Comic books. The home of superheroes and supervillains, people in tights. A go-to place for classic stories of good vs evil. Out of this narrow view of the comic book/graphic novel medium there has arisen a major misconception about comic book storytelling in the eyes of the general public. Most people falsely believe that they are only for children, or they only have outlandish, cartoon-like stories with little depth. The mountain of campy superhero films and shows based on some comics has certainly not helped matters. But that's not the only perspective that one should consider.

First of all, everyone should be aware that there is a difference between comic books and graphic novels. Comic books are usually quite short and serialized. The stories they tell, while more often than not aren't made for children, are occasionally geared toward younger audiences. The maturity of the story depends on the publisher, the writer, the characters, etc. Graphic novels however, are much longer, more mature stories. Whereas comic books may generally tell stories that are suitable for young teens and pre-teens to read, graphic novels are geared wholly toward adults, with mature themes, explicit content, graphic violence and thoughtful, complex storytelling. Comic books can also tell similarly adult-oriented content, however. There are a multitude of fantastic stories of various kinds that have gained notoriety among critics as actual literature rather than simply entertainment.

That isn't your granddad's Superman.

Also, comics and graphic novels are not only about superheroes. The misconception that comics are only about people in tights and capes has been perpetuated by the massive monopoly that Marvel and DC comics have on the market. These comic publishers sell stories that are almost entirely (though not exclusively) about superheroes. There are other comic book publishers, however, that have a wider array of stories. Dark Horse comics published "Star Wars" stories for years until Disney purchased the rights to the franchise. And Image comics actually publishes "The Walking Dead" series of graphic novels. That's right, that's the same "Walking Dead" that is now a hit TV series on AMC. The series is based on a continuing run of graphic novels published by Image comics since 2003. Believe it or not, the graphic novels are even more violent than the show.

There are comics or graphic novels about pretty much anything. There are stories about horror, comedy, drama, romance, you name it. There are stories about crime and police or detective work. There are even stories about real-life events. Two examples of these kind of stories would be "Scalped," a crime/western that received a good deal of critical acclaim, and "Maus." a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, about the experiences of the author's father as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It has been categorized as a memoir, a biography, autobiography, and a history among other things. In 1992, it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Even within the realm of superheroes, there are still plenty of great and highly acclaimed stories -- some considered among the greatest of the century. One such story is "Watchmen," written by Alan Moore and published by DC comics in 1986. The story takes place in an alternate 1985, where Richard Nixon is still president, tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union are high, and costumed heroes began popping up in the 1940s. "Watchmen" won the Hugo award and made Time Magazine's list of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century. It was named not just one of the greatest graphic novels, but one of the greatest novels. This graphic novel series, along with other greats, such as "The Dark Knight Returns," "The Killing Joke," and "V for Vendetta," was pivotal for comics and graphic novels to finally be taken seriously in a literary context. Comic books were beginning to tell unique, thought-provoking stories that no other medium could, and people were starting to pay attention.

The widespread appeal of comics and graphic novels has led to countless film and TV adaptations of popular characters and stories. Many of these have become acclaimed and beloved in their own right. Among these are the aforementioned "The Walking Dead" television series, the most watched show on TV, averaging around 15 million viewers or more per episode. "Watchmen" and "V for Vendetta" also got their own film adaptations. "The Dark Knight Returns" had a very dark and brutal animated adaptation, and "The Killing Joke" will get the same treatment this summer. A great film called "A History of Violence," starring Viggo Mortensen, is also based on a crime story graphic novel of the same name. Others include "Scott Pilgrim vs the World," "2 Guns," "300," "Blade," "The Crow" (a fantastic story of love and revenge), "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones," and many, many others. These adaptations of great comic/graphic novel stories help to dilute the effects of campier childish entertainment like the Adam West "Batman" series or the old "Superman" cartoons. A majority of today's comic readers are not your 10-year-old brother back home; they are mature, literate adults looking for wonderfully written, character-driven, compelling and philosophical stories. Indeed, you would probably not want to let anyone much younger than 17 get their hands on many of the stories mentioned in this article.