Comic books, graphic novels, and graphic movies

"Comic books are for kids." I've heard that so many times, I lost count long ago. Modern comics, despite having many heavily adult themes, are still considered mostly for the younger generation. I'm not sure why, since stories told in pictures is a time-worn concept that has lasted well. In fact, some of my favorite tales are comics (Dark Phoenix saga, Infinity War, Terminal Velocity). Sure, children have far greater imaginations than adults, but that shouldn't prevent anyone from enjoying the medium. And, in comics the heroes generally win out in the end, and happy endings abound. For the most part, it's a much more positive genre than others.

Graphic novels are much longer than a single comic book (usually around 10 or more bound all back to back) and focus on one constant story, like a regular novel but told in picture form. Graphic movies are a fairly new concept and take a graphic novel and animate it a bit so it's a "movie." I wasn't sold on the concept, but I bought "Iron Man: Extremis" and am totally amazed. The story is preserved in marvelous form and the minimal animations fit the style. I highly recommend any Iron Man fan get this (mainly because the 1st and 3rd movies use practically all the concepts within the Extremis story).

I'm glad to see comics moving beyond just the papers they started in. Comics are a powerful storytelling tool and I think more adults should check them out, rather than idly toss them to their children. These are stories of worth, stories of heroes and villains, stories of sacrifice and triumph, especially they are fun and enjoyable. What's wrong with a bit of fun in our boring adult lives?

- M