Homework 9 - What makes international comics different?

To an American reader, a lot of international comics appear to have a very different feeling to their content compared to the works in the United States. While reading through a variety of stories from European countries, I sought to theorize on the main difference in the stories that emerge from these two continents, and why there seems to be such a difference in style that can be picked up on in certain types of stories. After contemplating the contrast, I’ve discovered a potential reasoning for the development in styles, which may be the result of the difference in the economics of creating comics between these cultures.

A primary element in European comics that characterizes the stories is the unapologetic lack of censorship across the board over various mediums. While obviously present in American comics, the European comics had a pattern of featuring sex, drugs, and/or violence for just the sake of doing so. While such approaches to the stories might ward away American customers, European comics use it to their benefit to appeal to their own audiences as an unapologetic art form.

Another element of European comics is the free-form way of storytelling that often appears in comics, as there seems to be a priority of the art direction over a concise story plot. Many of the styles even in serialized stories appears experimental and beautifully detailed, and are given compositional and story priority.

Due to this, it can be difficult to create a market for serialized comics as the attention to detail would be time-consuming and nearly impossible to keep producing on a constant basis. While American comics and films rely on the selling of merchandise and consistent media production, European comics seem to expect more patience from their consumers, resulting in a style of comics that focuses on producing high-quality artwork with themes that push boundaries.