| Abstract | Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; or so the old saying goes. Many stories, characters, concepts and themes in literature have been interpreted in various ways in and outside of media. These interpretations range from works inspired by other works, the treatment of the same or similar concepts and characters and character archetypes, all the way to even downright plagiarism, where artistic integrity is nowhere to be found. Every medium has seen and will continue to see that various works created in or outside of a given medium share similarities between them; whether they do so by choice or by accident. This is especially true for print media. Many novels, poetry books, dramas, comic books and graphic novels share similarities, some are obvious, others vague. In works of fantasy, humans and elves often battle evil forces, which mainly consist of orcs or undead creatures; love poems have a melancholy undertone to them, especially when they talk about the past. In comic books, the righteous hero must save the world from the threat of his arch-nemesis. Comic books also draw inspiration from the traditional works of literature. Characters are regularly inspired by mythological heroes, or they go through a story arc which pays homage to a literary classic. Oftentimes, comic book superheroes carry with them the ideas of whole literary genres, or represent the ideals of their home countries. Although they started as a medium for children, comics have evolved into a medium that is able to recreate some of the world’s greatest literary achievements. |
