Paper on Graphic Novel as a Postmodern Genre: Robert Kirkman's, The Walking Dead

Introductiojn

Some of the postmodern features and themes found in Robert Kirkman's, The Walking Dead include irony, black humor, intertextuality, pastiche, paranoia, hyper-reality, and post-World War II. This genre emerged after the World War II, as it is a creative and critical response towards literature, which makes it easy to develop graphic images that represent ideas of an author. The indulgence of the reader's mind towards the content allows one to form mental images as the description is detailed and allows an individual follow the ideas presented (Hattnher 370). It helps connect fiction and reality by the presentation of ideas from different cultures. The adoption of metafiction allows the reader take control as opposed to the author's authenticity. The creativity and inclusion of different approaches in postmodern literature allow authors to experiment with subjects that were previously not accepted. The Walking Dead is a fictional but graphic novel with a comical touch, allowing the author to present their ideas in images that tell a complete story (Reed and Ruth 124). There are different pieces of stories contained therein and related to each other, even though each of them is independent.

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The irony is one of the themes in The Walking Dead and is represented in many instances (Hassler-Forest 339). For instance, the audience is aware that Rick's reunion with his family would spark off negative feelings and complications. Shane and Lori were lovers and had been together in the camp which sheltered the people from the zombie attacks. The audience is aware that Rick, Carl, Lori, and Shane and alive, even though the characters do not know whether each of them managed to get to the haven. The irony comes in when the tension created in the audience is different when they all unite, had the readers learned the background story from either of the four characters. This is because they would have influenced, positively or negatively, the perception of the audience (Demson 155). Another scene representing irony is the suspense created by the mystery of activities. For instance, Rick was not aware that Shane was a walking dead even though they had interacted for a long period while in the camp. The audience is aware and Carl as well. It comes as a surprise to the audience that despite the close relationship between Carl and Shane, Carl would be the one to kill her, even though he does not inform Rick, who remains in darkness about the whole issue. Black humor is also represented in the ironic scenes when a killer laughs at their actions, despite the pain and agony they cause on their victim (Sartain 249). For instance, Carl continues his normal life despite killing Shane, who had been a close confidant in the recent past.

The postmodern theme of intertextuality in The Walking Dead is evident from the relationships that exist between different scenes and texts in Kirman's novel. There are many approaches the author has used to highlight the relationship between the texts including repetitive quotes, parody, and direct references. For instance, it is common in the novel to have one of the characters repeat words another person had said in the beginning, which helps bring emphasis and rhythm (Smith 9). The Walking Dead represents reactions that people would have in case there was an invasion of aliens, and their ability to work together, despite the differences that exist among the leaders in the society. The disaster in The Walking Dead are the zombies, who want to feed on the survivors, who must also partner with each other so that they can fight off the predators. The aspect of intertextuality comes into play when the survivors must work together to wade off the tragedy that has befallen them as a team. Working in a team means that despite the conflicts and perceptions towards solution-finding approaches, the people must find common ground and solve the internal issues (Baetens and Hugo 56).

The postmodern theme of pastiche involves the creation of ideas from a list of ideologies that have been inexistent. It imitates other genres but maintains originality to avoid copy and pasting the idea borrowed. The modifications allow the development of other forms of genres in literature. Robert Kirkman, the author of The Walking Dead, mixes drama, fiction, and fairy tales to display his ideas in the novel. Fiction is evident from the presence of zombies in a nation that wants to rebuild itself. In real life, zombies do not exist as they are an imagination of the mind of the author, who uses graphical description to create a mental image in the minds of the readers (Weiner and Will 2). Hence, he uses fictional characters and gives them names and certain positions in the society so that he can pass his message. The fairy tale in The Walking Dead is the love story between different characters in the novel, like Carl and Shane. Kirman's use of more than one genre helps develop the plot of the story, as well as create a transition from one chapter to another. Coming up with a unique genre makes it interesting for the reader to enjoy the plot since it does not follow the rules of literature.

The postmodern metafiction theme in The Walking Dead represents the actualization of fiction into reality, making it possible to create a suspension. This suspension comes from the disbelief that things taking place in the novel are real or could be transformed into reality (Paffenroth and John 78). The application of metafiction reduces the authority and influence of an author, since they separate their emotions with the plot of the story, allowing the reader take over and create images in their mind (Hattnher 370). In The Walking Dead, Kirkman's talks with the main actor, Lily Caul as she tries to rebuild a city that had previously been destroyed under the leadership of the Governor. There is also the approach of having a story within a story in the novel. For instance, the special and attraction between some of the actors draws the attention from the main story-line, which is restructuring the city. This technique attracts the attention of readers by creating suspense, to understand the development of the relationship between lovers. In other instances, Lily, the main actor faces challenges like attempted rapes which allows the readers to sympathize with her despite her inability to make serious decisions in a city that has some conflicts inter-twined amongst each other.

Conclusion

The Post-World War II theme is a postmodern literature genre that allows authors to shift the ideology of narratives. It allows the authors to address different issues facing the community birthed from war activities. In The Walking Dead, Kirkman uses the characters to portray the effects of mismanagement on a society, where war breaks. A town is facing challenges since the leader, Philip who had occupied the Governor's position had misused the resources of the town, making it impossible for the residents to depend on their economic activities to support their lives. Despite the traumatic experience, the survivors have gone through in the past, they are determined to rebuild the town, even though the zombies limit them from reaching their full potential. The survivors partner with the religious sects who make the burden of rebuilding the city easier as they come up with ideas and suggestions that help keep the zombies at bay. Destabilizing the literature rules in The Walking Dead has allowed the author comically present his ideas, despite using a horrific description of the characters, and engaging fiction characters. The zombies represent the challenges that individuals face when engaging in nation-building activities, but learn to overcome them (Knickerbocker 345). In conclusion, The Walking Dead has represented the postmodern themes. It demonstrates that different techniques can be used interchangeably and bring out the unique features and ideas of the author. Since the postmodernist approach follows no strict rules, an author manages to mix the themes, allowing the reader to engage their critical and creative thinking when reading a novel. For instance, for a reader to understand the irony in The Walking Dead, they must know how the themes of pastiche or metafiction replace or enhance the former, without changing the original meaning. This allows the reader engage their mind and concentrate on more than one story in one novel.

Works Cited

Baetens, Jan, and Hugo Frey. The graphic novel: an introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Demson, Michael. "Defending the Graphic Novel." Class, Please Open Your Comics: Essays on Teaching with Graphic Narratives (2015): 155.

Hassler-Forest, Dan. "Cowboys and zombies: Destabilizing patriarchal discourse in The Walking Dead." Studies in Comics2.2 (2012): 339-355.

Hattnher, Alvaro. "Zombies Are Everywhere." The Oxford Handbook of Adaptation Studies (2017): 370.

Knickerbocker, Dale. "Apocalypse, utopia, and dystopia: old paradigms meet a new millennium." Extrapolation 51.3 (2010): 345-357.

Lansdale, Joe R. Triumph of the Walking Dead: Robert Kirkman's zombie epic on page and screen. BenBella Books, 2011.

Paffenroth, Kim, and John W. Morehead, eds. The Undead and Theology. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012.

Reed, Darren, and Ruth Penfold-Mounce. "Zombies and the Sociological Imagination: The Walking Dead as Social-Science Fiction." The Zombie Renaissance in Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2015. 124-138.

Sartain, Jeffrey A. "Days Gone Bye: Robert Kirkman's Reenvisioned Western The Walking Dead." Undead in the West II: They Just Keep Coming (2013): 249.

Smith, Philip. "Postmodern Chinoiserie in Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese." Literature Compass 11.1 (2014): 1-14.

Weiner, Stephen, and Will Eisner. Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The Rise of the Graphic Novel: The Rise of the Graphic Novel. nbm Publishing, 2012.