I went on holiday in Oregon for 10 days, and came back engaged. Yay!...
Welly welly welly. Lots has happened since my last update... the NSI PlayWriters came and went -- holy crap, that looked like fun. Can't wait to hear more about it!
I went on holiday in Oregon for 10 days, and came back engaged. Yay! Did you know they have no sales tax in Oregon? Also yay!
And, as you may have heard , Sandrine has finished the pencils for Abigail's War. They are knocking Robert & I out! Damn, it's going to be exciting to see them in colour.
One of the things that's been really interesting in this process has been seeing just how different all the books are from one another... from the comedy and action-packed to the horrific to the dramatic to the almost-literary.
It's got me thinking. Do most comics readers read all kinds of comics? Is there a lot of room for something that's a bit more melancholy -- or is the readership a heckuva lot smaller?
I know, Sandman. But... is it the exception the proves the rule?
Alan Moore manages to do it all, and I love the headier stuff. But even I (who considers myself really tolerant of a read that's a slow, subtle burn...) am making my way through Promethea and rushing through the metaphysical hoo-ha, anxious to see Sophie Bangs battle the possessed mayor.
So tell me. Do you read it all, or do you stick with a particular genre in comics?
Comments
00:49 Wed May 28th, 2008
Well my first real experience with comics was The New Teen Titans and since taking that hit, my addiction has always been slighted towards the pervert-suit books. Now when I chase the dragon, I look for men in tights and those amazing costumes that help women defy gravity along with the hit of Vertigo, Westerns and the odd art book like the new Tank Girl books.
03:55 Wed May 28th, 2008
'Do most comics readers read all kinds of comics?' No. Certainly not in North America, where there are fairly distinct camps of hardcore fans that won't venture from their preferred style of comic, be it superhero, artcomix, or manga. As for what I read...well, I work a shift at a comic shop each week primarily so I get to read everything and not feel guilty about not buying it. Not AS guily, anyway. Being cheap and poor, I'm quite a bit pickier when it comes to what I'll spend money on. 95% of the time, whatever it is will come in trade paperback format, just because my wife and I are both terribly disorganized and that's the only form where a six issue storyline won't be immediately spread to six different corners of the house. I don't discriminate in terms of genre. I buy POWERS trades when they come out. Anything by Paul Grist gets picked up in trade. GUTSVILLE I've been buying in singles, mostly on the strength of the overall package of the first issue (best overall use of the floppy comic format in ages, IMO.) AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS is great fun and I can't wait for some new stuff with the characters. Anything from Dan Schaffer, but especially DOGWITCH, the third and final volume of which is coming out from Image shortly. Anything I come across from Junji Ito, who's the best horror comic creator I've ever read. Anything with art by Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, or Sean Phillips will likely get picked up at some point, if not immediately. Anything written by Brubaker, Bendis, Ellis, Paul Cornell, Morrison or Alan Moore gets a look, though I won't buy any writer's work sight unseen anymore. I'm probably missing some, but that's what I've got off the top of my head. foley
05:04 Wed May 28th, 2008
I wouldn't dream of speaking for everyone, so I'll speak for me. Here's a quick but revealing sampling of my TPB/Hardcover shelf: Exiles Volume 1-15 Absolute Sandman Strangers in Paradise The Ultimates X-Men: Age of Apocalypse The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born JLA: Tower of Babel Knightfall WildC.A.T.s: Gang Way and Homecoming (Alan Moore's run) Kingdom Come Serenity Rose (KIEWT!) Phonogram Kabuki: Circle of Blood Terra Obscura League of Extraordinary Gentlemen The Books of Magic Criminal We3 The Boys The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Understanding Comics, Making Comics Universe X Cerebus Why I Hate Saturn So it might look like I'm biased towards Superheroes but that's actually just a sampling. A bunch of my non-pervert-suit stuff rests next to my bed, in another storage area or in the possession of other peeps.
05:18 Wed May 28th, 2008
Woo! Congrats on the engagement, Yen! Mozeltov! As far as comics go, while I do have a natural tendency towards lighter superhero fare, I have made the effort to branch out in my old age, though I'd hardly say I read 'everything'. Aside from Sandman--which, as you say, is a given--I'm also a big fan of 100 Bullets, Y:The Last Man (although I'm way, way behind on it), Fables, Strangers In Paradise, and Blue Monday (come back and make more, Chynna Clugston, please!). I'm also wholly responsible for getting my anime-addicted nephew-in-law hooked on Jeff Smith's Bone, a feat for which I am extremely proud of myself.
06:33 Wed May 28th, 2008
Congratulations, Jenn! I spent part of my honeymoon in Oregon but my fond memories of the place will pale compared to yours! And here I thought I was having a good year! You are so right about the different Z2H books being made, and like you, I look forward to reading them all. In print. As to your question, like Fett I can only speak for me. Super heroes is where I started and they will always be my favorites. Having said that, however, I also enjoy, and have collected many other titles and genres over the years from Western to Science Fiction to Fantasy to Horror and much more. And as I have aged I have learned to appreciate a wider range of material both in the books I read and the comics I enjoy. We'll all be expecting our invitations now!
07:57 Wed May 28th, 2008
Congrats on the engagement, Jennica! I read anything that catches my eye, regardless of genre, but the majority of my collection has a lot of action and/or humour. Nonetheless, that ranges from typical superheroes to Lobo to Kabuki to The Tick to Buffy to The Dark Tower, and on and on. I'm sure I'd pick up AW if I saw it on a comic store shelf or if you waved me over to your table at a con.
08:00 Wed May 28th, 2008
Heck, I even have a copy of Cowboys and Aliens on my shelf, co-written by some guy named Andrew Foley...
15:51 Wed May 28th, 2008
Congrats on the engagement! Honestly, I'll usually read anything anyone suggests to me, or hands me. I only started reading Sandman because I took one of those personality quizzes ('Which Endless are you?' ... I was Dream! Woo!) and I expressed my ignorance as to who these characters were. One guy's reaction to that was along the lines of 'OMFGWTF', so I went out and bought the first issue and now I own hundreds of comics. Though admittedly, if you're going to have a lot of text in your comics, for the love of god, make it interesting!
16:23 Wed May 28th, 2008
Engaged! Congratulations! Did you propose, or were you proposed to? As for comics reading - I don't know what 'most people' do. I think there's two kinds of comics: good and bad. There's definitely room for something melancholy. Try reading Will Eisner's 'A Life Force' or 'Invisible People' or 'Dropsie Avenue' - he's acknowledged as one of the Great Masters of comics - Not to mention Alan Moore's 'Swamp Thing' and the subsequent volumes of 'Hellblazer' - very moody and heady. Warren Ellis' 'Planetary' is spooky and atmospheric, but punctuated with his trademark 'big screen action'. Also look at 'Blankets' by Craig Thompson for more of an indy auto-bio type of thing, but very angsty and introspective. So yeah, I think there's room in the world of comics for every kind of good story.
16:29 Wed May 28th, 2008
Congratulations on the engagement! As for comics, from what I've seen of other people's stuff, a lot of people are very superheros oriented. Heck, some people only get from one of the big two. And then there are the manga fans that don't want to go any fartehr into the shop than those shelves (though I suspect they have a fear of things falling on them) and, well, people like their own genre. The more comics someone picks up in a week, though, the more likely it is that they will pick up something outside their genre. The thicker the file they have on Wednesday, the more variety they tend to have. As for me, I like anything with a sci-fi or supernatural element. Which means I like my super heroes, but also like Faker, Y: The Last Man, Fables, Transmetropolitain, Books of Magic and other titles I've been told are "girly" comics.
00:48 Fri May 30th, 2008
How could I forget? The Boys! Dark funny stuff like The Boys or The Pro are great too - as well as dark(ish) touching stuff like the Flight anthologies and We3 (soooo good
00:52 Fri May 30th, 2008
How could I forget? The Boys! Dark funny stuff like The Boys or The Pro are great too - as well as dark(ish) touching stuff like the Flight anthologies and We3, soooo good (said in Teen Girl Squad voice) I'm also really digging Sky Doll- that French comic Marvel has translated into English and released in good 'ol NA. (the French got some niffty stuff!)
05:20 Fri May 30th, 2008
'Heck, I even have a copy of Cowboys and Aliens on my shelf, co-written by some guy named Andrew Foley...' Not the highlight of either my or Fred Van Lente's career, I'm sad to say. But you do work-for-hire, you takes your chances. Foley
03:19 Sat May 31st, 2008
Thank you so much for your congrats, everyone! CW, I was proposed to. On a beach at sunset in our favourite little Oregon town. (And yes, I am the FIRST PERSON ever to be proposed to at sunset on the beach. :) And thanks to all of you for being so specific about the stuff you read, like, and recommend! I've read a bunch of things on your lists... Blankets, The Pro, We3, etc. But this was such a great way to hear about some new things!
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Jessica
00:43 Wed May 28th, 2008
I read everything... but I have a soft spot for the darker, more unique stuff. Like "Gutsville", my new fave. Or dark cute stuff like Gloomcookie, or Lenore, Squee, JTHM, (anything by Slave Labour really) and the classic horror Lovecraft homage stuff. Twisted fairytales like Return to Wonderland (but not Fables - much as I want to like it, its just not very deep IMHO) are also staples in my collection. Yeah, I've got some obligatory men in tights titles, but its mostly batman (Long dark halloween, Arkham Alyssum, even No Man's Land) I also have Nightbreed, Hellraiser and Sandman, natch. And Congratulations!!