ImageTexT, Vol. 1 no. 2 (Fall 2004) ISSN: 1549-6732 Alan Moore and the Graphic Novel: Confronting the Fourth Dimension By Mark Bernard and James Bucky Carter 1. Though comic books and graphic novels are earning more serious academic consideration than ever, in relation to one of the foremost goals of twentieth century art and literature, comic books may be more important and innovative than even the most open-minded of scholars have yet to realize. Comics, graphic novels, and sequential art belong to a rich artistic and literary tradition due in no small part to their ability to utilize the techniques of cubism and futurism. This is not a new assertion. Will Eisner ( Comics and Sequential Art; Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative) and Scott McCloud ( Understanding Comics), among many others, have examined comic art's multiple influences from forms and movements considered "high" or fine art. What has hitherto been unexplored, however, is how purely sequential art forms utilize aspects of these movements to fulfill the elusive goals and ideals of many of cubism and futurism's most renowned creators via a unique relationship with the space-time continuum. Indeed, no media before or after the comic book, and more specifically, the graphic novel, has fully bridged the fourth dimension as well. Comics and graphic novels, we argue, constitute the 20th century culmination of the goals of these other pivotal modern and postmodern genres. 2. Before moving this argument forward, it is imperative to establish an understanding of what is meant herein by the term "fourth dimension." The term to us refers to a special relationship with space and time wherein the two conflate such that infinite multiple dimensionalities become simultaneously present. When the reader's interaction, his or her own space-time, is accounted for, this evocation of space-time becomes quite literal and expands exponentially. The fourth dimension is bridged by human experience and interaction. The spontaneous, real-time interplay of all these forces at once create an ethereal dimension of its own, also what we refer to as the fourth dimension. Therefore, the fourth dimension is defined as simultaneous, multitudinous dimensionality deeply entwined in and part of individual experience. There is special artistry in sequential art and narratives in the relationship of this metaphorical and literal space-time continuum. This artistry does not make the comic book or graphic novel superior to all art, but unique in its absolute expression of ideals that modernist writers and artists sought independently (and therefore less successfully) in their writings and sketches. © 2004 Mark Bernard and James Bucky Carter (all rights reserved). This essay is the intellectual property of the author and cannot be printed or distributed without the author's express written permission other than excerpts for purposes consistent with Fair Use doctrine. The layout and design of this article is © 2004 ImageTexT (all rights reserved) and cannot be reproduced without the express written permission of the editor.