Many people would argue that
we are currently living a renaissance for the comic book as there are
more interesting, exciting and innovative comic books on the market
today then there ever has been. This is mainly due to fans becoming
creators and, as with film, when this becomes the case more mature,
ground-breaking and barrier-smashing work is produced. But at what
price?
As with all progress, there
has been a casualty. There has been something which has disappeared
from my most loved of mediums. The thought bubble. What has happened
to this delightful convention?
Perversely, it seems that
when comic book readers started to sit up and take notice of the
writers over the artists, that the thought bubble began to fade from
the public comic book consciousness. The chief champions and agents
of this change, in my opinion, were Alan Moore and Frank Miller. They
did not kill the thought bubble but rather forced its evolution into
the narrative box. The thought bubble became less about what the
character was thinking at that stage and more like a diary entry –
the “handwritten” narrative boxes of Miller's Batman :Year one
being such an example. The boxes seem to be afterthoughts rather than
the character's real-time thoughts. Now, it is without doubt that
Miller and Moore are among the best writers of comic books and this
could be due in part to their reluctance to use the thought bubble.
But it is also indicative of a watershed within the comic book form.
Thought bubbles seem frivolous and comedic and the use of a narrative
box with it's sharp edges, is more mature and dignified. But could
this mean we are in danger of taking our loved art-form too
seriously?
Whilst this evolution from
bubble to box undoubtedly proved popular with the older audience, it
seems a shame that this evolution lead to an eradication of the
thought bubble. One of the most disturbing side effects of this
eradication seems to be less text and more artwork in comic books.
Which, contrary to the origin of the demise of the thought bubble, is
leading to a re-emergence of the importance of the artist. This in
itself is not a bad thing, the artwork in comic books today is
stunning. However, it has led to comic books that read more like
story boards for film productions, rather than a stand alone medium.
(Also meaning that the comic book you wait for all month is finished
in about ten minutes, rather than a satisfying twenty minutes.)
It could be argued that the
thought bubble disappeared as it no longer resonates with a more
mature and sophisticated readership. It lays bare too much; the
educated reader likes to draw his own conclusions. This results in
more close-up panels of character's faces while we try to fathom out
what they are thinking, rather than actually reading their thoughts.
However, is this just writer's being lazy, leaving the reader to pick
up the slack? Wouldn't it be better to actually read the words of
the your favourite character's thoughts, to step inside their mind?
I miss this insight into the
thinkings of my favourite characters and I miss the aesthetic
pleasure of the thought bubble. It simply looks like a comic book.
And this draws me back to this question that keeps playing on my
mind: if our comic books are losing what makes them comic books and
becoming more like films – then what is the point of the comic
book? What place does the comic book have in the future of our media
saturated world? Will they all become just trailers for upcoming
films? Prequels to TV series? Storyboards?
Bring back the thought
bubble!
