The language of comic books

Comic books are closely related to the comic strip medium, but are also frequently compared to film and television media - and not just because film and TV sometimes employ animation. Yes, comic books are a unique form of art with a particular storytelling language all their own; therefore, it's no surprise to see...

1957: Comic books want to be novels.

1964: Comic books want to be motion pictures.

1997: Comic books want to be home videos.

2003: Comic books still want to be motion pictures.

2004: Comic books want to be television programs.

2007: Comic books want to be television programs.

2008: Comic books still want to be television programs.

Some of this (admitted) rimshot came about from comic book creators packaging their content with the language of other media in the hopes of enticing fans of such media to sample their wares. However, it betrays a lack of confidence in the media of comic books themselves; comic books were an inferior media form in the 1930s and spent decades building up the cache needed to be accepted as a legitimate art (infamously, the Library of Congress once refused to catalog comic books; today, they house 100,000+ samples). However, the inferiority complex still needs to be lived down; expect to see more examples like the above as the industry's therapy continues.