Here is some advice for getting an experienced book reader interested in comics and graphic novels. Often a literary person will get a recommendation from an avid comic reader and will find himself confronted with superhero in-jokes or half-assed plotlines. To a literary person, most graphic novel writing is quite limp-about on par with television writing. My recommendation is to cut to the chase. Show the literary person some visual storytelling stripped of all pretense. Give him a graphic novel by Jason! This Norwegian artist is a master of driving touching and humorous stories without the aid of words. Of his many books, I recommend "Sshhhh!," "Meow, Baby," and "The Living and the Dead" most strongly.

Advise this reader to linger on the panels, to appreciate Jason's minimalist style, the range of emotions he is able to convey without word bubbles. The stories that Jason tells are usually tender or light-hearted. Reading his work provides the same glowing pleasure as reading a beloved children's book, yet a child would certainly not grasp what Jason accomplishes with his strange cast of anthropomorphic characters. Loneliness, violence, cavemen, zombies, prostitutes, and even some nudity are to be expected.

Once a literary person has read and digested a book by Jason, he will have received the best introduction to comics available. He will understand the visual flow upon which all artists build. With Jason under his belt, the literary person will possess a simple, yet powerful reference with which to assess other graphic novels. He will be able to read wordier comics and confidently assess whether the medium is being used to its fullest potential. Reading Jason is like acquiring the toolset that literary people gain in their school years, the concepts that allow them to engage what they are reading beyond the mere plot.

Learn more about this author, d. richard scannell.
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