Nyhan, "Comics: A Better Means to an Artistic End"

Abstract:
"Comics: A Better Means to an Artistic End" was an essay written by Sean Nyhan while he was attending James Madison University. In his work, he writes about how comics function as an art form, what some of the affordances of comic books are, and how readers respond, relate, and infer based on the symbols and styles that make up the author's work. He ties all this together with examples from Batman comic books.
Key Concepts:
One of the most prominent features of comic books, as talked about by Nyhan, are symbols. Not many other art forms, if any, can integrate symbolism so well into the artwork as to create a story around it. "Although I have never actually seen a standard alarm clock set on sticks of dynamite, I know this symbol means a time bomb. And the proximity of the little hand of the clock to its starting point probably means that Batman has little time left" (Nyhan 2). Despite the symbols being simple and often unrealistic portrayals, the context of the situation and of the reader's own life fills in these blanks highly efficiently. "The pictures only resemble what we associate with them" (Nyhan 1). Therefore, when we see Magritte's pipe painting, the viewer will see the pipe anyway because that's a symbol that's often related to a pipe.
Nyhan furthers this argument. He says that through the simplified symbols that comic books utilize within their pages, the story becomes much easier to relate to for the audience. "By simplifying the subject matter enough, the artist makes a representation that can apply to everyone. Perhaps those who identify with Charlie Brown can do so because of his lack of detailed, discernible features" (Nyhan 1). 
Not only does simplification and symbolism help the readers relate, it also allows the readers to make the comic book story their own. Since it's a medium based on the reader's context, the story itself can start to be affected. Although writers and artists attempt to force meaning into their texts, the viewer ultimately manufactures the end product. The reader has a responsibility to recognize the work that is put into comic art. Jules Feiffer expresses that ' . . . the Wonder Woman mythos paralleled every Jewish boy's idea of how to cope with reality' [qtd. in Thompson 227]. This idea appears to be too specific to have any bearing on the artist's intentions, but it shows an attempt at giving real meaning to the work" (Nyhan 3). So some of the affordances of comic books are how highly relatable they are and how the experience can lie just as much on the reader as the author.
Finally, the last affordance (though Nyhan doesn't use the term "affordance" in his essay) is how comic books can still create a history and an ongoing story for the characters. Unlike fine art where what you see is what you get, comics get to continue on creating depth and furthering connections with the characters. "The writers can create a frame of reference for the artwork, unlike the classic examples of art where the painter merely presents a single image open for interpretation" (Nyhan 2).
Through all of these affordances, comic books set themselves apart from other medium. The symbolism and simplistic style allow us to become the characters while, for example, movies have characters that exist as a separate people from us. For these reasons and more, comic books are a valuable art form.
Key Words:
Affordances
Citations:
Nyhan, Sean. "Comics: A Better Means to an Artistic End." e-Vision volume two. Web. 19 Dec. 2014.