Graphic Novels and Escapism

Picture books are making reading fun again

Media Mondays with Morgan Shelley

In recent decades, there’s been a lot of talk about books, our attention spans and knowledge. Are we reading less as a society? Has social media ruined our ability to focus? How should books be distributed? These are just my questions, wildcat, and I’m sure you’ve got your own. The Washington Post declared that “Leisure reading in the U.S. is at an all-time low” in 2018, but Big Think proposed an interesting counterargument in 2020: “People aren’t reading less. In fact, literature has never been so interactive.” According to a 2002 study by The National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of adult Americans participating in literary reading has steadily declined since the late 20th century. However, the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors expressed hope for graphic novels in a 2019 article: “Adults with limited free time, or who are too exhausted when they have free time, are … gravitating to graphic novels and short stories. … The illustrated stories that unfold in graphic novels have the complexity, depth, and variety of traditional novels..” Consuming information is a personal experience; everyone has their own beliefs and preferences about reading. These are some of mine.

The Journey

My love for books began in my middle school library with “The Tail of Emily Windsnap” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” I soon found myself caught in a dystopia whirlwind as “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” and “The Maze Runner” stole the hearts of thousands of teenagers, including my own. I hunted for science fiction as if my life depended on it: Everything from “Matched” to “Ender’s Game” all the way to “The Program” crossed my path. And when I started high school, I nearly stopped reading altogether. Among the majority of Generation Z (1997-2012), it seemed that books were out of style in the late 2010s. Anime and K-Pop were in if you were cool. (Yes, I was cool.)

When I came to St. Kate’s, I was into Japanese graphic novels — or manga — but when the COVID-19 pandemic started six months later, the last thing I wanted to do was read. Or at least it was until I got bored like everyone else. Recently, I was surprised to notice that there were more graphic novels than fiction novels in my dormitory. I’m sure if all my books were with me, the fiction would outnumber the graphics, but like many college students, I bring what currently matters most to school when I’m away from home. Right now, I’m in love with picture books.

A few of my favorite “SPYxFAMILY” manga panels. Manga is meant to be read from right to left. Credit: Tatsuya Endo & SHUEISHA Inc.

Enchanted

There’s nothing like escaping to a world of someone else’s creation when you need a break from your own. My books are the best things that have ever been mine — yes, this is a Taylor Swift reference — and although my preferences have shifted, I love reading now more than ever. As an adult reader, some of my habits resemble those from my childhood. I still read fast and love fiction and collecting, but my interest in graphic novels is new, and how often I read has evolved. As a kid, I experienced stories once and could read anywhere, anytime. I’m a writer now, so everything I read gets processed multiple times and helps me write better stories. My brain also has settings: journalist, college student, fiction writer, easily distracted (the most commonly selected), etc. At 22, I’m an inconsistent personal reader because my job has been to academically read and write papers for the past four years.

A “Snotgirl” illustration from creator Leslie Hung. Credit: Leslie Hung on Twitter

(Happily) Out of Mind

Struggling to finish novels has been the story of my life since I started college. I’ve been reading Deborah Harkness’ “All Souls” series since 2020, but as obsessed as I am, the third installment “The Book of Life” is yet to be pulled from my shelf. Graphic novels can be charming because the artist imagines and creates the scenes for you, and you can easily jump in (or out) anytime. For me, they’re often less intimidating and a nice change of pace. When I think about reading the next volumes of Tatsuya Endo’s “SPYxFAMILY,” Ariel Slamet Ries’ “Witchy” and “The Evil Secret Society of Cats” by Pandania, I feel excitement. I’ve nothing against the historical nuances and catastrophes of Harkness’ Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont — if anything, I’m an enthusiast of the trouble the witch and vampire regularly get themselves into. I simply have a limited amount of personal reading space and energy in my life, and graphic novels happen to be a perfect fit right now.

Graphic novels hold the potential for just as much nuance and complexity as their standard novel counterparts (Rachel Smythe’s “Lore Olympus” is a great example) and deserve their flowers and applause. I love winding down with Molly Knox Ostertag’s “The Girl From The Sea” before bed, but “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe knocked me upside down and sideways last fall. Around the same time, a friend lent me his volumes of Bryan Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung’s “Snotgirl.” After I flew through the fashion-focused horror books, I was disappointed to learn that more tales of the infamous green-haired allergy princess Lottie Person were yet to be published. You never know what you’ll get when you pick up a graphic novel because they’re infinitely diverse, and that’s what makes them so appealing. (And if you’ve read the latest chapters of Gege Akutami’s “Jujutsu Kaisen,” you know precisely what uncertainty feels like right now.)

A collage of my current book collection plus me reading “Jujutsu Kaisen: 0.” Credit: The Wheel

If you asked me if I thought picture books were real books as a kid, I likely would’ve said no. My opinions regarding literature and information have become more inclusive and nuanced as I’ve grown up, and I can confidently say that graphic novels are as real as any other. Plus, the illustrations are no joke! Loving J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” as a kid and owning 15 volumes of Kohei Horikoshi’s “My Hero Academia” as an adult doesn’t make me intelligent or foolish, it just means that I love to read. It’s not always about what we read but why we do it and how stories impact us. Wherever you are on your journey and however you find yourself enchanted and out of mind, keep reading, wildcat. You’ll thank yourself later. In a world where our world is school, we absolutely have to take breaks, and books are a lovely way to do that.

Happy Monday! Try to take a reading break and enjoy the sun today!

With Love,

Morgan