between someone who composes texts and someone who composes works of art is eliminated as the two forms are combined—two of the most notable practitioners of this combined art form are Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware.

One of the most misunderstood concepts surrounding postmodernism is that it moves past the modern with the assumption thattheoreticalmodernism has nothing left to offer. However, as Lyotard's definition suggests, postmodern writers compose without regard to established theories of textual composition or art criticism. Comics theorist Scott McCloud's exploration of the art form suggests that comics and graphic novels have always been postmodern despite attempts to define each as a fixed medium; he claims that defining comics is an ongoing process. While McCloud has been critiqued for his seemingly simplistic understanding of comics, this view allows graphic novels to be viewed as postmodern. It opens the medium to new and inventive ways of composing with images and text.

The juxtaposition of McCloud's view of comics as an art form that continues to defy any fixed definition and Lyotard's description of the postmodern writer as someone who works to formulate new rules of composing (in this case, graphic novels) proposes that comics and graphic novels are essentially postmodern texts that can teach the reader ways of reading and writing in a postmodern age. Moreover, these new ways of writing are worked out apart from any distinct field of study, which is seen in Ware's explanation of the general comics artist as a trained artist who does feel at home in the prescribed industry. To think of graphic novels in this way would be to think of them as a postmodern art form interested in formulating new methods of thinking and composing without regard for any previously established rules of writing or art.

Alternative Comics

The term alternative comics generally refers to comics and graphic novels that diverge from the mainstream superhero comics that have dominated the industry. Often experimental, alternative comics take on a wide range of genres and artistic styles uncharacteristic of traditional approaches to understanding the genre.

One of the most essential alternative comics anthologies was RAW, a magazine started by Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly. In Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature (2005), critic Charles Hatfield claims that alternative comics were an outgrowth of the underground comics movement of the 1960s. While claiming that there is a direct correlation between the rise of postmodernism and the alternative comics movement would be problematic, the approach to composing comics in this movement parallels many of the same sentiments and methods usually proposed by postmodern theoristsnamely, exploration rather than illustration. However, the alternative comics movement has focused on contentgenre and aesthetic stylerather than form. Notable works originating in the alternative comics movement include Dave Sim's Cerebus (1977-2004), Jeff Smith's Bone (1991-2004), and Craig Thompson's Blankets (2003).

One alternative comics artist who has pushed the form of comics further into postmodernism is Ware. His graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth (1993-2000), features a design that parallels the fragmented narrative of the main character. While alternative comics have historically tended to address the traditional content of the medium, the next iteration of alternative comics, as Ware's work suggests, will experiment with the medium's formal elements.

Exceeding the System of Comics

When proposing that comics are a postmodern art form, thinking about systems becomes counterproductive. In The System of Comics (2007), theorist Thierry Groensteen proposes that for a work to be a comic book or graphic novel, its composition must follow a "spatio-topical" system, but this is precisely what postmodernism seeks to break apart. One reason for exceeding this way of thinking is that systems only allow for a certain number of possibilities. The system that Groensteen looks to affirm "defines an ideal"a postmodern perspective would be wary of any claims to ideal forms.

To exceed Groensteen's systematic approach and the sequential history of comics that McCloud describes is to think of comics as an art form that has consistently enacted the sort of work that other artists and art movements have been moving toward—particularly breaking the division between life and art. In finding new ways of composing comics from a postmodern perspective, the systems of comics will give way to innovative forms of writing with images and text. As postmodern "texts," comics present an art form that has little concern for the formal and aesthetic qualities required of other arts. As such, any systematic approach to graphic novels, at least from a postmodern perspective, would contradict the historical importance of the medium.

Impact

The effects of postmodern theories on the graphic novel medium are varied. Since the development of the alternative comics movement during the 1980s, postmodern theories have greatly influenced the significant area of study that deals with comics, asking whether graphic novels must be cohesive narratives or if there are other ways of thinking about their composition.

While contemporary perspectives on the graphic novel continue to adhere to its definition as "sequential art," some of the medium's most famous artists have started experimenting with the form, commenting on it through the stories they create. For example, in Promethea: Book 5 (2005), Alan Moore suggests that comics stimulate imagination by combining words and images. In part, one of the impacts of postmodernism on the graphic novel is the invention of the medium as an art form interested in exploring new ways of composing the experiences of life rather than commenting on art, which has led artists to begin writing comics as if the previously established rules are only guidelines.

By returning to the basic principles of combining images and words or composing narratives through images alone, comics artists influenced by postmodern theories attempt to reframe the medium as an art form. In this example, the difference between a medium and an art form has to do with how the works are composed: A medium adheres to the systems and rules established through years of practice, whereas an art form continually explores new ways of writing works of art. Overall, postmodernism may be one of the critical factors in the resurgence of interest in the graphic novel.

By the 2020s, graphic novels had gained recognition not only as respectable art forms but also as effective learning formats. Their engaging narratives and visual artistry made them valuable tools for student engagement and storytelling. The wider acceptance of graphic novels led to their study in university settings, similar to other disciplines such as motion pictures and photography.

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