Not Just Condensation: How Comic Books Interpret Shakespeare

Inescapably, comic book versions of Shakespeare's plays not only inform, but also interpret, verbally and visually, blatantly or subtly. While the medium and audience make adaptation necessary, intelligent cutting can clarify as well as condense, and imaginative artwork can convey some of the play's complexity and depth by suggesting more than is said. Because the reader must actively cooperate in giving a comic book imaginary life, when the artist successfully catalyzes interaction between word and picture, careful looking challenges thought. A panel or page from a comic book version of Shakespeare can become an enjoyable means of helping students grasp that a single text may be interpreted several ways, that the text itself is an interpretation, and that the culture of the time or place influences shaping and understanding of the text. Used imaginatively, comic books can help the college student begin to recognize critical problems and theoretical concerns.