New Gen Graphic Novels & The Supremacy of ‘Big Nate’
New Gen Graphic Novels & The Supremacy of ‘Big Nate’
When I was younger, me and my friends grew up in a time where what I’ll call “new-gen graphic novels” were becoming a phenomenon in the kids’ literature world, where the writing style of children’s books was combined with the in-your-face graphics and humorous presentation of comics. Of course, as far as children’s books in general went, Rhold Dahl would always be the frontrunner, but there were a fair few new kids on the block, with serious appeal in this new style. You got precursors to the trend with things like Jacqueline Wilson’s ‘Tracy Beaker’ books in the early 1990s, but arguably the trend really hit the ground running with the arrival of Dav Pilkey’s ‘Captain Underpants’ in 1997.
Speaking from experience, if you were a 7/8/9 year old kid in juniour school reading these, we thought it was the funniest shit imaginable. After all, it was fat, stupid, mean teachers being made to run around in their underwear by two ten year olds while villains with names like Professor Poopypants schemed to take over the earth. It was juvenile ad infinitum, and it was incredibly successful, boasting 12 entries, a 2017 movie (that was quite naff), and even spawning multiple spin offs like ‘The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future.’ As you might have guessed though, beyond the age of 12, the comedy in these books didn’t really have much return appeal, so as much as I enjoyed them, I have literally no desire to return any time soon.
Then, in 2004, the head honcho came onto the scene with Jeff Kinney’s ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’, originating as a web journal of sorts on Funbrain. Then, once the first book was published in 2007, it also became a smash success. Featuring the adventures of Greg Heffley and best friend Rowley Jefferson, as they attempt to climb up the social ladder, its relatability and wry sense of humour were what made it so enjoyable, with a full cast of hilarious characters along for the ride. It too has a long list of sequels, 19 at time of writing, with Kinney himself saying he’ll continue to write them, “as long as children continue to read them”, so I guess it’s not going anywhere in a hurry. Additionally, unlike ‘Captain Underpants', ‘Wimpy Kid' had a series of 3 very well-liked kids films (and another that we don’t need to talk about), so it really was a cultural force to be reckoned with. Personally though, while I did find it funny, and its art style decent, and probably still would now, beyond book 6 or 7 or so, I started to realise that it wasn’t so LOL-worthy if you like, for me to be bothered to read the next one. A similar experience for me incidentally happened with Liz Pichon’s ‘Tom Gates’ books. While not exactly a graphic novel, It definitely set itself apart with its charming illustrations and zany, bold typography, but similarly with ‘Wimpy Kid’, I just began to lose momentum with it. Perhaps it was because, again, it wasn’t SO funny that I was itching to return, or maybe I was just starting to grow out of that whole phase altogether.
There was one series in this style that I persistently enjoy to this day. It’s well written and nuanced, with fleshed out characters, a fantastic art style, and most importantly, a brilliant sense of humour. I’m of course talking about Lincoln Pierce’s ‘Big Nate’ series. It’s worth saying first of all that ‘Big Nate’ has been a comic strip dating back all the way to the early 90s, and still going on up to the present day on GoComics.com. That said, the first novel wasn’t published until 2010, so those are mainly what I’ll focus on here, but I will occasionally reference the comics. There are, of course, many things that make Big Nate stand out, but the first one I want to talk about is the character design. This applies to Captain Underpants less so, but a lot of Big Nate’s contemporaries, specifically ‘Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Tom Gates’, have a very simple, and purposefully naive visual style, that, while charming, doesn’t lend itself greatly to subtlety, nor as enjoyment as artwork on an individual level. Big Nate, however, with Pierce being a brilliant cartoonist, has a fantastic, and instantly recognisable visible fingerprint. Clearly influenced by Charles Schultz’s ‘Peanuts’ series, part of the beauty in Big Nate is how Pierce is able to portray such complex emotions with such simple drawings is very impressive, along with the characters themselves being brilliant of course. Of course, drawing lends itself very well to the over exaggerated: the comically angry or jubilant, which he does very well, but the way that, with just a simple flick of the pen, an extra face wrinkle or eyebrow raise, it can totally change the feeling of whatever joke or line is being delivered. I’ve never seen sarcasm be portrayed in such a way, at least in a lot of kids books, where it isn’t totally melodramatic and cringe, but Pierce strikes the balance beautifully. A perfect example would be in Big Nate Lives It Up, where, in an effort to ingratiate newcomer Breckenridge Puffington III with the other PS.38 pupils, his emotions can range from light scepticism, to joyful exuberance and goofiness, to burnt-outedness and bubbling rage. The ability to portray this number of emotions so effortlessly speaks volumes of Pierce’s clear talent.
Where he also excels, is being able to tell you a great number of things about a character, just from their appearance, before they even speak. Simpsons creator Matt Groening once said that he aimed to make his characters identifiable by a silhouette. Lincoln not only accomplishes this visually, to which either Nate’s or Francis’ iconic hairdos will attest, but also goes one step further in that, as I say, you can identify the personality, from the appearance. Take Chad for example, whose generally jovial demeanour, yet short and rotund stature makes him appear incredibly good natured, but not equipped for confrontation, the Neville Longbottom of the group if you will, which is borne out to great effect in ‘Goes For Broke’, in his brushes with rival school bully Nolan. Other great examples would be Gina, whose prim and proper hairdo, near constant smirk and large nose, give her the almost perfect appearance of a stereotypical know-it-all, or Dee Dee, whose large hair, earrings and platform boots, along with her cheery appearance, again give you the impression that, while high maintenance and flamboyant, is also very personable, shown in her many pivotal heart-to-hearts with characters throughout the novel series. There are plenty of other great examples, the previously mentioned Breckenridge Puffington III, the easygoing, slightly hippyish art teacher Mr. Rosa, and particularly Nate’s dad, but if I had to list them all, I’d be here all day. My point is, Lincoln has a sort of intangible knack for both writing and creating characters that are almost purpose-fit to their appearances. I know this is a common tennant of a lot of comics and kids books, perhaps an extension of the text painting idea, but often in a way where the villains are portrayed in such a cartoonishly (pardon the accidental pun) evil way that it almost feels too… easy, for lack of a better word. So, in my experience, it’s never been quite as pronounced, while still remaining nuanced and relatable, than Big Nate.
That in itself, brings me neatly onto my next point: that of relatability. I feel like nearly every tween/teen novel reaches for relatability, but often it does it in such a way where the characters are perpetually stuck in a high school comedy or something. That begs the question then: how do you make a story relatable, while not overexaggerating, or accidentally making it so mundane you end up turning it into ‘John Takes the Bins Out Pt. 4’? Well my answer is actually stupidly simple: you heighten the mundane. Granted, a lot of these graphic novel type books accomplish this quite well, particularly ‘Wimpy Kid’ I’d say. Yeah, there are bits in it that are just straight ridiculous, but there are in all of these. They are essentially cartoons after all. Where ‘Big Nate’ gets this right is that Lincoln himself, was a teacher, but has also said that he is able to write from an age appropriate perspective, given that his humour has essentially stayed the same. This means that, as kind of pantomime-esque as some of the teachers are, the inner thoughts of Nate are always fairly spot on, while still being elevated from dullness with a great dose of sarcastic humour, such as with his wry commentary over the morning announcements in the first book, or the numerous in-universe satire comics Nate draws, which are honestly pretty consistently funny, and still manage to be artistically unique.
A lot of the situations and circumstances covered in the book are both relatable, and yet done in a way where it doesn’t feel as though you’re being talked down to, or pandered to. This is obviously most clear with Nate himself. Many of the emotions Nate experiences throughout the novels, like feelings of inferiority, interpersonal rivalries and envy, as well as guilt and romance trouble, are all covered very well. Particularly in the way that, to reiterate, because of the first person perspective, it never feels like the gospel of a perfect person talking down to you, as Nate is obviously a flawed character. Therein lies the key I think. A great deal of the characters, and Lincoln by extension, are almost unable to talk down to the reader because none of them are perfect. With some of the things that Nate does and says, he could easily be framed as a complete asshole, and sometimes he is, often got the better of by virtue of his arrogance, but Pierce puts that in the eyes of the audience. As a result, a lot of the emotional conflict, and conflict in general in the books, can feel quite tense because of this realism. A perfect example would be Nate’s falling out with Francis, and his subsequent guilt. The reason it works is because neither character is entirely in the right, but they don’t resolve it with a cheesy “cubaya” moment where they both hug each other, the kind of interaction which Lincoln pokes fun at two books later, but rather handle the whole situation with an appropriate awkwardness and degree of emotional maturity that’s very true to life. This is even more the case in the final book of the series, where Nate actually finds common ground with Randy over their complicated home lives, a fairly heavy subject for the series up to that point, but one that’s handled with a commendable degree of tact. In a way I think that’s one of the many upsides of Lincoln’s writing style. He’s not writing fables or fairy tales, so nothing has to be black and white, allowing the first person narrative perspective to formulate characters and situations that are genuinely relatable, and stories that are able to be nuanced and sometimes difficult, while cleverly avoiding melodrama. As weird as it sounds in isolation, it feels like ‘Big Nate’ is so much more relatable, because its characters are imperfect. It’s not necessarily heroes and villains, although Pierce does use that as an effective narrative device, but rather, just people and other people.
One element I’ve kept referring to, but not really dived into all that much, is the humour of the strip. After all, that’s the reason why I think Lincoln’s creation stands above the rest, so surely it must be brilliant, right? Well, that it is. I think what makes it so special is the fact that almost none of the jokes ever feel forced, but rather entirely natural, albeit not so much that all the kids in the stories are magically comedic masterminds. A lot of it relies heavily on sarcasm, but not in an irritating try hard way, and so it really appeals to me. I’d say there is a distinct difference in the humour between the books and the comics though. In the books, there is of course the obvious slapstick and exaggerated hijinx which works well. You know, skateboards going into ravines, chopping the heads off lawn gnomes, superhero LARPing, standard stuff. In addition though, much of the laughs come from Nate’s “sarcastic director’s commentary” that narrates his life, often with as much wry cynicism as you might get from a Jack Dee type comic. Prime examples would be Nate’s exasperation at Dee Dee’s increasingly ridiculous clothing choices, the consistently entertaining arch-nemesis double act with Gina, often caked in sarcasm and joyous pettiness, making for some of the best moments in particular.
Most of all though, more than the hilarious portrayal of some of the teachers or anything else, it’s Nate’s comics or flashbacks where the laughs really roll in. These often come in one of three forms, either by way of Nate’s homemade pamphlets or anecdotes about life in PS38, his own original comic character creations, or written self-inserts retelling the days events, all of which have their own merits. The pamphlets, as they’re often coming from Nate’s own perspective, are, again, chock full of that kind of sarcastic, mocking tone that works so well. Not in a bitter or vindictive way mind you, but more classically satirical. Some of my favourites include “The Three Forms of Principal Nichols’, ‘The P.S.38 Teacher Anger Scale’ , or P.S.38’s disastrous sports day performance. The original comics are great though too. The main character we get glimpses of is the wondrously stupid Dr. Cesspool, who’s medical misadventures seem to take a great page out of the Laurel and Hardy Fool’s Playbook, with often very funny results, such as a fat person having their stomach removed to prevent hunger, or on a more macro scale, the characters’ ready acknowledgement of his clear stupidity.
The self-inserts or “true to life” comics might be my favourite of all though, perhaps because the vast majority are so wonderfully hyperbolic you can’t help but laugh. Funnily enough though, the humour works both ways. Either you’re laughing at Nate’s unquellable sense of “destined for greatness-ness” in his fantastical depictions of himself as a world renowned musician in ‘In The Zone’, sportsperson in ‘Strikes Again’, or as a superhero throughout the series. That, or you’re laughing because the depictions of his classmates are equally as silly. Take the comic in ‘On A Roll’, where, in the midst of his rivalry with his Belarusian classmate, Artur “Mr. Perfect” Pashkov, where he portrays him as having smooth-brained adults grovelling at his every move, even if he has no clue why, which results in a very comical little aside. As I mentioned earlier though, while in the wrong hands, all of this could make Nate look like a total prick, Pierce writes it in a way where it feels like you implicitly know Nate’s being unreasonable, but you play along anyway because it’s funny. Nor, incidentally, is the comedy in the books ever just “adults dumb, kids rule”, which is a very easy trap for kids writers to fall into, but one that Lincoln avoids very well by, shocker, writing adult characters with actual depth! Who’d have thunk it? A key example would be Nate’s dad, who could very well just be painted as a big dumbass, but instead is often seen to be, yes, slightly naive, but ultimately good natured and well-meaning.
I did say there was a difference between the books and the comics though, which I think is mostly to do with the format. With the novels being full-length adventures, they fit much better into a sitcom style format, whereas the comics, being short and sweet, fit much better to a one-liner format, despite often multi-strip storylines. Take the random comic below I found from January 2006. It doesn’t really do much else aside from being a very good joke, a set up, followed by an amusing build up and chuckle worthy pay off. A lot of them are written in a similarly goofy fashion, but sometimes you do get touches of the occasional sardonicism you might catch from a Gary Delaney, again Jack Dee, or maybe even Arnold Brown in some cases, where the teachers are baffled by Nate’s wilful ignorance. Pierce doesn’t just limit himself to writing comedy for kids though, as demonstrated by the great comic where Nate accidentally describes Mrs. Godfrey as a dominatrix. That said, Lincoln of course has no problem just being straight up goofy a great deal of the time as well. A lot of the comics make me feel as though Lincoln could’ve just as easily been a comedy writer who did cartoons as the other way round.
I would like to just vent about something very quickly though, and something which, equally, I’m pretty sure Lincoln doesn’t have any hand in, and that is some of the needless over-commercialisation or generally spreading thin of the franchise. I’m not of course talking about the comic compilation books, or the interactive “create your own comic” type books, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit. No, instead, I’m talking about things like the Big Nate Musical. It doesn’t exactly surprise me, nor should it anyone, that Lincoln didn’t write any of this, because I don’t think I’ve ever had such an instant reaction of “oh god why?” to many other things in my entire life. That’s not just because it’s a smaller stage production, I understand not every show can be West End ‘Wicked’ level, but more so because it imbues Big Nate as a property and it’s characters with a sense of the kind of grade-A cheesiness that I’m pretty sure would make Nate vomit in his mouth, and so that, along with the comedy just being so much more awkward and unfunny, sort of fell at the first hurdle. Arguably more infuriating though, is the recent Paramount+ animated show, featuring Ben Giroux, Kevin Michael Richardson, and even Dove Cameron of all people. It fails so hard on so many fronts it’s almost impressive. Not only is the 3D animation style absolutely butt ugly, but it reverses nearly every bit of praise I had for the series. The humour that was often sarcastic, wry, and nuanced, is now mostly reduced to generic children’s slapstick and unfunny jokes, and what sarcasm there is comes across so annoying and forced. On top of that, nearly every character has become completely one dimensional, which is exactly what I said would happen in the wrong hands. Now everyone is either kind of irritating in the case of characters like Ellen or Dee Dee, stereotypically mean like with Mrs. Godfrey, or, with characters like Principal Nichols, Nate’s dad, or even Nate himself, a complete bumbling buffoon. It then creates the odd situation of a show where you don’t really want to root for anyone. It shouldn’t surprise you a single bit then, that Lincoln, again, didn’t write it. I hate to be this disparaging, but I think it’s the fact that I love the original series so much that makes the idea that this is some people’s first exposure so sad.
Mainly though, I think Big Nate, if given the recognition I think it deserves, should go down as one of the best kids’ literature franchises of the 21st century. Through what is essentially a long line of comics in book form, Lincoln Pierce has created a book series with more nuanced characters, visual creativity, and effective humour than the vast majority of contemporary kids media, which is no small feat. So, I implore you, please go buy the books with the links at the bottom of the article. If you can’t, there’s also a series of great audiobooks on YouTube. Admittedly, you do lose a lot of the visual comedy, but the narrator does a pretty brilliant job. Finally, you can of course visit GoComics where new Big Nate comics are posted daily. I’ve had a good chuckle at a fair few. Right from the first book, Nate Wright knew he was destined for greatness. I’d say he achieved it.
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