As a kid, I used to love reading comics. I still do, actually. My parents, concerned that I would fail at school, thought that it was not ‘serious reading’ and that I was wasting my time, while I should be studying math and physics instead. During a move from one house to another, my mom thought it was a good opportunity to get rid of most of my comic books, without ever asking me. I did realize it shortly afterwards, of course, but it was too late by then.
Anyway, I am now a grown-up and I still love reading comic books, and have filled quite a few shelves with them – for I have to admit that I find it hard to enjoy comics electronic format. From Dilbert to Watchmen, Calvin & Hobbes and Maus, I buy them, read them, and re-read them, reappraising the story and the drawings. I still have my old Tintin, Iznogood and Asterix which I keep reading from time to time, just to have a laugh and remember how priceless and timeless they are.
So, when I read Thought Catalog’s “6 reasons you need to start reading comic books” I was this close to calling my parents and explaining to them how wrong they had been all these years. Instead, I decided to share my newly-found insight with people who understand me!
So, here is a brief summary of the 6 reasons you should read comic books:
- Elevating thinking and reading because the brain has to combine both the graphic part and the story part. While books are meant to be read, comic books are designed to be decoded; the story is told both by the text and the picture.
- Although comic books are usually seen as the story of a superhero, they are so much more than that. Just read Maus or Persepolis to get how more fulfilling and encompassing a comic book can be.
- If you do like heroes, comic books offer a variety of perspectives on the same hero: writers and artists vary between series and you can get a glimpse of a different approach to your superhero. How cool is that!
- If, like me, you enjoy going back in time, comic books can journey you through various times, literature and prose, artistic and design fashions of their epoch. Jason Lutes’ Berlin series is an excellent case in point!
- Comic people are fascinating, quirky and challenging, all of them qualities I like.
- You are reading something, which is always a good thing, right?
So, go comic books!
I also enjoyed a lot of comic books when I was a child, mainly Mickey Mouse, Popeye and Lucky Luke although I didn’t keep them but rather shared with my multitude of cousins. As for losing something precious, I am still heartbroken to have lost my favourite bedtime story books since my mum gave them away all one day without asking me while I was at school. I still go round the flea market shops in Athens trying to find copies as I remember them all one by one and it’s been nearly 40 years. So let’s just say, I feel your pain!!
Share the pain, sister; share the pain!
The Asterix books are one of my formative influences. Where else would the silly names come from? Indeed, I’d say my books are just comics, written by someone who can’t be arsed to draw the pictures. Phnark. That’s why the covers are like they are… To try and give readers a clue. McMini loves the Beano and frankly, I don’t care if he reads comics because, like you say, it means he reads. So yeh… Seconded. Go comics.
Cheers
MTM
I consider Goscinny to be one of the greatest comic geniuses of all time, surpassing even Walt Disney. From Lucky Luke to Asterix to Le Petit Nicolas to Iznogoud, his work never fails to make me laugh!
Agreed. The guy is a genius. I read the Asterix books when I was about 7. Every time I read them, I’d get more of the jokes until, eventually, I started looking up the names. Gluteus Maximus, for example. 😉
Cheers
MTM
Comics is serious reading! Over the Hedge is my daily dose of reality sometimes.
Hear hear! I was particularly moved by Up.
I especially love what people like Sacco, Satrapi and Spiegelman have done with the medium. They often have plotlines that rival those of the best books, and artwork that’s simply astonishing.
Not to mention the amazing cross-over work of people like one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, or Tim Burton, who seem to fluidly move from one medium to the other, constantly redefining the media.
Love comics and collected a lot in the 90’s. Got my parents behind me by pointing out that they could be worth something. Though I stuck to Marvel and a little DC mostly. I’m more into Manga these days because I like how the stories (usually) have an ending. I guess I got burned a bit too much by some horrible storylines from Marvel. Seriously, I survived the Spider Clone Saga for 2 years only to be rewarded with the return of Norman Osborn. Ugh. Everybody and their elderly Aunt has a healing factor in Marvel these days.
What about Dark Horse?
I’m curious to see what they do with SHIELD, now it’s been destroyed by Captain America! They have some great writers, but even they should be hard-pressed to dig themselves out of *that* hole!
I think I have some Dark Horse around here. My wife collected the Buffy and Angel comics. Also one called ‘Fables’, which is really good. One comic I always meant to get into, but never did was ‘Hellboy’.
It will be interesting to see what they do. It’s not impossible to get out of that, but I really hope they’re smart about it. Like I said, burned too many times and I’m leery of what Marvel does.
I’m still furious at Angel’s cancellation, just when it was getting really good! As for Buffy, it’s one of the 3 holes in my heart (the other two being left by Twin Peaks and Firefly). Don’t make ’em like they used to no more, no siree!
If they do then FOX gets them and they’re never seem again. I know the tried to continue Angel in comic form. Not sure how that went though.
I’ll check with Elpida, my Whedon fan cousin, to find out what happened to the Buffy and Angel comics. I know she’d been buying them; I’ve even read a few at her place! 🙂
I haven’t paid attention, so I wonder if they’re still going.