At one time, the adults of the world insisted on a comics’ code, because comic books were marketed strictly towards children. Yet, at the dawn of a new century and millennium, more than fifty years after the Comics Code Authority (known as the CCA) was established in 1954, comic books, graphic novels, and manga are no longer being regulated to just children’s fair. With dramatic story lines and artistic depictions of violence, drugs, and sexual activity, manga and graphic novels have become an art and literature medium for readers of all ages.

Storylines In Graphic Novels

The storyline of a children’s comic was formulaic and predictable at one time. The Comics Code Authority rarely allowed stories to have anything but the villain putting the hero in some sort of peril, and the hero or heroine would always prevail. The return of unique stories lines was certainly a step away from making graphic art a children’s medium and one towards appealing to many other age groups. As the years progressed, authors tackled such things as drug use, sexuality, extreme violence, sadism, political unrest, family issues, and many others which had previously been banned. The point of this was not only to allow authors to expand upon the stories they were writing, but to expand upon the audience that they appealed to.

Storylines In Manga

The plot lines in manga went through a different version of this particular revolution. Instead of spending years censoring the topics within manga, they were simply not brought overseas so that anyone could read them. The revolution bringing the United States the complicated, sometimes convoluted, adult storylines was simply getting manga overseas. While manga became popular in the 1950's in Japan, and some of it migrated into America, it was very little. In the early 1990's, the Japanese standards of censorship relaxed, and it was at that point when more of these Japanese graphic novels made it to the states.

Language

Profanity and sexually explicit language is not the only facet of the written word involved in graphic novels and manga that make it appealing to more than just children. The language has evolved over the years, becoming more sophisticated and creative. Long gone are the days of speech bubbles filled with nonsense words to depict the sound a particular action might create. Descriptive speech, whether it involves profanity or not, is almost necessary for graphic novels and manga today.

Art In Graphic Novels

Because of the Comics Code Authority, there was much artwork that was not allowed, as well as censored when the CCA was in its most powerful years. Violence, sex, nudity, gore, villains who readers might be sympathetic with or glorify were strictly prohibited from the pages of comic books and graphic novels. Like the storylines and language, the artwork of graphic novels underwent a change, a maturation if you will, as well. Female characters were given shorter costumes, more defined bustlines, and extended scenes in compromising positions. Male characters were subjected to nudity, to bloody violence and to many of the other things that female characters dealt with as well. Villains were no longer foolish looking and easy to push over. They were now menacing and frightening, or even likable. The art of graphic novels has become a very powerful reason as to why they are not just for children any more.

Art In Manga

Many people are familiar with the wide eyes and unique hair styles that characterize art in manga novels. This beautiful art is something that is something that has gone through several progressions as well to make it something more interesting to adults, and not just children. In the 1990's, the Japanese censorship standards became more relaxed, and it was then that sexual content and violence became more prevalent in the Japanese artwork. Inspired not only by what the authors and artists wanted to draw, but also what the populous demanded, the art in manga began to depict the same types and amounts of material that were making graphic novels popular reading for adults.

There is no doubt these days that graphic novels and manga are more than just stories for children told with artwork. The art, the stories, and the language have brought a medium that was once only thought to be something for children to the mainstream, so that it is found not in a corner of the bookstore, but in the stacks just past the horror novels, and before the romance. Encompassing almost all genres of literature, graphic novels and manga written in the 21st century are certainly not for children.