I Read It For The Articles

On Sunday, I wrote about the growing acceptance by the cultural mainstream and the Hollywood community in particular of comics. A more in-depth exploration of the phemonon can be found appearing under the title "Of Maus and Supermen" in the pages of the April issue of Playboy. The article's authors, Robert Levine and Scott Alexander, trace the renaissance in comics from 1986 and what they term the "holy trinity"--Maus, Watchmen, and Dark Knight--to the current spate of literary comics and both super-hero and non-genre "comic book movies." They also include a sidebar interview with mature comics guru Alan Moore and a recommended reading list that includes not only the three titles mentioned above but such others as The Invisibles, 100 Bullets, Transmetropolitan and Harvey Pekar's The Quitter.

To those who follow the medium, of course, all of this is pretty much old news. There's really nothing in "Of Maus and Supermen" that I didn't already know. It is, however, gratifying to see an article such as this appearing in such an unlikely venue helping to spread the message to an audience that might otherwise remain unenlightened. Whether you're a comics newbie or lifelong fan, the article is worth checking out.

Besides, if you get bored with it, Miss April is on the very next page.