Comics

by John Kirk, January 2001

Hello, my name is John, and I've been reading comics for a long time. When I was little, I started out with the Beano. When I got older (maybe 8 or 9) I moved up to Eagle, which is now sadly defunct. Nowadays, I read American comics, mainly superhero stuff.

I think that lots of people read comics when they're young (the Beano still seems to be going strong), but then stop as they got older. This may be because of the social stigma, or it may just be boredom. However, I think that there is some good stuff out there, which is worth your time. If you like fantasy, then Sandman is the obvious choice. We have all ten anthologies in the library, so start with "Preludes & Nocturnes" and go on from there.

If you like Babylon 5 (certainly a popular choice in ICSF!), then there have been some comics for that too. What's particularly good about these is that they are "canon", i.e. the stuff that happens in the comics is in the same continuity as the TV show. For instance, the comic showed Garibaldi finding Shadow ships on Mars, before it was mentioned in an episode. On a related note, JMS (the creator of B5) writes a comic called "Rising Stars", which I'm enjoying a lot. We now have the first paperback collection in the library, and the others may well follow.

On a more mainstream note, if you enjoy Hollywood blockbusters like "Independence Day" then I'd recommend "Stormwatch" and "The Authority", or more specifically the issues by Warren Ellis. The paperback "The Authority: Relentless" would be a good place to start here.

To give you the full list of comics that I'm getting each month (or when they come out):

• Astro City
• Black Panther
• Captain Marvel
• Fables
• Lucifer
• Rising Stars
• SoulSearchers and Company
• Spider-Girl
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• SpyBoy

There are also some comics where I wait for the paperback collections, rather than buying the individual issues:

• Alias
• The Avengers
• Nightwing
• Powers

I buy my comics from Gosh!, which is located on Great Russell Street, opposite the British Museum. We usually wind up there on the book crawls, so if you come along to the next one then you'll be able to see it for yourself.

Links

Here are some sites I visit regularly. For more results search the links database for Comics. I have more info on comics at my website.

 The Law is a Ass

Link submitted by John Kirk on 2002-10-23

Contents include - Reviews, Information

Subjects include - Science Fiction and Fantasy, Comics

Could Batman testify in court without revealing his secret identity? Basically, discusses how the law is portrayed in comics, and how it would actually work. Updated every Tuesday.
Single page per column, so easy to read.

 You'll All Be Sorry!

Link submitted by John Kirk on 2002-10-23

Contents include - Humour

Subjects include - Science Fiction and Fantasy, Comics

Parodies; I particularly liked the Christmas edition. It's no longer being updated, but there's an archive. The writer (Gail Simone) has also written "real" comics, such as "Simpsons", "Deadpool", and "Agent X".