Every Wednesday a magical thing happens….fanboys the world over gather at their local comic books shops to celebrate their favorite day of the week, New Comic Day!!! There’s something so fun about being a comic book reader. Each week you go into a store surrounded by people with similar interests and shoot the breeze about comics, movies, computer games…all the typical geek stuff. Each week brings with it the potential for discovering new artists and new stories. Its great! I’m into the more independent and small press stuff but there are great mainstream comics as well. The cool thing about having a local comic book store is that you develop a relationship with the people who work there and they keep their eyes out for new things you might like.
Jeff Smith is my local comic shop guru. I look forward to going in on Wednesdays to talk to him as much, if not more, than I look forward to getting new comics. He has introduced me to some amazing books over the years and always keeps an eye out for things he thinks I would enjoy. Jeff is also my own personal Netflix right now…I currently have his Season Two set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Thank you, Jeff.
Comics will always carry a stigma but if you’re not reading them you’re missing out on an amazing experience. My friend Scott introduced me to comics as an adult on my second solo trip to New York City. He sat me down with Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and I was hooked. Discovering Sandman led me to discovering the novels of Neil Gaiman and thus my obsession with his writing was born. Thank you, Scott.
I think the most amazing thing about comics is that there is truly something for everyone. There are all ages comics like Akiko and Amelia Rules. There are gothic comics like Gloom Cookie and the Courtney Crumrin series. True Story Swear to God is the actual tale of how Tom Beland met, courted, and married his lovely wife-a great one for the romantic in all of us (another thank you to Jeff Smith for recommending this awesome book). There are comics like The Sandman and Hellboy that have rich layers of history and mythology. There is the award-winning Maus: A Survivor’s Tale which tells a poignant story of the Holocaust using animals in place of humans. One of my current favorites is Fables. From the James Jean covers to the amazing interior art and writing, Fables is one amazing series.
I highly encourage you to take the leap, explore your inner child, and open yourself up to the world of comics. You can start with your local library. They carry many of the latest comics in graphic novel format. Then check out your local comic shop. You’ll meet some amazing people and maybe discover the passion that so many of us feel for this great medium.
Carl, cool post! Don’t forget these two awesome books:
Creature Tech by Doug TenNaple (incredibly great allegory)
Blankets by Craig Thompson (really sad but honest tale of lost love)
shameful self-promotion
Craig Thompson is great and I really enjoyed Carnet De Voyage which is a travel journal with random thoughts and great artwork.
Yeah, I love Craig’s artwork. Something about it (maybe it was specifically Blankets) that puts me at ease. (?) Sort of a tranquility to it. Part of that is his pacing.
I’ll have to look for Voyage.
Btw, are you up at all hours too?!
Yes. I know its irrational because I love the feeling of crawling into bed to sleep but I always feel like I’m cheating myself out of life if I don’t stay up…almost like I’m afraid I’ll miss something. I need to go crash now, though.
Yes, I win (tonight)! Still haven’t left work either. Funny, I thought all-nighters would stop with college graduation. Oh well. š
Gotta go get my beauty rest and prepare for the “you’re a comic geek” comments later today. š
Dang, you just had to get the final word, didn’t you?! Oh, no wait, maybe I just did.
Carl, I’ll be the first — YOU’RE A GEEK!
i don’t know if i’d be into reading comics outside just the super hero realm.. to me, it’s a part of escaping from reality.. probably one of the reasons i like scifi in the first place..
Thanks! š
I’ve never found a comic that I really enjoyed. In grade school a bunch of my friends were completely obessed with X-Men. I’ve tried getting interested in a few that you’ve given me but still would rather read an actual book.
My excuse for nearly preferring comics (wow, how sad is that!) is that I’m probably ADD and most definitely a visual learner. I need the pictures and short page count! š
Abby, I just haven’t given you the right stuff! š Comics are definitely good for short attention spans, Rob!
Bone is another very interesting comic series. Its now in a One-Volume format. It is a Lord of the Rings-type epic tale. Interesting mixture of cartoonish looking characters and somewhat realistic looking characters. Its a great tale. Funny, adventurous, romantic, suspenseful.
SciFi Chick started a comics related thread in her forums on her site. There’s some great discussion going on over there. You should check it out.
Hello Carl, I also look forward to Wednesday’s every week. It used to be for the new comics every week but now it is for the friendships I have built of with some of the customers over the years. You’re defiently one of the people I enjoy talking too. We seem to have many of the same interests and you seem like a geniuely good guy. I have worked for Debbie at A to Z for over 8 years now and I have told my wife many times when I quit some day I will really miss all the people I’ve gotten to know so well over the years.
As for comics I really dig. My favorites right now are Planetary, True Story Swear to God, Hellboy, any Jeph Loeb/ Tim Sale projects, Walking Dead, Conan, Artesia, and my latest favorite is Lions, Tigers, and Bears.
Lion, Tigers, and Bears is a comic I can actually read and enjoy with my kids ( ages 5 & 8 ). They love it, too. It’s hard to find anything that’s kid friendly in the comic world. Which is ironic when mainstream people always look down on comics as only being for kids. Most of today’s comics content really is not appropriate for any one 12 years or younger.
Carl I’m going to try and read that new Neil Gaiman short story we got in this last week. If you get a chance to read it too we can discuss it this next week.
Take care, Jeff
You better not be quitting!!! I get the impression from talking to you that your family and mine probably have alot of similarities. I realize that little ones making doing things difficult but I’m hoping we can hook up sometime and hang out. You have an open invitation to any of our guys nights out, etc. Glad you’ve finally made it in here!!!
Can’t believe I have so many comments on this post and no one told me that I had spelled ‘animals’ as ‘amimals’….it has been corrected, thank you for your kindness.
No, I’m not quitting. Can’t afford too. š I wouldn’t mind cutting back from three days a week to just wednesdays though some time this next year. We’ll see how it goes. I also would like to hang out with you some time. Let me know when you have something going sometime.
Will do!
See, browsing through your comics section has been working on re-igniting my comic interest. I’m a fair newbie (go ahead, laugh) considering that I didn’t even start reading comics until the Age of Apocolypse hit the X-universe years ago. Hard to believe this is the 10 year anniversary of that storyline!!