[Kirby]

Recently, it was asked in the suggestion box if there could be another forum dedicated to comic books, web comics, and user made comics. Then it was suggested that we just take our dorky talk over to the book club. How would you guys feel about letting us stinky nerds come in to talk about whether or not superman should have been married to Lois Lane or bitching about how they're gonna kill off Prof X in issue #236.

Also, I've been crazy courious what people think about comic books in this day and age and this is a nice excuse to talk about it.

[SithAvenger]

I love comic books and I think the comic book sub-forum should be made.

[floppydisk]

Me lovey comic books. Especially X-men.

I am however, dissapointed with many comics today. They simply aren't as good as they were in the good ol' days, as evidenced by the fact that both the Spiderman and the X-Men that I get suck. The Uncanny X-Men were soooo good in the 70's and 80's. In fact, screw this. I'm going to read my big X-Men anthology thing in a couple of minutes.

[Rhubarb]

Anyone who's read Alan Moore's work knows that comic books can be just as pretentious and incomprehensibly arty as novelised literature. Hell, I've got this thing here by him, The Birth Caul, I can't understand a fucking word of it. Anything smarter than me earns an automatic 'literature' classification.

[Rhubarb]

Actually, I'm vaguely shocked to learn that you assumed comics to be seperate from literature at all.

[Kirby]

Like you said, anything can be arty and pretentious, it just depends on the content of the work. The thing is that most people who don't read comic books just group the whole medium as another superman slugfest with no intelectual value whatsoever. I feel that comics are a matter of content over medium, like books you wouldn't put 'See Spot Run' in the same leauge as 'Great Expectations'.

I think that comic books should not be outside the relm of reputable writing (agian its a matter of content, 'Plastic Man' would just be some mindless fun, while 'Legends of the Dark Knight' would be some damned serious shit). I just wanted you guy's input on the matter before we started flooding this place with rants about the new Fantastic Four movie.

Because, well... to be fair... we really arn't going to talk much about the arty work of Darick Robertson and Warren Ellis (makers of Transmetropolitan).

[barend]

i voted: Maybe so, it's complicated, I'll explain in my post.

but here i am...

not explaining anything...


I don't know what say, except...


LOBO RULES!!!

[Heccubus]

The problem with comic books, as I see it, is that there are far too many collectors who buy them just to have them. They don't read them, appreciate the art or the writing, they just want to have a big collection of comic books in plastic bags that they can show off to their friends. There's only one series of comics that I collect, "Akira" by Katsuhiro Otomo. Anyone who argues that that story can't be classified as literature just isn't home upstairs. Comics can tell stories that are far more intense, intricate, and unique than books can at times. I think the whole "rots your brain" bit comes from the fact that your imagination isn't put to work as much as it is with a book. You have the images right before your eyes, rather than having to picture characters and situations in your mind.

[Jaded Wolf]

Comic books are just as important as regular books. I love to read regular books and imagine the world and the characters to my liking but I also like to read comic books about superheroes and see what their world looks like. A lot of comic books are getting better nowadays because they are hitting at core subjects such as prejudice, racism, and other society-related issues. I think they can be considered literature. Quite a few comic book characters have now become icons like Spider-man, Superman, Batman, Captain America, and so many others.

The problem with comic books, as I see it, is that there are far too many collectors who buy them just to have them. They don't read them, appreciate the art or the writing, they just want to have a big collection of comic books in plastic bags that they can show off to their friends. There's only one series of comics that I collect, "Akira" by Katsuhiro Otomo. Anyone who argues that that story can't be classified as literature just isn't home upstairs. Comics can tell stories that are far more intense, intricate, and unique than books can at times. I think the whole "rots your brain" bit comes from the fact that your imagination isn't put to work as much as it is with a book. You have the images right before your eyes, rather than having to picture characters and situations in your mind.

Yeah I can't stand that. I bag and board my comics but I'll pull them out every now and then a read them again. Right now I am re-reading through "X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse" storyline. I try to keep them in good shape but I'm not anal enough to never touch them again.

This post has been edited by Jaded Wolf: 15 November 2007 - 04:22 PM

[TruJade]

I can't handle people who think comic books
are not real literature.

That may have been true for some genres
but comics have evolved much like
video games for a mature audience.

I don't think 25 years ago we would have read about the
intimate and physical romances between Justice Leaguers.
The only difference between a 'traditional' book and
a comic book is the appreciation of artwork, colour and style.

It has nothing to do with lazy minds or unimaginative readers.
I think it is a great way to past the timeand considering the decline in reading among
children and adults what is wrong with something that everyone can enjoy.
Age appropriate material of course

Sometimes people just wanna hate
and it drives me crazy

[wallabyeyes]

I periodically lapse into comic fandom if i find a cartoonist i like.
Super-hero books don't interest me. the X-men will always have a special place because that's what i grew up with, though i admit to watching more episodes of the show than the actual book, hehehe.
I started reading comics seriously later in life.
The Hernandez Bros., Daniel Clowes, Frank Miller, R. Crumb, Will Eisner, Walt Kelly, Chester Brown, Masamune Shirow, even Dave Sim. All masters of their craft.
Certain titles here and there too. I can only stomach some manga. Ranma 1/2 is good for a laugh in small doses. 'Blade of the Immortal' has great style. I haven't delved into The Sandman yet. Same with the Alan Moore-scripted books i own. Saving 'em for a rainy day. I haven't been able to find any Moebius books in my local comic shops, unfortunately. There's a huge batch of French cartoonists that i'll probably start getting into when I'm jonesing for a good read.
I like some quarterlies, like MOME and Drawn and Quarterly and Kramer's Ergot.

If only i could write and draw.

[Legion]

Akira was just freakin' godly. I finished reading that only a month or so ago.

Now I have another reason to be afraid of that freaky LSD sun baby they show in Teletubbies.


Now then. I'm in full agreement that comics are a part of literature. As long as a great and epic story is being told, and it doesn't suck harder than a four-year old in Michael Jackson's closet, I'm willing to consider anything literature. Obviously there are some works that are greater than others, but it's all the same to me; a marvelous way to step out of my own world for a while and into someone else's.

My personal taste in comics tends along the humorous and the supernatural. My favourites are:


From the East:

- Ranma 1/2; because crossdressing hilarity and more martial arts than a bad DBZ fanfic just makes my cup runneth over. I've been following the series since my cousin Selan introduced me to it nearly eight years ago. Reading it made me laugh and realise just how much fun it was possible to poke at martial arts movies and books. It also made me find a new respect for pandas with whiteboard markers.

- Petshop of Horrors because Count D is just plain awesome. Period.

- Yami No Matsuei. Okay it's shounen-ai and hints at sweaty mansex, but it thankfully never shows any of it. The entire series is almost romantically sombre and dark, and the antagonist has a wonderfully-detailed persona - oh who am I kidding, the fucker is just plain badass. In anime any character with fake body parts, oddly-coloured hair, disfigurements or a profession that involves helping people is automatically uber - and Doctor Muraki Kazutaka has silver hair and a mechanical eye. 'Nuff said. As far as the dark and supernatural storylines go this is by far my number one: and fantastic though it was the anime didn't do it justice.


And from the West:

- Chakan The Forever Man. It's obscure and old but dammit it's fucking awesome. Dead guy with swords and magic, cursed to live forever by Death himself until all evil has been eradicated. Not to mention it's hard to find protagonists with such wicked-looking hats. Probably the only Western comic that competes with my beloved Descendants of Darkness.

- Lenore, because dead girls are oh-so-adorable and Mr Goosh couldn't take a hint if it was wrapped around a two-by-four. Cuddles for everybody!

- The Phantom. Ghost Who Walks, motherfuckers.

- Dominic Deegan. Technically a webcomic but it has published books out now so that's good enough for me. Great characters, awesome storylines and the artwork is a nice East-meets-West dealie with emphasis on West. Three cheers for lower back problems.

- Sinfest. Same as above but with emphasis on East. I want a laptop with Slick's monogram on the top, just like he has. I also want the ability to converse with God, so I can ask him what the fuck he was smoking and can I have some so I can sell it.


I'd love to draw my own comic but sadly I can't draw to save my life. I can write damn well though, so I'll have to settle for that.


Edit: A single spelling error. Does this make me an English Nazi?

This post has been edited by Legion: 27 December 2007 - 09:41 AM

[princesskadee]

the old school transformers comics from marvel were pure bliss

[Lord Aquaman]

I can't handle people who think comic books
are not real literature.

That may have been true for some genres
but comics have evolved much like
video games for a mature audience.

I don't think 25 years ago we would have read about the
intimate and physical romances between Justice Leaguers.
The only difference between a 'traditional' book and
a comic book is the appreciation of artwork, colour and style.

It has nothing to do with lazy minds or unimaginative readers.
I think it is a great way to past the timeand considering the decline in reading among
children and adults what is wrong with something that everyone can enjoy.
Age appropriate material of course

Sometimes people just wanna hate
and it drives me crazy

People like that are just snobs. Pay them no mind.

[looktothesky]

I wanted to get into reading more graphic novels / comic books. Where would be a good place to start?

I've been reading Fables, and Y The Last Man, and I love them to death. Are there any comics that are similar to these that I might like? I'm not looking for manga or any animu crap, either. That phase is over for me. lol.

(says the girl with an anime-like avatar)

This post has been edited by looktothesky: 09 January 2008 - 04:19 PM