The Meaning Beyond the Ink

The Meaning
Beyond the Ink
By: Jake Arth

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Introduction:
Comic Books, the stereotypical interest/hobby of nerds, geeks etc. Coming from a nerd
much as myself, Comic Books or Graphic Novels tell a much bigger story than just Good
vs Evil. They tell true stories, resembling to real and current world issues.

The Stories

Relating comics to people who don’t understand comics is a hard topic for them to grasp.
We don’t have superpowers and we don’t fight villains and save the world on the daily.
However, these comics tell a much bigger story and give the reader the chance to relate to
these “god like” characters.

War Propaganda
First we need to go back, to 1941. Right in the middle of World War II. The First Captain
America issue was released to the public as used for War Propaganda.Creating this new
and true American superhero made the war seem less scary for little kids. The cover is
shown as Captain America punching Adolf Hitler in the face and encouraging American
power.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Spiderman is arguably one of the most iconic Superheroes of all time. Ranging
from the box office dominance, to video game success, to overall relatability.
Spiderman has so much success because he is just a kid, which makes Spidey one
of the most relatable characters to read about. He makes mistakes, he has to still
deal with the responsibilities of school and work and social groups while still
saving the city as a completely different person day in and day out.

Wanted

Comics actually faced extreme backlash in the late 1970’s where they were being deemed
to encourage violence in children to read and a bad influence on the youth. This was
never enforced to a full cancel but this was a dark times for comics but also a turning
point where authors now had to focus more on telling true stories and forcing them to
become more creative with their characters.

Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil Born Again is considered to be one of the most revolutionary Graphic Novels
of all time. The KingPin finds out Daredevil’s secret identity and he slowly tears apart his
life from the inside breaking relationships, work employment, and going as far as to even
blow up his house. KingPin didn’t want Daredevil dead though, he just wanted to make
his life a living hell. The story is so monumental because it represents the challenges we
face as humans in everyday life and while we still face adversity and may be pinned up
against a wall, we still need to get up and fight.

The Dark Knight Returns

One of the most iconic stories of all time. An old and bitter Batman who has been
retired for years is forced out of retirement by a cult of mutants who are ruining the
streets of Gotham City. The main story that is being told here is how politics forced
Batman out of his role. The story revolves around the mayoral election in gotham
where there are of course only two sides, Pro Batman & Anti Batman. And only one
can be right. The people who are Anti Batman fear that he is a negative impact on
the youth and he is too violent with how he deals with crime, while the other side
believes that Batman is the only answer to peace in Gotham.

Influence on Pop Culture Today

Something that many people don’t know that might amaze how it has impacted them, is
that these comic books are the inspirations for the mainstream superhero movies that are
taking over the film game. You may see some common titles such as, Captain America
The Winter Soldier, Infinity War, & Injustice. These books and stories are the inspiration
that the movies you might have seen, come from

Diversity in Comics

The X-Men were created 1963 and quickly became one of the most iconic superheroes of
all time. However, the X-Men were created to represent diversity in literature. The
X-Men are mutants and while there are some that are superheroes, there are also some
that are supervillains. Most of the public fear the X-men and discriminate against them
(relating to those of color who faced discrimination at the time)

Diversity in Comics Continued…

One of the reasons why this topic hit’s so close to home is because of the way I was
introduced to the X-Men. In a time where I was still learning about comics and the bigger
picture beyond the ink, I was introduced to these characters by my friend who at the time
was also facing racial inequality. Hearing how he related to the X-Men as both groups of
minorities, really gave me a new way of looking at the super powered group

Comics & Their Connection to Me

This is my desk area at home where I am constantly surrounded by the characters I love
that helps motivate me when I need to get work done. My relation to comics comes in
two parts. I relate to certain characters in many different aspects. Spider-Man because of
his childlike mistakes and behaviors. The Flash because of his antsy anticipation
everywhere he goes. And Daredevil for his constant resilience and never giving up

Comics & Their Connection to Me Continued…

Comics for me mainly served as an escape from reality. In some of the most stressful
moments, I was always able to sit down and open up a book and just submerge myself in
these stories that always captivated me. In a time where my parents weren't always
around, it felt good to be comforted by these Characters who at the time felt like they
would never leave

Tune in Next Time…

The main thing I hope you took away from this, was that comic books are much deeper in
storytelling than the stereotype might say. These books were the foundation for the Box
Office monster movies that we see today.