Just because Penzler says he doesn't read it doesn't
necessarily mean that he looks down on it (though he may very
well). Speaking for myself, 80% of the crime fiction I read
was published before 1970, and I read graphic novels only
occasionally. And it's not that I dislike graphic novels or
books published after 1970-it's just that I have only so many
hours in the day to read (and only so many days left in my
lifetime), and I know, in general, all other things being
equal, that I am more likely to enjoy a crime novel published
in 1955 than 1985, and I am more likely to enjoy a
conventional novel than a graphic novel. But this is largely
a matter of personal taste.
As for graphic novels and older readers, I do know several
readers of the 50+ group whose prejudice against the genre is
downright irrational. I have one colleague in the English
department where I teach who stubbornly refuses to
acknowledge that the term GRAPHIC NOVEL even exists-they're
all "comic books" to him. Then again, he's got age AND
literary snobbery working against him.
David
From:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Nathan Cain
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:37 AM To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS:
Re:The Golden Age of American Crime Fiction
He's got to have someone to look down on, the way "literary"
writers look down on crime fiction and the pulps that spawned
it. In all seriousness, though, Penzler's old enough that
he's of a generation that sees comics as exclusively for
kids, though that's obviously not the case any more, if it
ever was.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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