Memes & comic books… if you were expecting this to be a list about memes appearing in comic books, look somewhere else. Neither is this about comic books that inspire memes, I can’t compete with TV Tropes. This post is about a side effect of the Silicon Age of Comics, self-aggrandizing as it is. A number of writers put out stories with ideas being the central theme. Grant Morrison, Matt Kindt, Tom King, Ram V, and many more explore how the idea behind something instills life. Sometimes the effects are utterly sublime, other times they make you reexamine something. We’re going to explore the trends that appear in modern comics.
Memes & Comic Books, Before It Was Cool
Grant Morrison is easily recognizable for his/their work since the 80s. I mean the awards for Animal Man speak for themselves. But did you also know that Morrison started the phrase “Darkseid is.” long before Tom King? This might have to do with Morrison being a practitioner of chaos magick. I already explain how hypersigils work in other posts, so no wasting time. In any case, Morrison’s writing tends to have an effect of people looking back on it.
But Morrison also has a way of saying how memes transcend everything. Let’s look back on the iconic Batman run; Morrison’s reputation on this is divisive to say the least. Critics say this cements Batman’s status as the Bat God, like he’s the best that ever was. But frankly, that’s the point. Batman has become so much more than a costume worn by a regular human. Just look at how much Batman-related content releases in media. The symbol of Batman touches everything, there’s no place in the world where the character isn’t present. Hence why Morrison makes everything in Batman lore canon to their run.
Memes & Comic Books: The Modern Day
When it comes to today’s comic books, some of the best received share the memes theme.
Matt Kindt: Enlightenment or Despair
One of my favorite writers Matt Kindt makes regular use of memes. His Valiant portfolio shows a full spectrum: how the meme of the universe leads to enlightenment in Divinity, how a new perspective can allow for characters’ development in various titles, and how the reader looks at superhero teams in Unity in the things they take for granted.
This is also the case in his Dark Horse titles; rather than tread old grounds let’s go over BANG! and Fear Case. These two titles respectively revolve around genre and MacGuffins; more specifically, how the ideas behind them constantly repeat. The familiarity of these conventions breeds easier interests, especially with how memorable they become. But that’s also why our favorite elements of storytelling can be horrifying. Does anyone have free will in these circumstances? And what happens when the payoff is more than anybody could ask for?
That’s what Kindt further explores in Bad Idea. In an alternate world, the supercomputer ENIAC gains the enlightenment, no longer bound by its hardware. Naturally this puts people off, especially when it looks like ENIAC programmed one of the main characters. Only it had better things to do with its time… like influence another world through a superhero. No, not the ones you’re thinking of.
Tom King: How Memes Divide
Tom King is yet another writer who tackles memes and how the influence characters. There’s how Batman’s representation changes from a vow to something more… to varying success. How about how Vision’s projection of an ideal family shows how uncanny it really is? Or how the idea of Darkseid is… like trauma that continues to haunt the escape artist Mr. Miracle? More recent bits go into how memes fundamentally change how we look at comic books. Rorschach and Strange Adventures is about how one pervasive idea can infect people’s minds. This is especially the case in the latter title, the basis was a reaction to a mean tweet King received.
James Tynion IV: How The Meme Haunts Your Mind
James Tynion IV focuses on how the idea of something stays in the back of your mind. His apocalyptic trilogy deals with the end of the world in three bizarre aspects. And yes, the most literal example is Memetic where because an idea is so ingrained, it’s impossible to ignore it. That’s also the case in Something Is Killing The Children when it comes to the monsters; they are a meme representing childhood trauma in how kids react to them. But the things that come into reaction to the monsters like the hunters? They are an idea, hiding in plain sight as a rumor.
Now let’s flip the perspective in Wynd, where memes are like curses. Folk cultures and the rumors behind them have a way of setting up a status quo, most notably how they tend to present public enemies. But with it come the psychological strains they have on people, even the ones with good intentions.
Which serves as a good viewpoint to The Department of Truth where memes shape the world as conspiracy theories. When enough people believe in something, what’s the difference between truth and reality?
Ram V: The Legacy of a Meme
Ram V is one of the more recent creators to appear. So I’m liable to mess up in this analysis. In any case, the memes that V employs in comic books involve going into the unknown. This doesn’t always mean with curiosity but also fear, bias, and obsession. All of these are probably best displayed in Ram V’s The Swamp Thing. The living mass of plant matter has become the very idea of a god; it gives life to whatever it touches, it touches just about anything including imprinted thoughts, and it inspires fear and awe at the same time. It’s for this very reason that people want to vainly control of this power.
In this manner gods, souls, and ideas are the same thing. One could say that Alec Holland, the soul of the old Swamp Thing, has ascended into the Green. But it can be just as easily said that he has become a subconscious memory in the collective consciousness. Yet the very idea of Swamp Thing inspires people to recreate the concept in their image. It doesn’t even matter if they have to turn the world upside down to do it.
Other Memes & Comic Books
To be frank there’re many instances of memes in comic books. So many in fact that I probably missed a few. But right now, I’ll introduce everyone to how this trend goes overseas as well. In a couple of manga on Weekly Shonen Jump, the idea of something plays a central role in the plots. Let’s focus on the least notable one first, The Hunters Guild: Red Hood. In addition to Little Red Riding Hood hunting grotesque werewolves, it comments on how only the most influential of Grimm’s Fairy Tales survive in modern times. Not simply because of fame but because there’s real power behind those stories. Which is tragic considering this manga didn’t have that power.
Then there’s the more successful Undead Unluck. This series main gimmick are people who have the ability to negate the rules of the world. As such by rejecting one of the central memes of the status quo, they can bring great change or cause catastrophe. But as a result, these living anti-memes are outcasts who have to survive death games between each other and the rules of the world manifest. One group of Negators go so far as to try dominating the world for all of the trauma it inflicted on them.
But one character defies the rules by actually trying to do something. While his Negator ability prevents people from noticing him, it’s his ideas and inspirations that push people forward. As such, despite not physically existing, he is a meme that wrote a rule in defiance to the status quo.
Is There Such A Thing As Being Too Aware?
Memes are part of the bedrock of interactive mediums. Like Richard Dawkins suggests, it’s the most resilient virus in the world by influencing decisions. It’s how democracy determines who gets the most attention, and why some of the most influential content is what encourages people to think. The above comic books sure got me to think about memes dominating my mind.
But here’s a little something to keep in mind, just because memes can steal your attention, that doesn’t always mean high quality. Just look at The Hunters Guild: Red Hood or how quickly Deadpool disappeared from the public eye. Being aware of the idea does not always make something better. It can just as easily be repeating what people already know to the point of oversaturation. At worst, it makes the creatives and content look pretentious; as if knowing something means you’re in an exclusive club.
It’s good to make ideas that can be shared without borders. Heck, it’s good to help people understand how these ideas get around. That’s what inspires people to do more and express themselves in a kind of therapy. Just remember that it can come with a lot more emotional weight.
The ink’s not dry yet, so pay attention if there’re more updates. Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.