Khaled: Graphic Novels & Fantasy

Khaled: J.R.R. Tolkien and Children's Literature

In addition to producing content for his graphic novel and collaborating with Shane, Khaled has been exploring the theory behind fantasy, mythology and fairy tales.  This search has led him, inevitably, to English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor J. R. R. Tolkien.  K. did not jump into a re-reading of The Lord of the Rings, however.  Instead, he began researching an article by Maria Popova (@brainpicker) and a lesser-known work called Tales from the Perilous Realm, a collection of short pieces, fairy tales, and an essay called "On Fairy-Stories."

In this latter piece, Tolkien argues that there is no such thing as "children's literature" as we know it.  He writes:

Among those who still have enough wisdom not to think fairy-stories pernicious, the common opinion seems to be that there is a natural connexion between the minds of children and fairy-stories, of the same order as the connexion between children’s bodies and milk. I think this is an error; at best an error of false sentiment, and one that is therefore most often made by those who, for whatever private reason (such as childlessness), tend to think of children as a special kind of creature, almost a different race, rather than as normal, if immature, members of a particular family, and of the human family at large. (347)

Though he finds this sentiment stimulating, K. disagrees.  He presents his position by arguing that a certain dream logic is bastardized in children's literature.  According to him, other branches of literature honor this logic while that directed toward children distort it, introduce it haphazardly, and never explain its functioning.

What do you think? Do you side with Tolkien, with K., or with a position in-between? Please leave a comment below.  For your enjoyment, enjoy the following trailer to Tolkien's own fairy-story:  The Hobbit (The Battle of the Five Armies).

Khaled: OCPD

As he progresses further and further into his graphic novel, Khaled (affectionately known as "K.") has begun to refine the characterization of his protagonist, Desmond.  Possessing both the spirits of Order and Chaos, this man is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and oscillates between stoicism and wildness.  He also happens to possess OCPD:  Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.

OCPD is NOT to be confused with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  Whereas OCD is specifically an anxiety disorder, OCPD is a personality disorder marked by an overwhelming desire to control one's own environment.  As defined on psychology.com, it is "characterized by a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency."

K. found OCPD through a humorous song produced by the YouTube channel Rhett and Link (@rhettandlink).  As they go on to explain in the following video, however, neither OCPD or OCD are a laughing matter.  And this pain is EXACTLY what K. intends to bring out in his graphic novel.  How he will do so remains to be seen...

Khaled: The Hero's Journey

"The Hero's Journey," pictured above.  Photo located at lincoln.debbieyoon.com.  Kildonan and its IP program claim no ownership of this graphic.

Ever the fantasy and graphic novel aficionado, Khaled (affectionately known as "K.") has been researching American mythologist, lecturer, and writer Joseph Cambell (@jcf_org).  Until his death in 1987, Campbell explored comparative mythology and comparative religion in such works as The Masks of God, The Power of Myth, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  K. found the latter particularly fascinating in that Campbell proposes a sort of pattern according to which, hypothetically, all fantasy narratives unfold.  He termed this form "the hero's journey" or "the monomyth"; this second term is especially meaningful in that it imbues this structure with progenitive power as a sort of "parent" to all fantasy stories across the world. 

Theoretically, "the monomyth" holds that fantasy narratives consist of twelve to seventeen steps:  (1) the call to action, (2) refusal of the call, (3) supernatural aid, (4) crossing the threshold, (5) belly of the whale, (6) the road of trials, (7) the meeting with the goddess, (8) woman as temptress, (9) atonement with the father, (10) apotheosis, (11) ultimate boon, (12) refusal of the return, (13) the magic flight, (14) rescue from without, (15) the crossing of the return threshold, (16) master of two worlds, and (17) freedom to live.  As the following graphic shows, this journey occurs between two worlds:  the "known," or ordinary, world and the "unknown," or supernatural, world.  Though various scholars and writers warn that "the hero's journey" can act as a catch-all that prevents genuine literary analysis, "the monomyth" does seem to support such well-known narratives as George Lucas's Star Wars and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

"The Hero's Journey," pictured above.  Image located at en.wikipedia.org.  Kildonan and its IP program do not claim any ownership of the graphic above.

How will K. incorporate this structure into his own evolving fantastical narrative? Any questions or recommendations for K.? Please post in the comments below.

For an "IPian"-esque graphic of "the hero's journey" resembling an octopus, please see below.  Picture located on thethinkingbusiness.com.

Khaled: "The Observer Effect" and "The Double-Slit Experiment"

 

Khaled (a.k.a. "K.") is currently characterizing his graphic novel's protagonist according to "the observer effect."

Many scientists and laypersons know this theory through the double-slit experiment, an investigation in which electrons are fired at a wall through a plate containing two slits.  In the following educational video, physicist Fred Alan Wolf (a.k.a. Dr. Quantum) (@Doctor_Quantum) gives a user-friendly overview of the experiment and its implications.

As one faculty member of the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says, "The act of making a measurement of the electrons path [involved in the experiment] fundamentally changes the outcome of the experiment."  The IP faculty remains excited to see how K. will integrate this idea into his project.