Comics Snobery: My Comics Are Better Than Yours

I'm a secret comics snob. OK, maybe not so secret. There are comics that I simply groan or ignore almost all the time. I don't read cheesecake comics. I don't read biography comics. I loathe the idea of movie adaptation comics or comics that tie into a movie. Often the thought of cross-overs in super hero comics gives me depression. These are just a few examples. I struggle with being able to judge a work without preconception. This isn't limited to comics. The older I get, the more I seem to jump to what I think I know about something, rather than open myself to experiencing it before making a judgment. 

I want to be the type of fan that sees a "new" #1 on the shelf and not think;
"great, another marketing ploy to get me to buy this title again", but it’s increasingly harder to do. It’s perhaps why I have been moving more and more to creator owned comics. I’m far more likely to buy a comic that the creator had control over from start to finish. By doing that, am I missing out on the shared experiences that the comics community has with continuity books? Has this increase in snobbery led me back to a life of comics isolation? 

Part of the fun of rediscovering comics is the community. The community still spends a lot of its time talking Marvel & DC books, books that I don't really read much anymore. By not reading these books I do feel more and more of a comics outsider. It’s this struggle to weigh the enjoyment of reading a book for the enjoyment of reading it, vs. reading it and then having the pleasure of discussing it with the community, that I find myself pondering.

At this point in my comics life I find the pleasure of reading independent comics and dismissing the comics I have a bias against to be the best option for me. Am I missing out? Probably. Does my snobbery have an isolating effect? Absolutely. Is there an answer to this problem? Unclear. Do you have bias against certain comics? Do you feel your prejudice has hurt your enjoyment of comics? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Till next time True Believers....

Writing Outside The Lines: Article For Comics Bulletin

I'm taking the week off from posting but have no fear! I was lucky enough to be able to write an article for Comics Bulletin about Matt Fraction's book Casanova Vol1 with the great great writers Daniel Elkin , Jason Sacks and Keith Silva  you can find the post here:

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/4978/kissing-casanova-lust-in-luxuria/

Let me know what you think!

Next week we return to our regularly scheduled musings. 

A Dark Confession: The Sin of Gluttony

     Yesterday I realized something. I spend more time talking about, researching, and buying comics than I do reading them. Before you even think it, yes I realize that the problem of having too much to read, too many great things to choose from, isn't really a problem. I recently wrote about hoarding in an earlier blog post, but that is a different than what I’m writing about today. 
     Sadly, my trade & graphic novel shelf I've only read half of and yet I continue to find and buy more books everyday that I want to read and add to this ever growing pile. This doesn't account for digital comics, back issue comics, magazines and it goes on from there. This isn't a new occurrence, the need to own everything that has the potential to bring great entertainment, great understanding and experience amazing work is a drive I feel constantly.

     I know the answer is to stop, enjoy what I have, that nothing is going anywhere and there is no one to answer to if I don't read something. Yet here I am. I find myself wondering if this is a larger problem endemic in our society. That we have such a consumer driven culture that we never can enjoy the moment because there is more and more to take in. Or is this something that only I feel, and need to find inner peace in individual moments? I find that I have such enthusiasm for something initially, and once I’ve begun to sate that desire to experience a creators work, there is something else that I find out about that pulls me away and starts the cycle anew. I have no clear answer, only questions, and that next book I need to read.

A Perfect Storm, The Con Is On.

     I recently attended the Rose City Comic Con in Portland Oregon. This was my first comic con that I had ever gone to by myself.  My wife usually accompanies me, and she, not being the fan of comics I am, has been a grounding rod for my unbridled nerdcitement at these events. That being said, I had a great time at  this particular con.  No terrible social catastrophes happened that I was aware of. Still, after this time in particular, I have been thinking about the Comic Con and the strange social phenomena it has become.

     My biggest fear at a con is meeting a creator I admire and having it be a bad experience. Nothing would be worse for me, than to have a bad encounter with a creator and having their work forever tarnished for me. So far I haven't had anything but good or neutral encounters with creators. I try to keep my wits about me, act like a human, and have done my homework when meeting these people. And that's the key, people. They are people just like their fans.  With lives and stress and ups and downs. I try to keep that in mind at the con, but at the same time, they make my most cherished form of entertainment and I fear that bad meeting so much. Have you had great experiences with meeting creators? What about bad? How did it affect your enjoyment of their work?

     That brings me to another etiquette question of the con: should you always buy something from anyone you want signatures or quick sketches from? Ill admit it, I'm shy. and the comic con is a group of socially awkward people meeting other socially awkward people. That being the case, asking someone to do something for free for me, like make a quick sketch in my sketch book because I'm a fan, terrifies me. I know you aren't obligated to buy anything from anyone at a con, and how can anyone afford to buy something from everyone, right? But I still feel that need to get something, to buy a print, a comic or something if I'm going to ask for signatures or a quick sketch. Full disclosure actually, Ive never been able to bring myself to ask for a quick sketch.  My sad little sketch book is blank. How do you do this?

     Finally one of the strangest phenomenons of the comic con are the cos players. Don't get me wrong, I love me a fat Spiderman or a sexy Hulk as much as the next guy. At the same time I have seen an increasing number of fair weather cute girls who have probably read a handful of comics going to cons to get attention rather than immerse themselves in the con itself. Its not a big complaint, but more of an observation that has been getting more and more apparent each year. What are your feelings on the cos players at cons?

     At this point the Comic Con is a strange, wonderful experience that both terrifies and thrills me. I have met great people, discovered awesome work I didn't know about before, and had great personal and family experiences at. I take the Con to be a challenge to my social phobia's and to ground me in my comics reading experiences. What are your feelings about the comic con? I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

My Favorite Genre - Infinite Possibilities

 

     Just a quick musing this week about my favorite genera of literature, science fiction. Of all the types of books, TV, movies we have to choose from, science fiction has always been the most stimulating and enjoyable to me. It’s for this reason that comic books, not just "science fiction" comics are so special and exciting. Comics have the ability to be a romance comic, yet still retain the fantastical, the absurd and the majestic while being considered to be locked into a certain subtype. Furthermore as a younger person, reading super hero comics to me was no different than a lot of science fiction books I was reading. These people, alien's, super beings were all science fiction master pieces and helped grow my imagination beyond our world out to the stars.

     These days my science fiction options are more plentiful than ever. My favorite comics on the shelf, The Manhattan Projects, Prophet, Hell Yeah, and Saga are all pure science fiction stories. But even a new favorite like The Rocketeer with its 1930's themed story line and retro feel has that feeling of sci fi, that anything is possible, can and probably will happen. Comics in general embody that spirit of science fiction. The medium lends itself to be without restraint, the only limit being what your mind can imagine. Its science fiction that brought us to the moon, to mars, eventually to the stars and the universe. 

     What is your favorite type of comics? Why? What works we're most formative for you growing up and what keeps you dreaming now?

The New Criticism - Only Half The Story

I was talking earlier this week with my friend Keith Silva about the book Black Kiss II and how it made little sense to me. After some discussion and back story, I looked up Black Kiss 1, and read some of the history of the book. This interaction got me thinking; how much about the creators of a book should we as readers research before we read it?

In the literature world there is the idea of  The New Criticism which essentially is that a work should be judged solely by its self, leaving the intention of the author, the history, the context of the works all behind. How much does this apply to the medium of comics? Not only do we have a writer, but often the artist’s interpretation of the writer’s script or the way a colorist does a book can affect the story and how a piece is received as well. Should we, as readers, spend the time for each book we read learning the background, the motivation of the creators to better understand the comic we are reading?

I’ll admit I am thinking of this subject from a bit of a comic book snob’s point of view. I'm not sure for a lot of mainstream titles understanding the creators even make a difference. Most “Big Two” super hero books have as much editorial input as the creators do, so the freedom for creation and storytelling is hindered in that regard. I'm talking more about creator owned books, graphic novels or zines where the creators are free to write whatever story they want to present.

I have thought a lot about how much I want to know about a creator and their motivations for producing a particular piece. My conclusion is this: It is the responsibility of the reader to do the research. Literature; be it novels or comics, that are creator owned and produced, are highly personal. In that regard knowing where a creative team is in their life, what works they have made in the past that have led them to this point, and what possible commentaries the creators are making about society, will often make a work more enjoyable and far more fulfilling to an informed reader. With access to a plethora of podcasts, web sites, reviews and interviews, most of the time it’s not hard to find out about a book and a creative team before you read their work. So New Critics out there, you are only eating half the cake. Do your research and enjoy the full richness of a comic.