Our fine arts were developed, their types and uses were established, in times very different from the present, by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours. But the amazing growth of our techniques, the adaptability and precision they have attained, the ideas and habits they are creating, make it a certainty that profound changes are impending in the ancient craft of the Beautiful. In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be, which cannot remain unaffected by our modern knowledge and power. For the last twenty years neither matter nor space nor time has been what it was from time immemorial. We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.
-Paul Valery, PIECES SUR L"ART,
"La Conquete de l'ubiqutite," Paris1
Preface
The above citation was Walter Benjamin's preface to his historic essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," an essay which defined the era of modernism with its words and insights. In this work, one finds steps toward new media of literature, ones that have evolved in intent and capacity, intensity and virtue. Just as Benjamin examined the qualities and merits of the artistic value of fledging photography and film, I wish to climb to a new literary vantage point from which to examine two new different media of art which have been misunderstood and underappreciated: comic books and role-playing game books.
As they exist currently, both mediums have been plagued by misperception and bias. The medium of the comic book has evolved from the serial comic strip of the newspaper, the "funnies:" simple, short humor, which is entertaining perhaps, but not what inspires great works. The advent of the Superman comics moved this genre into their own books, though, still appearing in a serial form. Yet, from that point to the mid-eighties, it could be argued that there was still little more than fantasy escapism in this medium. Also, the misplaced association with children's picture books has hampered how people see the medium, alotting the comic to the children's genre by association. Yet during the eighties, certain comic book publishers, such as DC Comics, organized separate divisions, such as DC's Vertigo Comics, which were adult-oriented. Further, the rise of independent comics separate from the two monoliths of comic book production, Marvel and DC, offered new options to comic book readers. Many of these smaller run books offered more mature themes. Also, as the authors of mainstream comics sharpened their writing, even some of those plotlines became more interesting and adult.
The serial format itself has not been helpful in establishing legitimacy for comic books. Critics seem to like an encapsulated work, a complete picture of time and values. Publishers responded with the the graphic novel, a longer format in a thicker binding, that contained an entire story. At first, this format was used with reprints of a particular storyline from serial comics; later, this approach would be be produced aside also specially designed larger works intended for such a larger, one-shot format, rather than the serial approach. While most comics published—regardless of format—do not qualify for literary status, but neither do most novels written. Yet, if one examines certain key works, one can see the qualities of excellence that are expected from a work of art.
Role-playing game books, or RPGs, have also been plagued with the moniker of being children's games. In fact, one might also argue that the term "game" is somewhat of a misnomer; role-playing games have a dual nature. One is the skill with which the original work is scripted and the concepts and virtues that drive it; second is the unique capability of the "players" to become involved in the unfolding of the story around them, allowing the readers to take part in a unique work, infinitely different from those that might arise in the hands of others. In the RPG, a judge, or gamemaster, sets an outline before the players, gives them options which they can choose between, and by interacting with each other as if they were the very characters’ whose roles they play, the players (along with the judge) create a unique story of their own telling.
Role-playing games books arose with Dungeons & Dragons, a simplistic kill-the-monsters mentality, and an unoriginal concept. Many if not most of the concepts were derived (without credit) from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and his subsequent works. The Tolkien Estate and TSR (the company that made Dungeons & Dragons), have in fact been embroiled in several lawsuits over the years. Even other popular games, such as GURPS (Generic, Universal, Role-Playing System), have established a smooth, original, multi-tiered game, which can adapt to nearly any setting, yet do little more than offer a distraction or fun. However, with the White Wolf Game Studio's rise in the role-playing industry—in particular with their second edition books—readers saw the arrival of the self-dubbed "Storyteller Games." There books were dedicated to solid writing, intense conflict (both internal and external), and created an environment where the characters and the story became more important than the ability to kill things. These RPG books maintain an artistic value where no others in their medium have thus far: forging a path to a new art.
I
Sixty years ago, the central point to the issues raised by Benjamin rotated around the issue of reproducibility. Art and modernity revolved around the newborn capability to mass produce works of art such as film and photography and to reproduce works of art for the masses. In the modern era these questions are not so central to the issue. The selection of new media of art is thus not as much based on reproduction as it is the ability to break new ground and to enable the individual access to new forms that might challenge or inspire one. In Benjamin's time, it was reproducibility that did this:
In photography, process reproduction can bring out those aspects of the original that are unattainable to the naked eye yet accessible to the lens, which is adjustable and chooses its angle at will. And photographic reproduction, with the aid of certain processes, such as enlargement or slow motion, can capture images which escape natural vision.2
By extrapolating the meaning of Benjamin's words out of the context of photography, one can see that what he is getting at is the attainment of a new level, a new perception of the world around one through a chosen medium or art. Both comic books and role-playing game books offer this capability to transcend the mundane and explode into a deeper world of meaning and emotion, reaching and challenging both intelligence and creativity.
Benjamin also said that, "Above all, [art] enables the original to meet the beholder halfway, be it in the form of a photograph or a phonograph."3 While this was broaching the effect of moving the work of art toward the masses, it also expressed the adaptability of modern mediums in compromising the original boundaries of art. Comic books do this in mixing the image of pictorial and logocentric art, collaborating in a way that elevates beyond the origins of the particular combination, which was embroiled in the inability to sustain attention of a child with mere words. Role-playing books also epitomize this closeness, by actually bestowing creative power on the reader as participants in the process, which brings the individual closer to the work of art than ever before. As Benjamin says, "the desire of contemporary masses to bring things 'closer' spatially and humanly,"4 is a key component of art.
II
By examining Benjamin's invoking the ritual function in art, one can see a schism began to tear at the similarities between comic books and RPGs: "In other words, the unique value of the 'authentic' work of art has its basis in ritual, the location of the original use value."5 What Benjamin wants to arrive at is the utilitarian concept of original art, that its creation was grounded in a function tied first to magic and then religion, that the value of the work of art was based first on its use-value and then in secularization on authenticity. Benjamin also spoke about a "cult of beauty" that developed during the Renaissance and prevailed for three centuries, leading toward its decline and eventually a crisis,6 which he detailed as such: "With the advent of the first truly revolutionary means of reproduction, photography, simultaneously with the rise of socialism, art sensed the approaching crisis which has become evident a century later."7 To this, Benjamin wanted to cite a "negative theology" and the idea of "pure art," which denied both social function and categorizing by subject matter.8 This crisis was revolved around the concept of authenticity and ritual and the drive for a unique, beautiful work of art.
However, reproducibility changed everything in this world of art, and modernity thrust its imposing fist into the world of uniqueness and ritual: "For the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. To an ever greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility."9 This is an important concept for several reasons. It highlights the continuing trend of both comics and RPGs in the effect of this reproducibility. Yet, is also highlights the schism between the functions of comic books and RPG books. The very act of the role-playing, which is the second function of the RPG book, where the "judge" controls the inception of the plot and the programmed events, the background characters, and is the administrator of the game-playing rules; and where the "players" function as individual characters with their own motives and powers of agency, fulfill a sort of ritual function, one for which the work of the role-playing book is necessary: creating an end result which is entirely irreproducible. In this way, the RPG book brings about a cyclical kind of existence as a work of art.
Regarding this reproducibility, and the function it serves further, Benjamin said: "But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice—politics."10 Both the literary efforts of the comic book and RPG book media delve into politics. There are examples of both media that are created with the intention of having a social or cultural impact with the meaning of the words and ideas conveyed, as are most pieces of literature. Note that the actual work of role-playing which returns to the ritual and distances itself from reproducibility, returns to the apolitical. In that ritualistic function and uniqueness, it returns to the classical interpretation of art, yet in its stretching of participatory boundaries, it reaches into the future of art. We can see this new epoch of modernism grow out of the origins of the old, beginning again with Benjamin's words: "In the same way today, by the absolute emphasis on its exhibition value the work of art becomes a creation with entirely new functions."11
III
The other issue that Benjamin wanted to address, which he attacked in subtle ways, (almost implicitly), is the capability of new media to provide a unique vantage point in which to view the world captured. He said that, "The shooting of a film . . . affords a spectacle unimaginable anywhere at any time before this."12 The comic book is one medium which provides this kind of a unique vantage point. The mixture of images with written words is a kind of medium which does not exist otherwise. It combines the pictorial art with the written, and when given the opportunity to break through the misconception of being a child's medium, it can provide a unique viability as a work of art.
Similarly, RPG books provide a "spectacle unimaginable . . . before." They cast a book well-written, with its own issues and conflicts, a piece of art on its own, yet created with the concept of letting the reader be a participatory creative force within the boundaries of the work itself.
Both are existential works of art, in their capability to reach that level (albeit, not that all elements of the medias in their entirety qualify) and do so with the efficacy of any other previously accepted medium. As Benjamin said: "One may assume that what mattered was their existence, not their being on view."13 Even if the two media were not mass produced, they would still provide examples of art and literature and it is in this existence that they strive to be accepted as what some know they are and can be.
IV
Eking the essential nature of early modernism, Benjamin related the analogy of the magician and the surgeon to the painter and the photographer, to discuss the issue of distance and the level of penetration by a work of art:
The magician heals a sick person by the laying on of hands; the surgeon cuts into the patient's body. The magician maintains the natural distance between the patient and himself; though he reduces it very slightly by the laying on of hands, he greatly increases it by virtue of his authority. The surgeon does exactly the reverse; he greatly diminishes the distance between himself and the patient by penetrating into the patient's body . . . Magician and surgeon compare to painter and cameraman.14
It stands to reason that the comic book genre falls into a similar character of reproducibility and penetration as the cameraman and the surgeon. It also has the ability to reach out and close the distance between the individual and the work of art. The role-playing game, however, plays a different part in this analogy. The book in itself, is simply the role of the surgeon. Yet, the capacity of the role-playing game is dual. There is the book and the game birthed of the book. The effect of the game is that like perhaps a psychologist in this analogy. It goes past the penetration of the body and goes even deeper, reaching into the psyche. The RPG has the ability to probe the undercurrents and subtle aspects of the mind, calling upon more than the ability to observe, but the muster to participate. It does not take a distance from reality or penetrate deeply into it, but becomes it. Precisely because of this, it stands precariously and precipitously, if not cautiously, atop this analogy. Benjamin implicitly supported this:
Thus, for contemporary man the representation of reality by the film is incomparably more significant than that of the painter, since if offers, precisely because of the thoroughgoing permeation of reality with mechanical equipment, an aspect of reality which is free of all equipment. And that is what one is entitled to ask from a work of art.15
Role-playing offers a permeation of reality not with mechanical equipment (though, the book itself, would be given to this statement), but with the creativity of participation and the power to create a new reality. It could also be argued that the analogy role of the psychologist for the RPG offers an even more significant role than either the magician or surgeon, painter or filmmaker, because it offers the opportunity to actually create the reality through which it permeates. This, more than anything, is what qualifies this aspect of the RPG as a work of art.
V
Perhaps the paramount paradigmatic argument concerning the differentiation between a work of art and a simple work to entertain the masses is that of concentration versus distraction. Benjamin cited this in the penultimate chapter of his essay, portraying the dichotomy at its basest and clearest: "Clearly, this is at bottom the same ancient lament that the masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator."16
On this question, a comic book or a role-playing book offers the same capability as does any other conventional work of art. There is no reason nor any precondition or inherent flaw would prevent this from being. Only the cultural pre-opinion and bias engineered by social upbringing can subjugate these media to that level. In particular, the role-playing act can in no way be construed as a distraction. It engenders a totality of concentration to absorb one’s self into another character, which must subsume one’s actual personality, as one is not him or herself, but rather becoming the character who is the object of the role-play. This could hardly be undertaken without a modicum of concentration.
Benjamin furthered this point and clarified what his position was when he said: "A man who concentrates before a work of art is absorbed by it. He enters into this work of art the way legend tells of the Chinese painter when he viewed his finished painting. In contrast, the distracted mass absorbs the work of art."17 Comic books and role-playing books without a doubt lend themselves to this level of absorption. They can absorb the reader. No doubt, many comics and RPGs do not lend themselves to this level and are simply absorbed by the reader, yet the potential is there.
This seems to leave us in a tautological situation, where we have qualified the possibility for both of these media to be attributed as literature, as works of art. Yet do these works of art exist? Have the makers of these genres transcended the boundaries of the norm, demolishing the criteria of the mundane? Perhaps the next step is to ask what literature is.
VI
Before one has literature one must have a story. By working the story, crafting it, and molding it, art may be created. However, in so doing, one must draw the reader into the work. As Judith Barrington states in her book on writing, "One of your first tasks, then, is to ask yourself: why do I care about this . . . who cares?"18 The author must be able to make his or her audience care about what they script.
Another task of those aspiring to greatness is that of originality. Many of those who dream for bestseller lists have talent, but those that make literary fame have more than just that. As Raymond Carver has said: "Some writers have a bunch of talent; I don't know any writers who are without it. But a unique and exact way of looking at things, and finding the right context for expressing that way of looking, that's something else."19 Besides making the audience care, the author must have the authority to present his or her work in an heretofore unknownst or original format, with a unique expressive quality.
Another key element of literature seems to be the creative writing mantra of "show, don't tell," or the ability to get one's word across without explicitly saying it. Ingeborg Bachmann considered it saying what cannot be said. In her poem "You Words," she addressed this quality of poetics:
You words, arise, follow me!/and though already we have gone farther/ gone too far, once more it goes/farther, to no end it goes./It doesn't brighten./ The word/will only drag/other words behind it,/the sentence a sentence./ So the world wishes,/ultimately,/to press its own cause,/to already be spoken/ Do not speak it.20
For her it is what cannot be said. Yet for many others, it is more so what should not or need not be said. R.V. Cassill, an author and editor of fiction anthologies, said about this "indirection" in writing:
The revelations of fiction are not usually made by direct statement. The "bottom line" is not spelled out in a positive or unambiguous summation. Rather the tactic of the fictional art is to guide, direct, and entice the imagination of the reader to a point where intuition blends with a comprehension of detail to engender a sympathetic understanding still shaded by mysteries of a moral or psychological sort.21
This subtlety and underlying tone and shade are easy to speak about or teach, but not as easy to apply to one's own writing. Some books, such as Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes, do this in spectacular fashion. He won the Pulitzer prize for his memoir about growing up in Ireland. He did not use the narrative voice to wail or bemoan the difficulty of life in an impoverished nation or city, nor did he complain about how hard his life was. Rather he recalled what happened, what his surroundings were with a child's simplicity (which often leads to irony between the adult and child voice) and lets the reader judge it as he or she will. He paints a picture, or perhaps appropriately to this discussion, a portfolio of photographs, about where and when and with whom he grew up, and lets the readers come to the conclusions on their own, thus making the decision and affirmation and even more powerful one, because they do not feel as if they were goaded or forced into that decision.
There are a plethora of elements which are paramount to a critical experience that are worth noting, such as plot, point, character, tone, theme, imagery, flashback, imagery, pace, and point of view, all of which cannot now be reviewed encyclopedically. However, perhaps these things can be illustrated with an example. By taking the short time to analyze an accepted piece of literature, the elements that make it a powerful work can be extracted, and then we can look for these same forces at work in the media of the comic book and the RPG.
VII
One of the most revered authors in American literature is Nathaniel Hawthorne. His works are among those of the literary canon most criticized and admired by those that study the genre. His book, The House of The Seven Gables, provides a clear insight into the term "literature."
Hawthorne structures his plot in a multi-faceted way, so it reads on many tiers of existence. The story has its origins in the family vs. family plot and the rich vs. poor plot, as the Rich Pyncheons brand Matthew Maule as a wizard so they can take his land to build a house. Hawthorne also adds an extra dimension in the super-natural, as Maule supposedly curses Pyncheon and all his progeny. This antipathy between families and classes, wizards and earthly power, continues throughout generations to the present of the story Hawthorne unfolds. There is also another layer in the current situation of brother vs. brother, as Clifford and Jaffrey Pyncheon are placed against each other. There is the love interest plot between Phoebe and Holgrave (which ties in with the class and family duels). A revenge plot is instituted as well. In the underlying current one also receive the issue of new vs. old. Hawthorne creates all of these conflicts in a single cohesive structure, doing so in a smooth style, sifting from conflict to conflict without deviating or confabulating in complex, confusing scenarios and situations, and the result is a lucid, powerful work.
The term of the underlying current arose in revealing the plots. Beyond the generic of old vs. new, we are given what the old is and why the new reviles it. The point, or the theme, of Hawthorne's work is to expose the Puritan ethos existent not as a corruption of the original values, but as the opposite, that the greed and corruption derived from Puritanism, and as a fulfillment of those original ideals: that this was the implicit and inevitable end result and that the leadership of the community was simply a mask for this undeviating capacity.
Yet Hawthorne did not come out and say this explicitly, as the merit of literature is the ability of indirection, the capacity to say it without saying it. He used representation and symbolism to represent certain characters and their personal feuds for the entire nation of men and women. Holgrave, who represented the Maules, the poor, the young, said:
In his culture and want of culture—in his crude, wild, and misty philosophy, and the practical experience that counteracted some of its tendencies, in his magnanimous zeal for man's welfare, and his recklessness of whatever the ages had established in man's behalf; in his faith, and in his infidelity; in what he had, and in what he lacked—the artist might fitly enough stand forth as the representative of many compeers in his native land.22
Hawthorne slipped the last sentence in subtly enough not to disrupt the narrative, but plainly enough so the reader can discern his motives. He did not come out and say the young and poor want to tear down and decry the crimes of the old and rich, but rather used certain characters and situations to emblemize the conflict.
When Holgrave spoke to the effect of Puritanism and how its legacy dragged upon modern society to Phoebe, he in part used the original Pyncheon, who had also been referred to in the novel as "The Old Puritan," as the symbol, the perpetrator of this mischief:
Furthermore, the original perpetrator and father of this mischief appears to have perpetuated himself, and still walks the street—at least, his very image, in mind and body—with the fairest prospect of transmitting to posterity as rich and as wretched an inheritance as he has received!23
Holgrave spoke of the perpetrator, as the Puritan, the "mischief" as Puritanism itself, which "still walks the street," or is still extent. With plot and symbolism, Hawthorne has crafted external as well as an internal conflict; one that exists on the literal level and one that probes thought, that asks a question, and leaves it for the reader to judge.
Hawthorne used technique such as flashback and foreshadowing, often telling the story in pieces, and showing the past later in the present, and by giving hints to the future now. His characters were fully developed and more than just shades and flimsy arrases. He created a care for them, a sympathy of sorts so that readers have a stake in them. The dialogue is realistic and flowing. As Cassill noted:
You will note that dialogue is not usually a matter of question and answer or direct responses to purely rational propositions . . . the principle that what we call dialogue is often, in truth, two or more monologues rather loosely fitted together by the circumstances of the scene.24
Indeed, this is how Hawthorne's characters often speak. In sum, there are many elements in this novel that are representative of the work of art, or literature. Having hypothesized that these elements could exist in the media of comic books and role-playing books, specific examples of the two media, will illuminate these elements.
VIII
Perhaps the greatest comic story of all time is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. This story was originally released in twelve individual comic book serials. It has been immortalized and is best known in what has become the only readily available way to obtain it, the graphic novel: one bound collection.
The story is not set in what is considered DC Comics' "mainstream" universe; it is a unique world, molded by events that never occurred in the other universe, or ours for that matter. The story was first printed and is set in 1985; the background history is often told in flashbacks, and is crucial to the overall picture. As such, the story is an excellent piece of Cold War literature.
The first super-heroes, or masked vigilantes as they are referred to in the Watchmen, appeared shortly after World War II; these men and women did not have super-powers so to speak, but were merely excellent fighters or had gadgets and gizmos above and beyond the level of normal technology. These crimefighters began to pass the torch to newer, younger heroes. However, what changes everything is the creation of Dr. Manhattan. Jon Osterman, a nuclear physicist, is trapped in a testing chamber of particle cannons, designed to destroy all matter; months later he finally manages to reassemble himself, only now he has blue skin, and has god-like powers that enable him to do nearly anything.
As a newscaster states at his arrival, "The superman exists, and he's American."25 Jon changes the global scale of power, giving the undeniable edge to America. The Vietnam War is thus won and his powers lead to a plethora of new inventions, including new synthetic fibers and electric cars. For awhile, he also masquerades with other vigilantes, fighting crime. However, the world changes drastically in 1977 when the police strike and force the signing of the Keene Act, which bans all vigilantes. Thus, the story deals with those that were heroes and how they deal with their forced retirement, those that stayed active, the older heroes who retired before the Keene Act, and how past and present intertwine and entangle to create the future. In doing so, not only does the plot envelop the reader in a wonderfully created world, but writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons showed the potential power of the medium of the comic book, utilizing many of the classic techniques of literature.
One of the things that Moore and Gibbons do so well is to exploit the two different modes of message conveyance natural to the comic medium. They use the images and words often to employ the "show not tell" technique, as well as often contrastingthe two, creating irony. For example, in the first chapter, Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk, formally the heroes Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, discuss their retirement, and Laurie says that: "The Keene Act was the best thing that ever happened to us." "Yeah, you're probably right," Dan answers.26 Yet the following panel shows her looking away wistfully and Dan looking down sadly at a token that reminds him of superheroing. The pictures contradict the words and through this conflict, one can see that the words were not completely—if at all—sincere, and that they are more trying to convince themselves than the reader.
One can also see this technique at the funeral of the ex-vigilante, the Comedian. On more than one occasion, at this solemn gathering, with many attendees visibly emotional, the reader sees Jon staring off into the distance.27 This seems to show his indifference, the point where his mind has elevated to another level and is unconcerned with human life and death; yet the words never state this explicitly. Moore and Gibbons do this repeatedly throughout the series, and in so doing, show the potential for the medium when the two are not used solely as one, but as opposing and contrasting parts of the whole, to create something grander.
Moore and Gibbons also excel at using the images to subtly reveal small bits of information that are nonetheless important and in fact do not even mention them in the words given overtly to the reader. They often use posters strung to walls, or fluttering newspapers to deal this kind of information. For example, after Rorschach, the only non-government sanctioned operative active (and thus illegal), warns Adrian Veidt, formally Ozymandias, about a possible vigilante killer (in the wake of the Comedian's death), Veidt stares out the window. His desk is scattered with objects, one of which is a folded, upside-down newspaper. However, if one twists the book around and looks at the newspaper, it says "Nuclear Doomsday Clock Stands at Five to Twelve Warn Experts." The second headline on the side says, "Geneva Talks: U.S. Refuses to Discuss Dr. Manhattan."28 Right away, though no one speaks of if, the reader learns that there is a tension between the Cold War superpowers; one also learns something about Dr. Manhattan (as he has not been introduced yet). Moore and Gibbons also reveal the origins behind the Keene Act and why the police struck, using another headline, almost invisible at first glance, as it is mired in the shadows, which reads: "Cops say 'Let Them Do It,"29 referring to the masked heroes.
One of the key components to the unique structure of this twelve chapter epic is that nearly every chapter includes a complex weave of flashbacks, which structure the narrative in an engrossing and enfolding way, and somehow seems to reveal the past to the full satisfaction and understanding of the reader, conveying nearly complete explanations of histories, motives and desires, fully fleshing out the characters, but on its own tantalizing pace, not the readers': unwinding the mystery bit by bit.
During the Funeral of the Comedian, in chapter two, a series of flashbacks by those that attend the funeral, or those thinking of him, manage to convey huge amounts of history in a mere thirty pages. The reader sees Laurie's mother in the past, both giving a window into the original masked vigilantes of the post WWII era, the Crimebusters, and following the meeting, how the Comedian attempted to rape her. The reader also sees through the younger Veidt, the later attempt at reforming the Crimebusters. Through Jon, one is told of the Comedian and his role in the Vietnam War, and through Dreiberg, the specifics of the Police Strike of '77. In so doing, the authors give the history of the nation and a world different from the reader's own, each time glimpsing the despicable nature of the Comedian, and ultimately understanding him. Yet, Moore never has to come out and tell us exactly what was happening; one sees it through example, not exposition: purporting the stories as memories of the Comedian, even, not history.
Moore and Gibbons also manage to use both words and pictures to consistently foreshadow the events of the future. The Comedian's monologue at the attempt to reform the Crimebusters alludes to the fact that the individual problems that the heroes fight do not change anything and rather that the real problems of the world are too big for them.30 By the end of the work, this ends up being the exact truth. The key to Veidt's plan resides in New York's Institute For Extraspatial Studies. However, the reader only learns this and the full extent of Veidt's plan in the twelfth and final chapter. Yet as early as chapter 3, one sees the sign on the side of the building labeling this Institute, which is right behind a particular newsstand that the reader is shown repeatedly. All along, Moore and Gibbons are giving clues, but it is only at the end that it all makes sense.
Another mix of foreshadowing and characterization is the appearance of Rorschach without his mask. He is drawn repeatedly, walking the street by day, coming to the newsstand, or simply watching those around him, without the mask, holding a sign that says, "The End is Nigh." First, this creates an irony, because the reader sees him many times not knowing who the crazy redhead is. Yet, in chapter four, when Rorschach is captured by the police, one is able to confirm that it was indeed him. Further, this contrast exposes certain parts of his character. More than once, the reader is exposed to the words of Rorschach's journal, effectively being told the story from a first-person point of view. After trying to warn Dreiberg and Veidt of the person killing vigilantes, he writes:
Meeting with Veidt left bad taste in mouth. He is pampered and decadent, betraying even his own shallow, liberal affections . . . Dreiberg as bad. A flabby failure who sits whimpering in his basement. Why are so few of us left active, healthy, and without personality disorders.31
Yet, the man holding the sign is clearly disturbed. So between the images and the text the reader is given a contrast, which forces the reader to try and come to a conclusion of his or her own, as the answers are not readily apparent: causing one to dwell on the issue.
Perhaps the most masterful exploitation of this particular medium comes from the genius of the collage effect that Moore and Gibbons have made famous. The effect of Moore to transplant the words from one scenario over Gibbons' images from a different scene create a profound statement and perhaps exemplify the unique nature of this medium and what it has to offer. Perhaps the best example of this is in chapter nine, as Jon has taken Laurie to Mars to ponder the fate of the earth, to decide if he should help save it from nuclear annihilation or not. The issue is tense and encompasses their relationship and parts of her past, especially with the Comedian, and her anger at Jon for not helping, as well as her frustration with his knowledge of future and past, which she finds disorienting. Moore and Gibbons create an overlay of them walking through the castle on Mars, her as a child, them walking, her staring into a childhood object, the outside of the castle, her looking back through a car window at the Comedian, to her arguing with Jon, to the Comedian's face, to Laurie holding up her mother's picture book, to her dropping the childhood toy, to her realizing who her father is in the present; the collage serves a distinct purpose as all of the images are specifically ordered so as to reflect the emotional climax of Laurie's realization. The words that overlap are her and Jon arguing, all of which their words correspond in dual meaning toward their current argument, toward the path of her life, and her discovering who her father was—all of which is overlapped by soundclips from her past, from flashbacks we have already seen, but put in a new order and context, coming forth to reveal that the Comedian, the man who once tried to rape her mother and whom she hates, is in fact her father. Not only is the simple overlap and collage enough, but the actual pace at which it unravels is like that of a snowball rolling down a hill getting bigger and bigger, gaining emotional strength as well, and by the time the answer is revealed, the reader wants to cry along with Laurie.
Finally, Moore does not simply tell a story, he engrosses the reader consistently with moral questions about human existence and nature. He tries to consistently elevate this as more than just a story, but also as a cultural question. His addressal of the questions of sex and rape lie at the heart of many human questions. One of the best examples is when Laurie visits her mother, Sally, in the second chapter. Laurie disapproves of her mother's "sleazeball image" and it is inferred that she disapproves of her mother's sexual ethics. Sally replies, "What about your image? At least I don't sleep with an H-Bomb." Laurie protests, "Jon is not an H-Bomb." Her mother replies, "Honey, the Only difference is that they didn't have to get the H-Bomb laid every once in a while."32 This shows an ambiguity that again, doesn't answer anything, but forces the reader to think about it, and draw the conclusions for him or herself. More than anything, the bombshell of Veidt's plan asks the ultimate question of the greater good and the lesser of two evils. Is it satisfactory to do an immensely evil thing to try and help all of mankind? There are no answers. Moore does not offer any and neither does the mature reader want one. It is sufficient to know that the questions have been asked.
In all, entire books could be written on the literary merit of the Watchmen. I don't doubt that it could be analyzed to the last content. However, for the purposes of this work, it has been demonstrated reasonably, that the adult content, the advanced techniques, as well as the questioning, absorbing qualities of the work, make it a qualifiable work of literature. While the majority of comic books fall far below this standard, many come close enough to also be critically evaluated, whether it be James O'Barr's dark emotional depths of The Crow, or the apocalyptic allegories of Chris Claremont's Days of Future Past, there are stories besides the Watchmen that deserve to be studied and given due credit, as the medium itself deserves the opportunity to be taken seriously.
IX
The role-playing book, Mage: The Ascension, by Phil Brucato and Stewart Wieck, , unearths a great wealth of depth and skill in the way it is written, constructed, and lifted up upon allegory and symbolism. From the beginning, Mage strives to separate itself from the simplistic games of old, and offer one of depth and philosophy:
The world of Mage is a dark modern fantasy where reality is commanded with a thought and hopelessness poisons the very earth. Stories told in this mystick World of Darkness becomes heroes quests, journeys of self-discovery that step beyond our mundane lives. Mage is a game, true, but a game of tales told, not winners and losers.33
It is that step beyond the norm, the conventional reality, which lies at the heart of Mage. Yet one still wonders what exactly a mage is and what role he or she plays in modern society:
Mages are enlightened beings, mortal humans who embrace . . . the truth behind reality and their own place in it. Through innate sense, hard-earned knowledge and a shard of the divine self (the Avatar), a mage learns to rework reality at its core and becomes an active force for change.34
At the inner essence, a mage works his magick by simple means of imposing his or her reality on the world. Mages refer to reality as the "Tellurian," of which all are a part, and the mystick weave that holds it together, the "Tapestry."35 By manipulating the strings of this tapestry, mages can enact the desired results. This entire structure is based upon a metaphor for life itself and the "mundane" lives that everyday people live and act in. One can see this metaphor leak through into the narrative:
At its core, Mage is about giving a damn, about caring and believing in something so deeply that your beliefs can change reality. The world is not shaped by passivity or acceptance. It is moved forward by the deeds of those who reject the old ways and carve new ones, without regard for obstacles or enemies.36
Mage’s creators take a dramatic system, pumped to the prime of war and use that as a symbolism for its readers’ lives. Through the same concepts and philosophies, anyone could take control of one's life, change it, or make it better.
Another component of Mage metaphysics is a thing called the "Gauntlet." It is a barrier between the physical and spirit world. This barrier has been strengthened by science and technology and points to a dying of creativity and soul, of magick and the acceptance of openness and multiple possibilities.37 This is another key pivot point for the Mage doctrine. The antagonistic faction of the game is an organization termed the Technocracy, and it is they who control the paradigm of reality. It is said that, "The great sin of the Technocracy is not science, or even murder—it is oppression under one vision."38 It is exactly this kind of mental imperialism from which the authors of Mage want the reader to escape. Although the "enlightened" of this world are mages, this term, "enlightened," could certainly apply to those in the "real world" who see past the hegemonic doctrine of certain factions of society. In this world:
Most mortals are rightly called Sleepers by the Awakened. They exist (or perhaps, we exist) in a passive state of blindness, shying away from true insight, avoiding the symbolic death that leads to greater rebirth. We miss the wonders and possibilities around us. Our mundane lives have conditioned us to accept what is offered, from lying politicians to MTV, and we complain but do little to change it.39
And thus the reader has come full circle. The above concept, in the context of the game, applies to the protagonist mages. In the context of the world in which the book's readers live, the authors are trying to foster ingenuity, creativity, and the struggle to escape simple conventional thought.
Due to the nature of this malleable reality constructed by Brucato and Wieck, there is an ideological war. The goal of most Awakened Mages is to lead to what they call Ascension. This has many equivalents in many cultures, whether the religious ascension to heaven, the Greek catharsis, or in any sense, it is an epiphany of the soul. The four different factions have different opinions of exactly what this is and how it should happen, but as a result of this, there comes what is known as The Ascension War. This war does not usually manifest as a raging firefight or the movement of troops; it is a subtle war, coincidental and veiled, as philosophical as physical. It is a war for reality.40 It is a war that has been raging throughout remembered time:
Nation-states contested for the right to control local beliefs (and thus, reality), though few at the time realized what they were doing. The long-term winners established the "set" of reality in that particular area, deciding by unconscious consensus what could be "real" and what could not.41
Thus the war continues in this fight for what is real and what is not.
In the world of Mage, mythical monsters once flourished, and even vampires and werewolves walked freely, all because people believed in them. Yet, these lifeforms were abolished with the advent of science. It was said that "[b]y promotion of science over mysticism, the Order of Reason sought to break the supernatural hold over mortal humanity."42 Ironically, the first technological advances failed, because people did not believe they would work. It was only through the slow manipulation of the paradigm of reality that those that fought could gain control: deciding for everyone what could and could not exist. Brucato and Wieck carry this theme over to modern day and breakdown the story into a lesson for the reader:
In classrooms throughout the modern world, little boys and girls are taught a passive, scientific view of reality. Through the clinical eyes of science, we learn to carefully observe the so-called laws of physics, nature, and the rest of reality to understand how the world functions. Although we are part of this reality, the teachers lecture their bored charges, we cannot affect the laws of nature. Children, like mages, often balk at this object-oriented view of reality. In their worlds reality fluctuates as rapidly as their ideas. They make dinosaurs come to life with a few bits of paper and crayons, Tinkertoy walls tumble upon their command, and each child has the mystic power to protect his mother's back by avoiding cracks in the sidewalk.
These children instinctively grasp something their elders lost long ago -- they're active agents who may work their own will upon reality, even if that reality's filled with stuffed animals and Nintendo games . . true willworkers believe that reality is subjective . . . We, as conscious beings, are the cause, and the universe, or the boundaries of it, is our effect.43
Anyone misrepresenting this passage would think this game is to relive the magic of childhood. However, that is not the case. Rather, the idea is to recapture that boundless freedom from a stagnant adult paradigm of thought and the willingness to be critical of what one reads, hears, and is taught, searching always for a deeper truth.
The reality that is spoken about is noted as a consensual reality and even though mages and sleepers of this world each have a stake in their own individual reality, "Earth's reality is not based on billions of disparate, disconnected, singular realities. Rather, reality relies on the collective beliefs of all of humanity."44 Yet there is a strength in numbers. Since most humans do not believe in magick, this disbelief weighs heavily on the mages. If the surrounding collective belief outweighs their own willpower, they are struck by a reciprocal force known as Paradox. Thus, they must not do their magick in the presence of "Sleepers," or if they do, they must perform such feats in a coincidental manner.
The concept of personal belief affecting reality is rooted in Freudian logic and the theories of hysterical paralysis. If one thinks they can't perform an action, one will find him or herself less likely to be able to do so: the potency of confidence working in the converse manner. Brucato and Wieck want their readers to realize this power and not fear the unknown or the ability to question. As they say: "Most people cling to their beliefs as security blankets against the great unknown. Even harmful beliefs may become cherished in their certainty."45
The opposing factions of Mage all seem to rise out of allegory. The main two factions are the protagonist Traditions, and the monolithic Technocracy. Between these two is an obvious parallel to the Cold War powers. The Traditions are a disparate confederation of powers that work in concert, but yet fight amongst themselves and all have equal say. And while in the far past and in the present, they truly cared for the general populace, there was a time when their decadence gave way to greed and pride, and the people became their subjects, not their charges.
The Technocracy, who also represents a Big Brother figure in the present, is also the symbolic Communist power. They were originally formed to fight the depredations of the Traditions and wanted to secure equality and rights for the general populace. Yet as their paradigm and power stretched, they too became corrupted and their inner circle came to control and advance for their own ends ("original ideals were lost upon the wayside"46). The authors even come out and mention this by saying: "What Technocrats ignore is that their warped form of communism . . . still requires elites to impose the supposed equality. To achieve its ends, the Technocracy attempts to indoctrinate the Masses to their vision of reality while eliminating anything which fails to conform."47 A third faction, the Nephandi, are representative of pure evil and corruption. They are called the Fallen Ones and thus draw immediate comparison to the fallen angels. Note that certain fallen angels were exiled for their fornication with mortal women, and their children were known as the Nephilim. A final faction, the Marauders, represent pure chaos and change, but in doing so also bring about insanity and occasionally pain. They are harder to categorize, but as they are listed as the diametric opposite of the Technocracy, it is conceivable that they represent the madness to which such stagnant repression can and will cause or the danger of completely boundless freedom.
In creating all of these factions, the authors insist that these are all stereotypes, representative of a reality where there are no black and white scenarios, and sometimes the "bad" faction, may include "good" guys. Some Marauders are insane murderers, some are eccentric, yet wise and good. The authors encourage breaking beyond the norm, beyond a stagnant vision of reality, and enacting one’s own, even within the boundaries of the game which they themselves devised. The medium in which Brucato and Wieck write is one that enables readers to develop their own realities and empower themselves in viewing their own world.
Finally, while the book itself is reproducible art, the concept of the RPG leaves open the ritual for the readers to conduct: each creating their own unique stories based in this general setting. In sum, there is plenty in this book to suggest literary quality. Many of the other books by the White Wolf Game Studios harbor the same depth and philosophy, diagramming the multitude of struggles, moods, and themes that tear through a reality beyond good and bad, and fist versus fist; they encourage thought, creativity, and analysis: leading the reader to be absorbed in their work and its possibilities, rather than the reader absorbing it. Such works are beyond the scope of this paper, but continue to inform the overall possibilities of this medium.
Epilogue
Many years ago, Walter Benjamin hewed a new age of art through the preconceptions of his time; "The Work of Art in the Mechanical Age of Reproduction" defined a new era. I would not presume this work to be so influential, but I would hope that this work opens a discourse on legitimizing the mediums of the comic book and the role-playing book as potential works of art. There are concrete examples of literary merit in both media, which that this work has positively demonstrated.
There can be no doubt that the majority of both industries are shallow masks of entertainment, mere cash-cows. And perhaps many of both genres do fit in a stereotypically child- or adolescent-oriented categorical distinction. Yet, the adult content and deeper philosophies and allegories of certain examples of each media present a strong case to the opposite. Both Watchmen and Mage: The Ascension meet this kind of praise; both clearly have literary value. Perhaps they are not "conventional" classics, yet how much of today's literary canon was a perfect fit for the 'conventional' model when it first appeared? Why are so many authors recognized only after death? Hopefully if critical interest can be garnered for these media now, they will not disappear without notice, without care, before having been fully appreciated. I would hate to have ignorance to blame for these genres' disappearance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Benjamin, Walter, Illuminations, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," translated by Harry Zohn, pg. 217. Schocken Books: New York. 1968. Quoted from Paul Valery, Aesthetics, "The Conquest of Ubiquity," translated by Ralph Manheim, p. 225. Pantheon Books, Bollingen Series: New York, 1964.
2. Benjamin, Walter, Illuminations, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," translated by Harry Zohn, pg. 220. Schocken Books: New York, 1968.
18. Barrington, Judith, Writing the Memoir: A practical guide to the craft, the personal challenges, and ethical dilemmas of writing your true stories, pg. 35. Eighth Mountain Press: Portland, 1997.
19. Carver, Raymond, (R.V. Cassill, ed.), The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Shorter Fifth Edition, "On Writing," pg. 914. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1995.
20. Bachmann, Ingeborg, Songs of Flight: The Collected Poems of Ingeborg Bachmann, "You Words," translated by Peter Filkins, pg. 303. Marsilio Publishers: New York, 1994.
21. Cassill, R.V., (R.V. Cassill, ed.), The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Shorter Fifth Edition, "On Writing," pg. xxv. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1995.
22. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The House of the Seven Gables, pg. 160-161. Signet Classics: New York, 1961.
23. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The House of the Seven Gables, pg. 165. Signet Classics: New York, 1961.
24. Cassill, R.V., (R.V. Cassill, ed.), The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction: Shorter Fifth Edition, "On Writing," pg. 902. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 1995.
25. Moore, Alan and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, Chapter IV, pg. 13, panel 1. DC Comics: New York, 1986.
26. Ibid, Chapter I, pg. 25, panels 7-8 (25.7-8)
27. Ibid, Chapter II, 1.9, 3.1
33. Brucato, Phil and Stewart Wieck, Mage: The Ascension, 2nd Edition, pg. 5. White Wolf Game Studio: Canada, 1995.
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All rights reserved © 12/01/1998 |
Michael T. Wawrzycki
Copyright © 09/07/2006
michael@verve.name