Introduction: What Are Comics?
Far too little attention has been paid to asking the question, “what are comics”? They are a relatively modern invention and don’t fit neatly into any prior literary category. Some would like to place all comics in the realm of science fiction or fantasy, if ever that may have applied to them; it is certainly no longer the case. Comics have gone through literary swings and shifts just like fiction in general has. It ranges from highly fantastical to hyperrealism. For this reason, perhaps it is best to let comics be comics. I assert that the category of comics belongs amongst the arts. That is a controversial statement that would take a massive work to defend; I have a working definition of “the arts” that makes it the most logical category for comics. As comics deserve their own place amongst the arts, the first question for Christians then is, “how should Christians relate to the arts?”
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