“A struggling comedian with a pregnant wife has reached rock bottom. When he is at his lowest, he realized that the only way to truly support his family is by crossing over to the mob and working a job with them that will help this young man’s family get by. However, when everything goes wrong, this young comedian will be transformed into the ultimate incarnation of evil there is, and plans to get his revenge on the hero that created him, even if it takes him the rest of both of their lives.” This is not the plot of a Shakespearian tragedy. This is not a classic American novel. This isn’t even the plot of a novel; this is the general plot to Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, a 1988 comic book. It is mature plots like these that have kept the comic book genre going for many years, and will keep it going for many more. However, there are those people who say that the genre has gone away; that comic books have gone to the dogs and are not as popular as they once were. I, however, disagree. I believe that the quality and popularity of comic books have not withered in recent years; on the contrary, I believe that comic books are at the peak of their run.
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is my favorite movie. I believe that it is one of the best movies ever made and a major curbstone in the movie industry. It is also based on a comic book. Comic books and graphic novels have inspired much of the media today, mainly movies and television shows. In fact, I would say that most of the comic book films are some of the most critically and commercially films to date. In the last six years (2008-2013) three of those six year’s highest grossing films are comic book movies (Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, and Shane Black’s Iron Man 3). In fact, three of the top ten highest grossing films ever made are also comic book movies (Joss Whedon’s The Avengers at #3, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 at #5, and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises at #9). In addition to being extremely profitable, comic book films are also really influential in mainstream media, particularly Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight has inspired, not only comic book films, but almost all films made today. Possibly the biggest example of this influence is Sam Mendes Skyfall, the eight highest grossing film of all time, and one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2012.
Comic book movies have given the comic book genre a huge boost in popularity. The former ways were: if you liked comic books and wear superhero shirts, then you’re a nerd. However, now comics are popular with most high school clichés. Superman and Batman shirts are almost always worn in public now by everyone, nerd or jock. This raise in fashion can be considered definitely helped by comic book movies and the popular television show The Big Bang Theory, where there is almost always a character wearing a superhero shirt. However, it is not only fashion that has changed as the popularity of the comic book genre has risen. An interesting fact is that the Superman symbol is the second most recognized symbol in the world, right after the Cross! I believe that once a logo is more recognizable on the streets than a religious symbol, then that is when you are able to say you can redefine most of the world. And that is actually what the Superman symbol has done. Once a symbol for a man in tights; now a symbol for strength, and for some, hope.
Comic books have not only affected film and society in general, but has also affected other areas of writing as well. Famous novelists such as Stephen King have had many of their novels translated into comic book miniseries and graphic novels, such as The Dark Tower series, and The Stand. These authors do this because they know that comic books are extremely excellent in telling unique and fantastic stories. As well as authors, screenwriter Quentin Tarantino has also had the story for his Oscar-nominated film Django Unchained translated into a comic book. Graphic novels have received honors that are specifically meant for real novels. Alan Moore’s Watchmen appeared on Times 2005’s “All-Time 100 Greatest Novels”, being the only graphic novel to make it on the list. It was actually this novel as well to inspire the term graphic novel because of the book’s fantastic and mature story. It was also this novel that inspired the Comic-Sans font. Because of receiving honors such as these, and being extremely influential in writing, The New York Times have now implemented a new list for the Bestsellers in its very own category.
Finally, comic books and graphic novels have been and still are used to express and spread political satire and opinions. For example, in Brian K. Vaughan’s former comic book series Y: The Last Man, the Vaughan portrayed the Republican Party and Israelis in a less favorable light than the Democrats and American people. The book also satirized feminists, portraying them from an extremely negative viewpoint. Another example is how Andy Diggle satirized government corruption in his graphic novel The Losers. “It’s right there on the dollar bill man—“IN G.O.D. WE TRUST…”…Guns. Oil. Drugs. The Holy Trinity.” (Diggle). Many Presidents have also made appearances in comic books while they were in office, such as John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. Comic books have also inspired and spread political ideas, with the use of political cartoons. One of the biggest amounts of propaganda is the hero Captain America; the man wearing the American flag always fighting against the man with the red face (an obvious nod to Communism as the character was first created in the 1940’s).
As well as inspiring political thought, comic books inspire much more than that. Heroes such as Superman teach children the difference between right and wrong. They inspire kids to do the right thing, to think of others before themselves, and to always help out. That is why comic book villains rarely have any defining characteristics other than being bad; there is no true motive for some. No child ever wants to be Lex Luther; they all want to be Superman, the biggest American icon there is.
Admittedly, the golden age of comic books is over, and a new era has taken place. Comic books have changed, but I believe that is for the better. True, the chances are that one will probably not find a comic book featuring Superman saving a cat from a tree. It looks as though the reader will have to settle for a Superman saving the world.