Complexity in the Comic and Graphic NovelMedium Inquiry Through BestsellingBatman Stories

PA U L A C R U T C H E R

ADAPTATIONS OF GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS FOR MAJOR MOTION

pictures TV programs and video games in just the last fiveyears are certainly compelling and include the X-Men Wol-

verine Hulk Punisher Iron Man Spiderman Batman SupermanWatchmen 300 30 Days of Night Wanted The Surrogates Kick-Ass TheLosers Scott Pilgrim vs the World and more Nevertheless how many ofthe people consuming those products would visit a comic book shopunderstand comics and graphic novels as sophisticated see them asvalid and significant for serious criticism and scholarship or prefer orappreciate the medium over these film TV and game adaptationsSimilarly in what ways is the medium complex according to its ad-vocates and in what ways do we see that complexity in Batman graphicnovels

Recent and seminal work done to validate the comics and graphicnovel medium includes Rocco Versacirsquos This Book Contains GraphicLanguage Scott McCloudrsquos Understanding Comics and Douglas WolkrsquosReading Comics Arguments from these and other scholars and writerssuggest that significant graphic novels about the Batman one of themost popular and iconic characters ever producedmdashincluding FrankMiller Klaus Janson and Lynn Varleyrsquos Dark Knight Returns GrantMorrison and Dave McKeanrsquos Arkham Asylum and Alan Moore andBrian Bollandrsquos Killing Jokemdashcan provide unique complexity not foundin prose-based novels and traditional films

The Journal of Popular Culture Vol 44 No 1 2011r 2011 Wiley Periodicals Inc

53

Validating the Medium and its Complexity

It is not particularly difficult to see Versaci and other writers at themargins of literature (see also Beverly Clark 2003 Lawrence Sipe 2008Maria Nikolajeva amp Carole Scott 2006 Perry Nodelman 2008 SethLerer 2008) as on noble adventures ill equipped against insurmount-able odds Advocating that the picture book be validated and putalongside Milton for instance elicits smirks or stone throwing Theivory towers housing the literary canon sculpting pedagogy and safe-guarding all media do not readily see childrenrsquos and adolescent liter-ature as complex sophisticated or worth critical attention VersacirsquosGraphic Language deals with the comic bookrsquos descent into the juvenilesubsequent exclusion from Literature and immediate exclusion fromArt In describing the reception today he writes lsquolsquoThere are these wholook at the medium and scoff at comicsrsquo obvious inferiority to the novelor filmrsquorsquo (6) that many hold an lsquolsquoassumption that comic books are ajuvenile medium that can only trivialize serious mattersrsquorsquo (9) His de-fense of the comic medium relies on proving it not only as equitable toliterature art and film but also and more importantly as unique orsuperior to those media To that end Versaci claims that comics arelsquolsquoboth surprising and subversiversquorsquo that the medium lsquolsquochallenges our wayof thinkingrsquorsquo and that it does these things lsquolsquoin unique waysrsquorsquo (12)Comics lsquolsquocall attention to their own makingrsquorsquo and they have a lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo not often found in literature or film (12) The comicsmedium goes beyond that reflectivity by promoting critiques of lsquolsquohowthe world is represented in texts of all kindsrsquorsquo largely because readerslsquolsquoseersquorsquo and lsquolsquoreadrsquorsquo comics in different ways than either literature or filmand more generally in ways lsquolsquodifferently than we do either wordsexclusively or pictures exclusivelyrsquorsquo (13 ndash 14)

More specifically Versaci constructs arguments that comics containa lsquolsquounique form of narrativersquorsquo and further lsquolsquoallow for additional methodsof narrative that are highly sophisticated and unavailable in othermediarsquorsquo (16) Part of that sophistication comes through lsquolsquomultiplicity ofperspectives and layeringrsquorsquo or lsquolsquosmaller narratives within a larger onersquorsquo(23) He further explicates those lsquolsquolayers of meaningrsquorsquo through comicsrsquoability to present more content at any singular moment than eitherliterature art or film (16) Indeed Versaci notes that comics lsquolsquoinvite usto think more deeply about how literary merit is accorded and why thisis a question worth pursuingrsquorsquo something that goes beyond equality

54 Paul A Crutcher

and superiority to a holistic critique (28) Versaci explicitly intends forGraphic Language to frame comics as subversive as a subversive cri-tique and through instantiations like subversive journalism Hewrites that comics provide in the latter case a lsquolsquoviable vehicle for sub-versive and even incendiary political messagesrsquorsquo (27) In one of the casestudies provided in Graphic Language Versaci claims that the politicalcomics of the 1940s and 1950s were lsquolsquomore visually and politicallysophisticated than war films of the same erarsquorsquo (27) In perhaps moreintuitive claims he states that lsquolsquothe very nature of the medium allowscomic book memoirists to explore various issues of self-representationin ways not fully available to writers of prose memoirsrsquorsquo somethingthat can be seen quite readily through a graphic novel like Miss Re-markable and Her Career (26) Finally Versaci juxtaposes Art Speigel-manrsquos Pulitzer Prize winning Maus with the literature andphotography of the Holocaust

Using the comic book form allows Speigelman to approach thisdifficult topic in ways unavailable to those recounting their Holo-caust experiences in traditional prose and [ ] Speigelman usescomic book art to rethink what has become the Holocaustrsquos de-finingmdashand silencingmdashrepresentational feature its photographicimages (26)

McCloudrsquos seminal Understanding Comics should be included in anyserious discussion of the complexity of the comics medium McCloudwrites lsquolsquoI realized that comic books were usually crude poorly-drawnsemiliterate cheap disposable kiddie faremdashbutmdashThey donrsquot have tobe The problem was that for most people that was what lsquocomic bookrsquomeantrsquorsquo (3) In his effort to validate the medium McCloud sees itmetaphorically as a lsquolsquovesselrsquorsquo which visibly holds more actors and con-tent than would exist in or be necessary to compose literature or art ifnot film (6) He highlights the irony that therersquos been lsquolsquocritical ex-aminationrsquorsquo of all mediums including literature music theater artand film but not of comics (6) In a claim not echoed by VersaciMcCloud discusses the ways comics can uniquely engage all five sensesIn probably the most original and oft-cited McCloud point he arguesthat no medium can present time in the myriad ways possible throughcomics For McCloud single comic frames may or may not depictsingular moments illustrators can adjust time through spacing andframing and detail comic pages can exist in multiple temporal places

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 55

at once motion can be represented in comics as vividly as in film andmore Ultimately in a claim that neatly summarizes Versaci and otherscholars McCloud argues that the medium lsquolsquooffers range and versatilitywith all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy ofthe written wordrsquorsquo (212)

David Peterson creator of Mouse Guard worked to validate comicsthrough ties to various mythologies and like McCloud to early civ-ilizations and the earliest mediums for communication In addition tothe nonlinear narratives and the profound malleability of time Peter-son forwards the idea that comics are unique to literature and film inthe use of texts fonts sound elements images and more all to create aunique and sophisticated balance He argues that comics are in lsquolsquopitchrsquorsquoformat (the movie storyboard format expected when pitching an idea toa studio precisely how Berger saw Morrisonrsquos script for Arkham Asylum2004) Following implications from others (including Versaci) Peter-son also posits that comics are more direct than literature and film thelatter almost always needing to go through multiple layers of revisionbefore consumption (films eg suffer through translation from proseto screenplay screenplay to a comics-like storyboard and on includingactorsrsquo interpretations of scripts and characters) Petersonrsquos most strik-ing point came through his experiences with comics in education insituations where teachers have looked beyond stigma to use comics toconnect with reluctant readers for instance or to develop the story-telling and predicting literacy abilities of developing readers

While filmmakers and novelists may evoke lsquolsquoessencersquorsquo from a fixedand definite moment captured on film or in prose (ie lsquolsquoPhotographerCapturesrsquorsquo) Versaci McCloud and Peterson argue that comics ulti-mately do more and evoke more Wolk joins them and adds newperspectives to this discussion of the complexity of comics

The most significant fact about comics is so obvious itrsquos easy tooverlook they are drawn That means that what they show arethings and people real or imagined moving in space and changingover time as transformed through somebodyrsquos eye and hand [ ]Film and photography intrinsically claim to be accurate documentseven when theyrsquore not they always have the pretense that they areshowing you something you would have seen exactly the same way ifyoursquod been present at the right time and place

(118 emphasis in original)

56 Paul A Crutcher

Many scholars and writers also discuss the communities of comicscholars creators and fans Wolk and Peterson explicitly discuss whatmight be termed the fourth dimensionmdashthe social spaces that add anadditional point in the argument about the complexity of the comicBoth Wolk and Peterson introduced this dimension through TheSimpsonsrsquo Comic Book Guy a character Matt Groening has purportedlyidentified as lsquolsquoevery comic-bookstore guy in Americarsquorsquo (lsquolsquoComic BookGuyrsquorsquo n pag emphasis in original) Versaci details the rise of theindependent and dedicated comic book shop and the view that comicbook readers are juvenile immature socially or psychologically mal-adjusted but he does not experience how those two phenomena in-tersect because his comics arrive on his doorstep via Amazon and heconsequently does not meet Comic Book Guy Independent comic bookstores may be frequented by communities that typify the appearanceand attitudes of Groeningrsquos iconic stereotype but these stores arecomplimented by broad pop culture conventions (eg Comic-Con)Further neither the stores nor the conventions are limited to singularstereotypes but support diverse interests and communities For in-stance in what analogous medium-based social space like a movietheater do manga cosplayers Spiderman illustrators political writersand tenured professors coexist around the medium Thus this fourthdimension also reasonably distinguishes the comic from literaturefilm and art in terms of complexity

Those communities come together in more than just social waysRyan Claytor an artist argued that there is a constant need to defendcomics and work with comics particularly as something as compellingor more compelling than more traditionally respected visual mediumsPeterson made a similar claim and Gary Hoppenstand a scholar builton that claim by suggesting that the academy is slowly coming tounderstand the medium and that this current and increasingly recep-tive environment needs additional scholarship on comics That is not tosay that scholarship does not exist but it certainly is limited

Defining and Validating the Medium Through the Batman

Inquiry Through the Batman

Beyond McCloud Versaci Wolk and the others noted above for themore specific inquiry into how those theories and arguments play out

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 57

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

Validating the Medium and its Complexity

It is not particularly difficult to see Versaci and other writers at themargins of literature (see also Beverly Clark 2003 Lawrence Sipe 2008Maria Nikolajeva amp Carole Scott 2006 Perry Nodelman 2008 SethLerer 2008) as on noble adventures ill equipped against insurmount-able odds Advocating that the picture book be validated and putalongside Milton for instance elicits smirks or stone throwing Theivory towers housing the literary canon sculpting pedagogy and safe-guarding all media do not readily see childrenrsquos and adolescent liter-ature as complex sophisticated or worth critical attention VersacirsquosGraphic Language deals with the comic bookrsquos descent into the juvenilesubsequent exclusion from Literature and immediate exclusion fromArt In describing the reception today he writes lsquolsquoThere are these wholook at the medium and scoff at comicsrsquo obvious inferiority to the novelor filmrsquorsquo (6) that many hold an lsquolsquoassumption that comic books are ajuvenile medium that can only trivialize serious mattersrsquorsquo (9) His de-fense of the comic medium relies on proving it not only as equitable toliterature art and film but also and more importantly as unique orsuperior to those media To that end Versaci claims that comics arelsquolsquoboth surprising and subversiversquorsquo that the medium lsquolsquochallenges our wayof thinkingrsquorsquo and that it does these things lsquolsquoin unique waysrsquorsquo (12)Comics lsquolsquocall attention to their own makingrsquorsquo and they have a lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo not often found in literature or film (12) The comicsmedium goes beyond that reflectivity by promoting critiques of lsquolsquohowthe world is represented in texts of all kindsrsquorsquo largely because readerslsquolsquoseersquorsquo and lsquolsquoreadrsquorsquo comics in different ways than either literature or filmand more generally in ways lsquolsquodifferently than we do either wordsexclusively or pictures exclusivelyrsquorsquo (13 ndash 14)

More specifically Versaci constructs arguments that comics containa lsquolsquounique form of narrativersquorsquo and further lsquolsquoallow for additional methodsof narrative that are highly sophisticated and unavailable in othermediarsquorsquo (16) Part of that sophistication comes through lsquolsquomultiplicity ofperspectives and layeringrsquorsquo or lsquolsquosmaller narratives within a larger onersquorsquo(23) He further explicates those lsquolsquolayers of meaningrsquorsquo through comicsrsquoability to present more content at any singular moment than eitherliterature art or film (16) Indeed Versaci notes that comics lsquolsquoinvite usto think more deeply about how literary merit is accorded and why thisis a question worth pursuingrsquorsquo something that goes beyond equality

54 Paul A Crutcher

and superiority to a holistic critique (28) Versaci explicitly intends forGraphic Language to frame comics as subversive as a subversive cri-tique and through instantiations like subversive journalism Hewrites that comics provide in the latter case a lsquolsquoviable vehicle for sub-versive and even incendiary political messagesrsquorsquo (27) In one of the casestudies provided in Graphic Language Versaci claims that the politicalcomics of the 1940s and 1950s were lsquolsquomore visually and politicallysophisticated than war films of the same erarsquorsquo (27) In perhaps moreintuitive claims he states that lsquolsquothe very nature of the medium allowscomic book memoirists to explore various issues of self-representationin ways not fully available to writers of prose memoirsrsquorsquo somethingthat can be seen quite readily through a graphic novel like Miss Re-markable and Her Career (26) Finally Versaci juxtaposes Art Speigel-manrsquos Pulitzer Prize winning Maus with the literature andphotography of the Holocaust

Using the comic book form allows Speigelman to approach thisdifficult topic in ways unavailable to those recounting their Holo-caust experiences in traditional prose and [ ] Speigelman usescomic book art to rethink what has become the Holocaustrsquos de-finingmdashand silencingmdashrepresentational feature its photographicimages (26)

McCloudrsquos seminal Understanding Comics should be included in anyserious discussion of the complexity of the comics medium McCloudwrites lsquolsquoI realized that comic books were usually crude poorly-drawnsemiliterate cheap disposable kiddie faremdashbutmdashThey donrsquot have tobe The problem was that for most people that was what lsquocomic bookrsquomeantrsquorsquo (3) In his effort to validate the medium McCloud sees itmetaphorically as a lsquolsquovesselrsquorsquo which visibly holds more actors and con-tent than would exist in or be necessary to compose literature or art ifnot film (6) He highlights the irony that therersquos been lsquolsquocritical ex-aminationrsquorsquo of all mediums including literature music theater artand film but not of comics (6) In a claim not echoed by VersaciMcCloud discusses the ways comics can uniquely engage all five sensesIn probably the most original and oft-cited McCloud point he arguesthat no medium can present time in the myriad ways possible throughcomics For McCloud single comic frames may or may not depictsingular moments illustrators can adjust time through spacing andframing and detail comic pages can exist in multiple temporal places

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 55

at once motion can be represented in comics as vividly as in film andmore Ultimately in a claim that neatly summarizes Versaci and otherscholars McCloud argues that the medium lsquolsquooffers range and versatilitywith all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy ofthe written wordrsquorsquo (212)

David Peterson creator of Mouse Guard worked to validate comicsthrough ties to various mythologies and like McCloud to early civ-ilizations and the earliest mediums for communication In addition tothe nonlinear narratives and the profound malleability of time Peter-son forwards the idea that comics are unique to literature and film inthe use of texts fonts sound elements images and more all to create aunique and sophisticated balance He argues that comics are in lsquolsquopitchrsquorsquoformat (the movie storyboard format expected when pitching an idea toa studio precisely how Berger saw Morrisonrsquos script for Arkham Asylum2004) Following implications from others (including Versaci) Peter-son also posits that comics are more direct than literature and film thelatter almost always needing to go through multiple layers of revisionbefore consumption (films eg suffer through translation from proseto screenplay screenplay to a comics-like storyboard and on includingactorsrsquo interpretations of scripts and characters) Petersonrsquos most strik-ing point came through his experiences with comics in education insituations where teachers have looked beyond stigma to use comics toconnect with reluctant readers for instance or to develop the story-telling and predicting literacy abilities of developing readers

While filmmakers and novelists may evoke lsquolsquoessencersquorsquo from a fixedand definite moment captured on film or in prose (ie lsquolsquoPhotographerCapturesrsquorsquo) Versaci McCloud and Peterson argue that comics ulti-mately do more and evoke more Wolk joins them and adds newperspectives to this discussion of the complexity of comics

The most significant fact about comics is so obvious itrsquos easy tooverlook they are drawn That means that what they show arethings and people real or imagined moving in space and changingover time as transformed through somebodyrsquos eye and hand [ ]Film and photography intrinsically claim to be accurate documentseven when theyrsquore not they always have the pretense that they areshowing you something you would have seen exactly the same way ifyoursquod been present at the right time and place

(118 emphasis in original)

56 Paul A Crutcher

Many scholars and writers also discuss the communities of comicscholars creators and fans Wolk and Peterson explicitly discuss whatmight be termed the fourth dimensionmdashthe social spaces that add anadditional point in the argument about the complexity of the comicBoth Wolk and Peterson introduced this dimension through TheSimpsonsrsquo Comic Book Guy a character Matt Groening has purportedlyidentified as lsquolsquoevery comic-bookstore guy in Americarsquorsquo (lsquolsquoComic BookGuyrsquorsquo n pag emphasis in original) Versaci details the rise of theindependent and dedicated comic book shop and the view that comicbook readers are juvenile immature socially or psychologically mal-adjusted but he does not experience how those two phenomena in-tersect because his comics arrive on his doorstep via Amazon and heconsequently does not meet Comic Book Guy Independent comic bookstores may be frequented by communities that typify the appearanceand attitudes of Groeningrsquos iconic stereotype but these stores arecomplimented by broad pop culture conventions (eg Comic-Con)Further neither the stores nor the conventions are limited to singularstereotypes but support diverse interests and communities For in-stance in what analogous medium-based social space like a movietheater do manga cosplayers Spiderman illustrators political writersand tenured professors coexist around the medium Thus this fourthdimension also reasonably distinguishes the comic from literaturefilm and art in terms of complexity

Those communities come together in more than just social waysRyan Claytor an artist argued that there is a constant need to defendcomics and work with comics particularly as something as compellingor more compelling than more traditionally respected visual mediumsPeterson made a similar claim and Gary Hoppenstand a scholar builton that claim by suggesting that the academy is slowly coming tounderstand the medium and that this current and increasingly recep-tive environment needs additional scholarship on comics That is not tosay that scholarship does not exist but it certainly is limited

Defining and Validating the Medium Through the Batman

Inquiry Through the Batman

Beyond McCloud Versaci Wolk and the others noted above for themore specific inquiry into how those theories and arguments play out

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 57

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

and superiority to a holistic critique (28) Versaci explicitly intends forGraphic Language to frame comics as subversive as a subversive cri-tique and through instantiations like subversive journalism Hewrites that comics provide in the latter case a lsquolsquoviable vehicle for sub-versive and even incendiary political messagesrsquorsquo (27) In one of the casestudies provided in Graphic Language Versaci claims that the politicalcomics of the 1940s and 1950s were lsquolsquomore visually and politicallysophisticated than war films of the same erarsquorsquo (27) In perhaps moreintuitive claims he states that lsquolsquothe very nature of the medium allowscomic book memoirists to explore various issues of self-representationin ways not fully available to writers of prose memoirsrsquorsquo somethingthat can be seen quite readily through a graphic novel like Miss Re-markable and Her Career (26) Finally Versaci juxtaposes Art Speigel-manrsquos Pulitzer Prize winning Maus with the literature andphotography of the Holocaust

Using the comic book form allows Speigelman to approach thisdifficult topic in ways unavailable to those recounting their Holo-caust experiences in traditional prose and [ ] Speigelman usescomic book art to rethink what has become the Holocaustrsquos de-finingmdashand silencingmdashrepresentational feature its photographicimages (26)

McCloudrsquos seminal Understanding Comics should be included in anyserious discussion of the complexity of the comics medium McCloudwrites lsquolsquoI realized that comic books were usually crude poorly-drawnsemiliterate cheap disposable kiddie faremdashbutmdashThey donrsquot have tobe The problem was that for most people that was what lsquocomic bookrsquomeantrsquorsquo (3) In his effort to validate the medium McCloud sees itmetaphorically as a lsquolsquovesselrsquorsquo which visibly holds more actors and con-tent than would exist in or be necessary to compose literature or art ifnot film (6) He highlights the irony that therersquos been lsquolsquocritical ex-aminationrsquorsquo of all mediums including literature music theater artand film but not of comics (6) In a claim not echoed by VersaciMcCloud discusses the ways comics can uniquely engage all five sensesIn probably the most original and oft-cited McCloud point he arguesthat no medium can present time in the myriad ways possible throughcomics For McCloud single comic frames may or may not depictsingular moments illustrators can adjust time through spacing andframing and detail comic pages can exist in multiple temporal places

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 55

at once motion can be represented in comics as vividly as in film andmore Ultimately in a claim that neatly summarizes Versaci and otherscholars McCloud argues that the medium lsquolsquooffers range and versatilitywith all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy ofthe written wordrsquorsquo (212)

David Peterson creator of Mouse Guard worked to validate comicsthrough ties to various mythologies and like McCloud to early civ-ilizations and the earliest mediums for communication In addition tothe nonlinear narratives and the profound malleability of time Peter-son forwards the idea that comics are unique to literature and film inthe use of texts fonts sound elements images and more all to create aunique and sophisticated balance He argues that comics are in lsquolsquopitchrsquorsquoformat (the movie storyboard format expected when pitching an idea toa studio precisely how Berger saw Morrisonrsquos script for Arkham Asylum2004) Following implications from others (including Versaci) Peter-son also posits that comics are more direct than literature and film thelatter almost always needing to go through multiple layers of revisionbefore consumption (films eg suffer through translation from proseto screenplay screenplay to a comics-like storyboard and on includingactorsrsquo interpretations of scripts and characters) Petersonrsquos most strik-ing point came through his experiences with comics in education insituations where teachers have looked beyond stigma to use comics toconnect with reluctant readers for instance or to develop the story-telling and predicting literacy abilities of developing readers

While filmmakers and novelists may evoke lsquolsquoessencersquorsquo from a fixedand definite moment captured on film or in prose (ie lsquolsquoPhotographerCapturesrsquorsquo) Versaci McCloud and Peterson argue that comics ulti-mately do more and evoke more Wolk joins them and adds newperspectives to this discussion of the complexity of comics

The most significant fact about comics is so obvious itrsquos easy tooverlook they are drawn That means that what they show arethings and people real or imagined moving in space and changingover time as transformed through somebodyrsquos eye and hand [ ]Film and photography intrinsically claim to be accurate documentseven when theyrsquore not they always have the pretense that they areshowing you something you would have seen exactly the same way ifyoursquod been present at the right time and place

(118 emphasis in original)

56 Paul A Crutcher

Many scholars and writers also discuss the communities of comicscholars creators and fans Wolk and Peterson explicitly discuss whatmight be termed the fourth dimensionmdashthe social spaces that add anadditional point in the argument about the complexity of the comicBoth Wolk and Peterson introduced this dimension through TheSimpsonsrsquo Comic Book Guy a character Matt Groening has purportedlyidentified as lsquolsquoevery comic-bookstore guy in Americarsquorsquo (lsquolsquoComic BookGuyrsquorsquo n pag emphasis in original) Versaci details the rise of theindependent and dedicated comic book shop and the view that comicbook readers are juvenile immature socially or psychologically mal-adjusted but he does not experience how those two phenomena in-tersect because his comics arrive on his doorstep via Amazon and heconsequently does not meet Comic Book Guy Independent comic bookstores may be frequented by communities that typify the appearanceand attitudes of Groeningrsquos iconic stereotype but these stores arecomplimented by broad pop culture conventions (eg Comic-Con)Further neither the stores nor the conventions are limited to singularstereotypes but support diverse interests and communities For in-stance in what analogous medium-based social space like a movietheater do manga cosplayers Spiderman illustrators political writersand tenured professors coexist around the medium Thus this fourthdimension also reasonably distinguishes the comic from literaturefilm and art in terms of complexity

Those communities come together in more than just social waysRyan Claytor an artist argued that there is a constant need to defendcomics and work with comics particularly as something as compellingor more compelling than more traditionally respected visual mediumsPeterson made a similar claim and Gary Hoppenstand a scholar builton that claim by suggesting that the academy is slowly coming tounderstand the medium and that this current and increasingly recep-tive environment needs additional scholarship on comics That is not tosay that scholarship does not exist but it certainly is limited

Defining and Validating the Medium Through the Batman

Inquiry Through the Batman

Beyond McCloud Versaci Wolk and the others noted above for themore specific inquiry into how those theories and arguments play out

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 57

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

at once motion can be represented in comics as vividly as in film andmore Ultimately in a claim that neatly summarizes Versaci and otherscholars McCloud argues that the medium lsquolsquooffers range and versatilitywith all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy ofthe written wordrsquorsquo (212)

David Peterson creator of Mouse Guard worked to validate comicsthrough ties to various mythologies and like McCloud to early civ-ilizations and the earliest mediums for communication In addition tothe nonlinear narratives and the profound malleability of time Peter-son forwards the idea that comics are unique to literature and film inthe use of texts fonts sound elements images and more all to create aunique and sophisticated balance He argues that comics are in lsquolsquopitchrsquorsquoformat (the movie storyboard format expected when pitching an idea toa studio precisely how Berger saw Morrisonrsquos script for Arkham Asylum2004) Following implications from others (including Versaci) Peter-son also posits that comics are more direct than literature and film thelatter almost always needing to go through multiple layers of revisionbefore consumption (films eg suffer through translation from proseto screenplay screenplay to a comics-like storyboard and on includingactorsrsquo interpretations of scripts and characters) Petersonrsquos most strik-ing point came through his experiences with comics in education insituations where teachers have looked beyond stigma to use comics toconnect with reluctant readers for instance or to develop the story-telling and predicting literacy abilities of developing readers

While filmmakers and novelists may evoke lsquolsquoessencersquorsquo from a fixedand definite moment captured on film or in prose (ie lsquolsquoPhotographerCapturesrsquorsquo) Versaci McCloud and Peterson argue that comics ulti-mately do more and evoke more Wolk joins them and adds newperspectives to this discussion of the complexity of comics

The most significant fact about comics is so obvious itrsquos easy tooverlook they are drawn That means that what they show arethings and people real or imagined moving in space and changingover time as transformed through somebodyrsquos eye and hand [ ]Film and photography intrinsically claim to be accurate documentseven when theyrsquore not they always have the pretense that they areshowing you something you would have seen exactly the same way ifyoursquod been present at the right time and place

(118 emphasis in original)

56 Paul A Crutcher

Many scholars and writers also discuss the communities of comicscholars creators and fans Wolk and Peterson explicitly discuss whatmight be termed the fourth dimensionmdashthe social spaces that add anadditional point in the argument about the complexity of the comicBoth Wolk and Peterson introduced this dimension through TheSimpsonsrsquo Comic Book Guy a character Matt Groening has purportedlyidentified as lsquolsquoevery comic-bookstore guy in Americarsquorsquo (lsquolsquoComic BookGuyrsquorsquo n pag emphasis in original) Versaci details the rise of theindependent and dedicated comic book shop and the view that comicbook readers are juvenile immature socially or psychologically mal-adjusted but he does not experience how those two phenomena in-tersect because his comics arrive on his doorstep via Amazon and heconsequently does not meet Comic Book Guy Independent comic bookstores may be frequented by communities that typify the appearanceand attitudes of Groeningrsquos iconic stereotype but these stores arecomplimented by broad pop culture conventions (eg Comic-Con)Further neither the stores nor the conventions are limited to singularstereotypes but support diverse interests and communities For in-stance in what analogous medium-based social space like a movietheater do manga cosplayers Spiderman illustrators political writersand tenured professors coexist around the medium Thus this fourthdimension also reasonably distinguishes the comic from literaturefilm and art in terms of complexity

Those communities come together in more than just social waysRyan Claytor an artist argued that there is a constant need to defendcomics and work with comics particularly as something as compellingor more compelling than more traditionally respected visual mediumsPeterson made a similar claim and Gary Hoppenstand a scholar builton that claim by suggesting that the academy is slowly coming tounderstand the medium and that this current and increasingly recep-tive environment needs additional scholarship on comics That is not tosay that scholarship does not exist but it certainly is limited

Defining and Validating the Medium Through the Batman

Inquiry Through the Batman

Beyond McCloud Versaci Wolk and the others noted above for themore specific inquiry into how those theories and arguments play out

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 57

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

Many scholars and writers also discuss the communities of comicscholars creators and fans Wolk and Peterson explicitly discuss whatmight be termed the fourth dimensionmdashthe social spaces that add anadditional point in the argument about the complexity of the comicBoth Wolk and Peterson introduced this dimension through TheSimpsonsrsquo Comic Book Guy a character Matt Groening has purportedlyidentified as lsquolsquoevery comic-bookstore guy in Americarsquorsquo (lsquolsquoComic BookGuyrsquorsquo n pag emphasis in original) Versaci details the rise of theindependent and dedicated comic book shop and the view that comicbook readers are juvenile immature socially or psychologically mal-adjusted but he does not experience how those two phenomena in-tersect because his comics arrive on his doorstep via Amazon and heconsequently does not meet Comic Book Guy Independent comic bookstores may be frequented by communities that typify the appearanceand attitudes of Groeningrsquos iconic stereotype but these stores arecomplimented by broad pop culture conventions (eg Comic-Con)Further neither the stores nor the conventions are limited to singularstereotypes but support diverse interests and communities For in-stance in what analogous medium-based social space like a movietheater do manga cosplayers Spiderman illustrators political writersand tenured professors coexist around the medium Thus this fourthdimension also reasonably distinguishes the comic from literaturefilm and art in terms of complexity

Those communities come together in more than just social waysRyan Claytor an artist argued that there is a constant need to defendcomics and work with comics particularly as something as compellingor more compelling than more traditionally respected visual mediumsPeterson made a similar claim and Gary Hoppenstand a scholar builton that claim by suggesting that the academy is slowly coming tounderstand the medium and that this current and increasingly recep-tive environment needs additional scholarship on comics That is not tosay that scholarship does not exist but it certainly is limited

Defining and Validating the Medium Through the Batman

Inquiry Through the Batman

Beyond McCloud Versaci Wolk and the others noted above for themore specific inquiry into how those theories and arguments play out

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 57

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

in Batman narratives there seem to be only two scholarly sourcesRoberta Pearson and William Uricchiorsquos Many Lives of the Batman andWill Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked Both works are very much investedin three areas popular culture studies popular culture as it relates tomarketing and consumerism and the nature of the comic publishingindustry With Batman Unmasked arriving at the millennium markthough scholars and advocates are left with a wide-open space forwork Additionally the space between Brooker and today also includesthe controversial Batman and Philosophy and many reprints and com-pilations by DC The existence of Batman and Philosophy suggestsweight and complexity especially when filled with PhDs discussingKant Aristotle and Nietzsche and the detractions support the argu-ment that more directed purposeful scholarship is needed

McCloud acknowledges that some may define comics as the Batman(9) His point is clearly critical of narrowly defining the mediumthrough superheroes but the Batman remains one of the most popularand iconic products of the medium Dark Knight Returns ArkhamAsylum Killing Joke Hush and others comprise some of the bestsellingand most revered story arcs Two major areas of complexity emergefrom reading and analyzing the Batman and his world Medium is theform of these graphic novels and embodies much of the theory andscholarship Stories are the narratives presented in these graphic novelspartly at least through the layering described by McCloud

Medium

Brooker argues that the comic and graphic novel writer has lsquolsquoa roleperhaps equivalent to film scriptwriter director and editormdashat oncethe author of dialogue and voiceover the architect of the plot thesupervisor of action and the organiser of shot sequencersquorsquo (270) Henevertheless also underscores the many lsquolsquoauthorsrsquorsquo in this mediumBatman Knightfall is a clear example of this point While no authorsare listed anywhere on the covers or spine 16 people are given someauthorship on the main title page An additional 25 names make thecopyright page and that number would surely balloon if graphicnovels went into the amount of detail that film credits do These peoplecollaborate in a complex medium and these collaborations are signifi-cant enough to deserve attention The mediumrsquos complexity can beseen through control layering atmosphere and craft implicitly and

58 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

explicitly intersecting with arguments made in the existing theory andscholarship

Versaci McCloud Peterson and Wolk all discuss the ways that thecomic medium allows creators (and readers) control particularly of pac-ing not afforded to literature or film Brooker argues for instance that

Moorersquos characteristic use of a strict grid system in The Killing Jokedividing the page into regularly sized panels lends the story a senseof order and measured pace which matches this conception of theBatman and echoes Moorersquos controlled structured approach to writ-ing The layout and page design is lsquolsquoneutralrsquorsquo designed not to benoticed our eye flicks easily from frame to frame taking in thepanelrsquos content rather than its form (270)

Moore notably manipulates that pacing in the scenes in Killing Jokewhere the Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad Morethan the panels moving beyond the six- or nine-grid system that seemsto typify Killing Joke in these scenes The Joker photos of Gordonrsquosbrutalized daughter and Gordonrsquos screams break panel borders andtherefore disrupt the pacing (see Figure 1) Brooker remarks that ananalogous technique happens in Dark Knight Returns when Millertransitions from varying grids panel shapes and discourses to splashpanels full-page images that depict the Batman in lsquolsquomythicrsquorsquo propor-tions (270) Further McKeanrsquos style in Arkham Asylum lsquolsquosuggests an-archy rather than controlrsquorsquo (272) In Hush this control seems to occur inthe panels themselves while most are neat occasionally Jim Lee pullsthe pacing taut with frenetic and bold panels that do not hold straightedges Mike Barr and Alan Davis exhibit this type of control in Bat-man Full Circle by transitioning to interlocking overlapping andotherwise hurried visuals

Throughout Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley manage to keepa host of monologues and voices sorted These are distinct in a numberof ways including the shape or style of the dialogue or thought boxesthe colors inside the boxes and the colors of the text and the styles ofthe text fonts to say nothing of the character styles and nuances thatshould naturally distinguish one characterrsquos dialogue from anothercharacterrsquos (see Figure 1) Beyond being able to easily distinguish be-tween Superman Gordon a priest and a businessman on a single pagein Dark Knight Returns Miller and Varley construct the pages so thatthe reader can do so without requiring a corresponding visual of the

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 59

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

speaker or narrator Similarly Brooker argues that in Arkham Asylumthe lsquolsquoBatmanrsquos voice becomes unmistakable a dark imprint across allthe scenes he walks throughrsquorsquo (275) McKean provides dramatic voices

Panel 1

Panel 2

Panel 3

Thought 1

Voice 1 VOICE 2

Voice 3

VOICE 2

Thought 1

THOUGHT 2

FIGURE 1 An example of an excerpt of a comic page showing how authorsillustrators and letterers can impact pacing while maintaining multiple nar-rators and voices (omitting the additional factor of action) In panel 1 Char-acters 1 and 2 are narrating and speaking in panel 2 Character 1 is narratingand Character 3 is speaking and in panel 3 Character 2 has broken the panelborders

60 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

throughout Arkham Asylum Joker Maxie Zeus Mad Hatter Clayfaceand Professor Milo all have unique voices Indeed famed comics writerDenny OrsquoNeil explains that the lettering is now contributing to thesophistication of the medium and that it can be powerful enough as inthe cases of Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum to be lsquolsquolsquopart of thestoryrsquorsquorsquo (qtd in Brooker 275) Beyond being capable of maintainingmultiple narrators in this complex way comics also manage layeringThis layering certainly happens in Dark Knight Returns but a strongexample comes also in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchellirsquos Year OneA tale of Gordon and Bruce Wayne dueling in the Batmanrsquos formativeencounters Year One manages these intersecting stories with single-panel dual narration including contrasting fonts narrative boxes col-ors and more (including the actual dialogue in the same panels)

Control and layered voices are functions also of the visual charactersthemselves and that these characters may produce as much atmospherein the comic as anything else For instance Kelley Jones lsquolsquoalways drawsBatman as a demonic creature with a cloak made up of jagged shadowsand ears like scimitars extending some four feet from the top of thecowl whatever measured rational tones an Alan Moore put in thisBatmanrsquos mouth he would still look like a crazed vampirersquorsquo (Brooker273) In fact this visual atmosphere created through the character isvery much what makes Red Rain Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist reason-able The same phenomenon makes Jim Aparorsquos Batman the unim-posing defeatable foe he is in Knightfall

In Dark Knight Returns the coloring and shaping add to the atmo-sphere Notably the bold blue that distinguishes Supermanrsquos narrationfluctuates with his relative strength the Batmanrsquos narration comes tomirror the Jokerrsquos dialogue as the latter is dying and the Batmanrsquosnarration similarly moves from neatly boxed to jagged frames Millerand Varley do more as Brooker describes the colors in Dark KnightReturns lsquolsquoundeniably contribute to the bookrsquos feel of lsquogritty realismrsquo rsquorsquothe color lsquolsquosuggests a psychological and physical state as when sick andstaggering Batman sees his world in shades of muddy grey and dullcrimsonrsquorsquo (274)

Something dramatically different occurs for the Batman in ArkhamAsylum yet it is something produced by the same complex atmosphericcompositions In one of the novelrsquos most striking scenes as the Batmanattempts to negotiate the unclear split between past psychologicalhorrors and present circumstances the rich red in the blood-only panels

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 61

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

contrasting the indefinite and dully colored panels The Batman hasdriven a large shard of broken glass through his left palm and hisbright clenched teeth are the most decisive human feature on the pageIndeed in Arkham Asylum Morrison writes lsquolsquoI wanted to approachBatman from the point of view of the dreamlike emotional and ir-rational hemisphere as a response to the very literal lsquorealisticrsquo lsquoleftbrainrsquo treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time in thewake of The Dark Knight Returns Watchmen and othersrsquorsquo (np)

Brooker reasonably captures this visual dynamic lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos Batmanis a devil-eared shadow rather than a concrete human figure while hisJoker all swirling florescent hair and gleaming white face remains ablur who refuses to be pinned downrsquorsquo (272) Nevertheless McKean doesfar more than create wraiths The psychological warfare occurring inArkham Asylum (between and within the characters) draws the readerinto a rather inverted space one McKean constructs partly by con-trasting the world outside the asylum in rough and uncolored pencilsand inks while the world inside is rich and textured (making thepseudo-reality or hyper-psychology of the asylum more lsquolsquorealrsquorsquo than thestark reality of the world outside it)

McKean certainly creates a complex space in Arkham Asylum buteffective versions of creating atmosphere can be found in other graphicnovels Lee and Williams manage to shift settings times and attitudesin Hush for instance as does Bolland in Killing Joke While somemight argue that distinguishing a flashback without a jarring textualreference is often accomplished in film McCloud Peterson and othersremind us that a key to this complexity argument is that the comicsmedium allows multiple atmospheres multiple times even multipleversions of characters and narrators simultaneously For several pages inHush for example the sophistication and uniqueness is not found inthe bottom panelrsquos coloring shift to flashback but in the fact that at anygiven moment the reader is simultaneously in three different places inthree different atmospheresmdashsomething inordinately difficult if notimpossible in film and certainly impossible in literature

The unique complexity of the comics medium is found not onlythrough control layering and atmosphere but also through craft-based factors Versaci Wolk and others argue that one of thecraft-based factors comics employ is lsquolsquoself-consciousnessrsquorsquo (Versaci 12)Crimson Mist includes apparently random images that resemble dull redstamps on apparently random pages Is there some meaning in the

62 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

skeleton and wolf stamps on page 199 or the spider and flea stamps onpage 254mdashalmost surely Were the creators infusing Crimson Mistwith mixed media to heighten the novelrsquos atmosphere or were theyadding satirical or thematic elements in a way to hit readers with theircontributions and the very act of contributing More directly usingsomething very much like the self-aware metafiction in literature likeFrancesca Blockrsquos Dangerous Angels or in film like Marc ForsterrsquosStranger Than Fiction Bolland puts himself directly into the end ofKilling Joke and ultimately kills the Batman Moore and Bolland alsohave an exhausted and dissatisfied Joker say to the Batman clearlyidentifying the reader within the process lsquolsquoWhy donrsquot you kick the hellout of me and get a standing ovation from the public galleryrsquorsquo (2008)Additionally one of the most compelling reasons to read UnderstandingComics or McCloudrsquos other work is that they are graphic novels inwhich McCloud fundamentally narrates directly to the reader how toread and understand comics and graphic novels

Second this medium easily extends its complexity over literature andfilm through its ability to employ mixed media Beyond arguments thatmight arise from Moorersquos use of lsquolsquosavage and powerfulrsquorsquo songs (lsquolsquobased onBrecht operasrsquorsquo) in his upcoming Century 1910 graphic novel (Brophy-Warren W2) McKean and Arkham Asylum provide compelling evidencefor this point In Brookerrsquos terms lsquolsquoMcKeanrsquos paintings [ ] mix me-diamdashpencil sketches photographs collages of lace hessian and nailsrsquorsquo(272) but Karen Berger captures the sophistication more completelywriting that it was McKeanrsquos lsquolsquoexpert mix of mediamdashpaintings pho-tography sculpture assemblage of odd objectsmdashthat created such aresonant and powerful look to this haunting and horrific talersquorsquo (Morrisonand McKean afterword) Berger goes on to note her awe at McKeanrsquoswork on Arkham Asylum which all took place lsquolsquoprecomputer agersquorsquo(Morrison and McKean afterword) This media complexity can be seenthroughout Arkham Asylum In fact Arkham Asylum should itself beevidence enough to validate comics and graphic novels as something atleast as worthy of critical attention as literature and film

Stories

There is something truly ironic in the fact that the comics mediumunderwent the massive censorship of the 1950s and 1960s for including

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 63

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

content inappropriate for children yet the medium remains understoodas something juvenile When a graphic novel becomes graphic does itnot at a minimum suggest that the perceptions of the medium as crudeand childish be revised DC has stamped lsquolsquoSuggested for mature readersrsquorsquoin bold caps just above the ISBN on Killing Joke The graphic nature ofKilling Joke though certainly exceeds that of BatmanmdashVampire eventhough the latter contains hundreds of pages of rampant and indiscrim-inate throat-tearing and decapitation Killing Joke is more psychologi-cally intense and it employs ethics humor and duality in ways that farexceed many of the mediocre products in the medium

More than blood-spattered panels the content of comics and graphicnovelsmdashthe storiesmdashare not juvenile but deeply complex ArkhamAsylum creates the wicked and surreal but as Brooker rightly notes italso manages to involve lsquolsquopsychology literature and mythology draw-ing parallels with Psycho Alice In Wonderland the Bible and the Tarotrsquorsquo(272) The convoluted plot in Hush constructs a legitimate mysteryInterestingly Miller satirizes the Batmanrsquos inordinately fixed moralcompass one seen in BatmanmdashVampire when even as a vampire hemanages to kill only the villainous undead or the living on behalf ofmoral justice when in Dark Knight Returns the Batman drives a spe-cialized dagger into the Jokerrsquos right eye and breaks his neck the Jokermocks the Batman for being incapable before he manages to twist hisneck further and kill himself One could reasonably argue that themost complex topic a writer or artist might engage is the human socialcondition Part of the discontent that fans of the Batman felt derivedfrom the camp but also from the linear crime ndash villain ndash battle ndash winstorylines The fan-voted death of Jason Todd the second Robin forinstance is indicative not only of the fan interest in darker and morecomplex stories but also of the serious friction that plays out betweenthe Batman and his confederates Toddrsquos death certainly torments theBatman as evidenced in Hush and any companions are viewed withsuspicion or subject to extreme danger (such instances can be seen inAlfredrsquos beating in Knightfall 2000 Alfredrsquos death in Vampire Robinrsquosposition in Dark Knight Returns Superman in either Hush or DarkKnight Returns Gordonrsquos and Gordonrsquos daughterrsquos brutalization inKilling Joke the madness inflicted on Ruth Adams or Harvey Dent inArkham Asylum etc)

Comics and graphic novels also sustain the WayneBatman charac-ter engaging the deeply problematic experiences of autonomy and

64 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

identity longing trust In Year Two for instance Waynersquos romanticexpectations are largely ruined by actions he takes as the Batmanthrough an ideological stance that is essentially asocial secretive cyn-ical and fiercely dogmatic The conflicts in Hush are more striking andinclude the radical struggles WayneBatman endures particularlywhen longing for the love and companionship of Catwoman Near thegraphic novelrsquos conclusion he explains lsquolsquoHaving friends Partners It allends in betrayal and deathrsquorsquo (Loeb et al) Putting aside witnessinghis parentsrsquo murder friendsrsquo murders and brutalization being a bil-lionaire and working as a dramatic vigilante Wayne sees the world invery human ways that resound through dramatic human media No-tably Alice Natalie Portmanrsquos character in the award-winning andacclaimed film Closer faces a similar situation at the close of that filmone where she seemingly comes to understand her role as an auton-omous and lonely object an idea In the National Book Award Finalistand New York Times Notable Book Feast of Love the implicit message isprecisely that the human social condition is fraught with sufferingthat while cynicism is in ways brutal it could also be seen as prudentUltimately the fact that the Batman is not leading an arch villain to apolice car at the end of Hush that instead he is trying to negotiate adeeply human but astoundingly complex task with a woman he likelyloves exemplifies the sophistication of graphic novel content of itsstories

Versaci Peterson and others posited a subversive potential in com-ics and graphic novels and Dark Knight Returns fulfilled that potentialby challenging norms in the comics industry and tropes in the Batmanuniverse More politically savvy writers have analyzed the subversive-ness and impact of Dark Knight Returns on cultural consciousnesspolitics and more but Moore and Varley may also be understood asproducing the Batman as a densely muscled gray-and-navy 60-year-oldas blatantly obvious subversion (to expectations for the Batman) Nev-ertheless in Dark Knight Returns politics runs first Moore and Varleycreate a Superman who has become a government assassin of sorts and aWonder Woman who is not only elderly but vulnerable enough to bebrutalized and hogtied with her famous lasso For anyone who knowsWatchmen this should sound familiar because beyond using originalsuperhero characters Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons do some strik-ingly similar things in that iconic graphic novel as does Mark Millarin Wanted Even the most subdued tales of the Batman position him as

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 65

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

a lawbreaking vigilante This antihero construction sparks centuries-old dialogues on ethics the kind of business that comprises the bulk ofBatman and Philosophy But readers of the Batman also have Cult Thisgraphic novel works in the same politically subversive manner buttoward different ends Jim Starlin entitles his foreword lsquolsquoBurn ThisBookrsquorsquo for instance and the foreword explains his position on and theways Cult works against the censorship of free speech He also engagesreligious zealotry and the potential facade of religion In Cult he po-sitions lsquolsquoDeacon Blackfire masquerading as a religious leader hidingbehind moral self-righteousness while he furthers his own privateagendarsquorsquo (Starlin)

The Batman struggles in Cult in ways similar to how he struggleswith psychology in Arkham Asylum and with companionship in Hushperhaps also in ways analogous to Starlinrsquos own activist and politicalstruggles The suggestion that Wayne is psychologically unhinged isnot new but these graphic novels engage psychology in complex waysthat are at least equitable to the methods used in literature and filmFor instance Dark Knight Returns Arkham Asylum and Killing Joke areall rather sinister and work with deep-seated psychological issues incompelling ways In Killing Joke for example the Joker and Batmanend the novel laughing at a (funny) joke this after the Joker has shotand presumably raped Commissioner Gordonrsquos daughter violated himand killed a number of people all in an attempt to prove that someonecan be driven crazy through one bad day But that shared laughterexplores the connection between these two archenemies one that ismost profound in Arkham Asylum in which Morrison and McKean (andthe Joker) compel readers to see how very similar Batman is to thederanged psychopaths he fights while charging through the asylum ona psychotic trip Batman rages and battles and is ultimately releasedonly through the unrequited benevolence of Harvey Dent NotablyArkham Asylum also shows that Harvey is constantly returned to hiscriminality by the existence and pressure of Batman

Beyond phobias and fears these graphic novels create complexitythrough the cumulative psychology in the WayneBatman binary andthe Batmanrsquos duality with his villains The first challengemdashsuccessfullymaintaining multiple personasmdashwas partly problematized by DC writ-ers with the introduction of Tim Drake the third Robin and a kid whodeduced the Batmanrsquos day role (when hosts of villains and police officerscould not) The second duality though is potentially more compelling

66 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

The Jokerrsquos voice and the Batmanrsquos monologue become essentiallyidentical in Dark Knight Returns The Batman in Full Circle decides notonly to spare the Reaperrsquos life but also to leave him with his son ThisReaper is revealed to be the son of Waynersquos parentsrsquo murderer seekingrevenge for the death of his father despite the fact that the originalReaper killed his father (in Year Two) all against the backdrop ofmurdered parents and orphaned childrenmdashcreating the complicatedcircular metaphor of the title Add the multifaceted nature of Batmanrsquoslove interests with the daughters of Gordon the original Reaper andRarsquos al Gul and the Batman duality becomes increasingly intriguingIn Year Two the Batman offers Gordon a new pipe saying that itshould lsquolsquohelprsquorsquo with Gordonrsquos efforts to quit smoking (Barr et al 23)mdashparalleling the suggestion in Hush that Batman created and perpetuatesthe Joker in Arkham Asylum that the Batman perpetuates at least DentTwo-Face The Batmanrsquos link with the Joker is exampled in DarkKnight Returns when the Batman cannot actually kill the Joker ThisJoker dynamic is the most storied and frames Killing Joke In it theBatman bookmarks the novel with appeals to the Joker to understandthat their relationship will be lsquolsquofatalrsquorsquo to one or both of them and toresolve their differences But the joke about lsquolsquotwo guys in an asylumrsquorsquoalso bookmarks the novel and contributes to an understanding that theBatman and the Joker are a singular psychological and character spec-trum divided in two (something seen in Arkham Aslyum when WayneBatman engages DentTwo-Face) That is not to say that the Batmandoes not try or even succeed in killing the Joker In Hush Catwomantries forcibly to stop him from killing the Joker (the Batman fightsCatwoman and knocks her unconscious) He is only stopped whenGordon shoots the Batman twice (in the forearm and in one of the cowlears ripping it off ) and warns of vital shots if the Batman does notrelease the Joker Perhaps most fittingly in Cult the Batman imagineshacking the Joker to bits with an axe and says lsquolsquoToo bad itrsquos just adreamrsquorsquo (Starlin)

Prominent writers and creators for DC spoke of this complex dualityin Gotham Knight They argued that villains are part of the character ofthe superhero that villains are lsquolsquomirrorsrsquorsquo for the character lsquolsquothe villainshelp define who the hero isrsquorsquo that this dynamic creates lsquolsquotextured lay-ered charactersrsquorsquo and that lsquolsquothe complexity and depth of each individualvillain shows even the multiple complexities and depths of our leadherorsquorsquo They argue that the Batman and his villains represent lsquolsquotwo parts

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 67

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

of the same brainrsquorsquo Thus these graphic novel stories not only presentcomplex narratives of social characters and their psychological chal-lenges but also a running metanarrative in which the character col-lective explores the human condition

Conclusion

This comics medium managed to create and sustain an iconic characteracross temporal visual and setting spectrums (Book of the DeadBrooker 318 Gotham by Gaslight Holy Terror I Joker Reign of TerrorScar of the Bat Thrillkiller Two Faces Year 100 Versaci 32 and manymore)mdashsomething that should speak to its comparable if not uniquelevel of complexity when compared to literature and film While manyprefer the visuals in the Watchmen film to Bollandrsquos artwork in theWatchmen graphic novel and prefer the visuals in the 300 film toMillerrsquos graphic novel onersquos personal preference for the radical visualsin the 300 or Watchmen films does nothing more than attest to thecomplexities in the original graphic novels Imagine what 300 wouldbe like without the innovative artwork in the graphic novel thatframed much of the film and consider what was lost in the sameconversion for Wanted While film director Zack Snyder and evenWatchmen illustrator Gibbons have purported that much of that graphicnovelrsquos content is included coherently in the filmrsquos almost three hourrunning time (lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo) it is notable that Warner Broth-ers has released two of Watchmenrsquos subplots (lsquolsquolsquoTales of the BlackFreighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighteramp Under the Hood) not included in the film and a lsquolsquomotion comicrsquorsquo thattakes the graphic novel animates the stills and adds voices and othersound effects (Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic) Warner Brothersalso plans to subsequently lsquolsquosplicersquorsquo those two subplots in a future DVD(Watchmen Movie vs Graphic Novel) The running total then is acomplete and complex graphic novel that through at least four motionpictures and DVD hybrids (and video game) cannot even be lsquolsquosplicedrsquorsquotogether to match the single graphic novel And just as importantly itis difficult to fathom how the sophistication in Miss Remarkable DarkKnight Returns or Arkham Asylum (or any number of the Batmangraphic novels) could possibly be captured by either traditional lit-erature or film

68 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

In more formulaic terms comics and graphic novels can provideunique complexity not found in prose-based novels or traditional filmsand they therefore deserve critical and scholarly attention That com-plexity came through the (a) medium the way writers inkers col-orists and other involved in the production of a graphic novel imposecontrol create layering build atmosphere and highlight artistic craft(b) stories how graphic novels work well beyond the superficial delv-ing into the human condition political and cultural subversion psy-chology and the duality of persona and (c) character creating andsustaining icons that cross myriad temporal visual and setting rangeswhile paradoxically remaining coherent While an inquiry into thiscomplexity may have focused on a more diverse spectrum of graphicnovels the one seminal Watchmen or various other graphic novels inthe Batman universe fans and scholars should appreciate working withan iconic character and some of his bestselling and most acclaimedstories Moreover fans and scholars should see how such an inquiry fillsthe gap left after Brookerrsquos Batman Unmasked while in concert withtheoretical arguments from Wolk McCloud Versaci Peterson andothers

Works Cited

300 Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2006

Abnett Dan and Andy Lanning Two Faces New York DC 1998

Augustyn Brian Batman Gotham by Gaslight New York DC 1989

Barr Mike Alan Davis and Mark Farmer Batman Full Circle NewYork DC 1991

Barr Mike et al Batman Year Two New York DC 1990

mdashmdashmdash Reign of Terror New York DC 1999

Barreto Eduardo and Max Allen Collins Scar of the Bat New YorkDC 2000

Batman Gotham Knight Dir Yasuhiro Aoki and Shojiro NishimiWarner 2008

Baxter Charles The Feast of Love New York Vintage 2001

Block Francesca Dangerous Angels New York HarperCollins 1998

Brennert Alan and Norm Breyfogle Holy Terror New York DC1991

Brooker Will Batman Unmasked Analysing a Cultural Icon LondonContinuum 2000

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 69

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

Brophy-Warren Jamin lsquolsquoA Different lsquoLeaguersquo The Writer of theComic lsquoWatchmenrsquo Returns with a New Workrsquorsquo Wall Street Jour-nal 24 Apr 2009 W2

Chaykin Howard and Daniel Brereton Thrillkiller New York DC1997

Clark Beverly Kiddie Lit The Cultural Construction of Childrenrsquos Lit-erature in America Baltimore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2003

Claytor Ryan lsquolsquoThe Comic Book in the (University) ClassroomrsquorsquoMichigan State University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MIMarch 2009

Closer Dir Mike Nichols Sony 2004

lsquolsquoComic Book Guyrsquorsquo Wikipediaorg 23 Apr 2009 Accessed on 28 Dec2010 hhttpenwikipediaorgwikiComic_book_guyi

Dranger Joanna Miss Remarkable amp Her Career New York Penguin2003

Hall Bob and Lee Loughridge I Joker New York DC 1998

Hoppenstand Gary lsquolsquoScholarly Trends in Comics Studiesrsquorsquo MichiganState University Comics Forum 2009 East Lansing MI March2009

Kick-Ass Dir Matthew Vaughn Universal 2010

Lerer Seth Childrenrsquos Literature A Readerrsquos History From Aesop to HarryPotter Chicago U of Chicago P 2008

Loeb Jeph Jim Lee and Scott Williams Batman Hush Vol 1 NewYork DC 2003

mdashmdashmdash Batman Hush Vol 2 New York DC 2003

McCloud Scott Understanding Comics The Invisible Art New YorkHarper 1993

Miller Frank Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley Batman The Dark KnightReturns New York DC 2002

Miller Frank and David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One New YorkDC 1988

Miller Frank and Lynn Varley 300 Milwaukee OR Dark Horse1999

Millar Mark and Jay Jones Wanted Los Angeles Top Cow 2004

Moench Doug et al Batman Knightfall Part One Broken Bat NewYork DC 2000

mdashmdashmdash Tales of the Multiverse BatmanmdashVampire New York DC 2007

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and John Beatty Bloodstorm New YorkDC 1995

mdashmdashmdash Crimson Mist New York DC 2001

70 Paul A Crutcher

Moench Doug Kelly Jones and Malcolm Jones III Red Rain NewYork DC 1991

Moench Doug Barry Kitson and Ray McCarthy Book of the DeadNew York DC 1999

Moore Alan and Brian Bolland Batman The Killing Joke The DeluxeEdition New York DC 2008

Moore Alan and Dave Gibbons Watchmen New York DC 1986Moore Alan and Kevin OrsquoNeill The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Century 1910 London Knockabout Comics 2009Morrison Grant and Dave McKean Batman Arkham Asylum A Serious

House on Serious Earth New York DC 2004Nikolajeva Maria and Carole Scott How Picturebooks Work New York

Routledge 2006Niles Steve and Ben Templesmith 30 Days of Night San Diego CA

IDW 2003Nodelman Perry The Hidden Adult Defining Childrenrsquos Literature Bal-

timore MD Johns Hopkins UP 2008Pearson Roberta and William Uricchio The Many Lives of the Batman

Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media New York Rout-ledge 1991

Peterson David lsquolsquoKeynotersquorsquo Michigan State University Comics Forum2009 East Lansing MI March 2009

lsquolsquoPhotographer Captures LArsquos Vintage Homesrsquorsquo NPR Morning Edition26 Mar 2009 15 Apr 2009 hhttpwwwnprorgtemplatesstorystoryphpstoryId=102344165amplive=1i

Pope Paul and Jose Villarrubia Batman Year 100 New York DC2007

Scott Pilgrim vs the World Dir Edgar Wright Universal 2010Sipe Lawrence Storytime Young Childrenrsquos Literary Understanding in the

Classroom New York Teachers College 2008Spiegelman Art Maus New York Pantheon 1986Starlin Jim Bernie Wrightson and Bill Wray Batman The Cult New

York DC 1991Stranger Than Fiction Dir Marc Forster Columbia 2006lsquolsquo lsquoTales of the Black Freighterrsquo Getting DVD Releasersquorsquo Cinematic-

alcom 26 May 2008 Accessed on 5 Apr 2009 hhttpwwwcinematicalcom20080526tales-of-the-black-freighter-getting-dvd-releasei

The Losers Dir Sylvain White Warner Bros 2010The Surrogates Dir Jonathan Mostow Touchstone 2009Venditti Robert and Brett Weldele The Surrogates New York Top

Shelf 2009

Complexity in the Comic and Graphic Novel Medium 71

Versaci Rocco This Book Contains Graphic Language Comics as Liter-ature New York Continuum 2007

Watchmen Dir Zack Snyder Warner 2009lsquolsquo lsquoWatchmenrsquo Movie vs Graphic Novel Is There a Third Optionrsquorsquo

NPRorg 11 Mar 2009 28 Apr 2009 hhttpwwwnprorgblogsmonkeysee200903watchmen_movie_vs_graphic_novehtmli

lsquolsquoWatchmenmdashCreatorsrsquorsquo SciFiWirecom 2009 Hulucom Accessed on5 Apr 2009 hhttpwwwhulucomwatch59896sci-fi-wire-watchmen-creatorsi

Watchmen Tales of the Black Freighter amp Under the Hood Dir DanielDelPurgatorio and Mike SmithWarner 2009

Watchmen The Complete Motion Comic Dir Jake Hughes and BrianStilwell Warner 2009

White Mark and Robert Arp eds Batman and Philosophy The DarkKnight of the Soul Hoboken NJ Wiley 2008

Wolk Douglas Reading Comics How Graphic Novels Work and WhatThey Mean Cambridge MA Da Capo 2007

Paul A Crutcher has degrees in philosophy composition and womenrsquos andgender studies Paul has published in a variety of mediums on diversesubjects and researches in areas of popular culture and transcultural empathyas they interact with socialization and other forms of education He iscurrently a doctoral candidate in Curriculum Teaching and EducationalPolicy at Michigan State University

72 Paul A Crutcher

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