Comic Book Affair

I will admit, I have always judged comic books by that typical stereotype - that they are just full of superheros and fantasy creatures, and are mainly targeted toward 'nerdy' teenagers, not something I would ever be interested in.  Well, I was COMPLETELY wrong!  I have been rather swept away by this amazing world of artistic and alternative comic books which I never knew existed and feel inspired to write about it in this nook.



One blogger that I sometimes follow mentioned that she bought a comic book called 'Soppy', by Philippa Rice.  A light sort of went off in my head as she described the book and I immediately sought it out.  It is all about the little subtleties of being in a relationship, the little everyday moments between someone and their partner that are quite hard to describe; little games they might play, falling asleep on the sofa together, the romance of a power cut in the house. The comic documents the life span of a relationship, starting with the two people as individuals, and following their story as  they move in together and embark on their life together.  The beginning of the blurb on the back of the comic says 'True love isn't always about the big romantic gestures. Sometimes it's about sympathising with someone whose tea has gone cold' and I think this sums it up perfectly.

I absolutely loved reading this comic.  I found it to be gorgeous and funny, maybe because I can relate to many of the stories in it.  Reading it inspired me to look for other comics of a similar nature and I found one called 'Adulthood Is A Myth', by Sarah Andersen.  Again, this comic is extremely witty and funny, and the art in it is great!  The main character represents a 'grown up' who wishes they were still a kid, and still feels like a kid.  The book is full of all the challenges that we might face every day, from dealing with broken wi-fi to awkward dating moments, having to work when all you want is to go home and get in your pajamas, and the difficulties of always fitting into society.  I think this comic is very much directed towards women, as a lot of the issues portrayed are very much female ones (lots of funny 'that time of the month' stories), but my boyfriend read the comic too and found it as funny as I did.  Basically, I think if you are an adult, you will definitely find something in it to relate to!

Well, after reading these I was off on the comic book train.  I visited a local comic book store, also a first, and found  loads of exciting looking comic books.  I am learning that comic books are not just beautiful in their art, but they are also extremely clever.  They tell a story, or multiple stories, in an incredibly compact way, with just a few frames and only one or two lines of speech - I find this really amazing.  Looking at the different styles of comic books is also really interesting.  After doing some research I have found several alternative comic books, which can only be described as works of art.  In particular, I found one called 'Here' by Richard McGuire, which is the story of one corner of one room, and everything that happens in that corner over many years.  I don't think a story like that could work in any other form except that of a comic book.



For my next comic book, I have decided to try one that is told in one longer story, in many volumes - 'Beauty #1', by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley.  Apparently it is a distopian story, which is always something that I love to read about, so I will report back on this one!  As for all the superhero stuff, I admit I am not a huge fan of Marvel so I am not sure I will get so into that, EXCEPT that I did love the Jessica Jones TV-series, so I would be tempted to read some volumes of that, just to compare the original story to the series. I am also a Buffy fan, and can imagine that those comics will find their way onto my bookshelf eventually!

The moral of my story? Would it be too cheesy to say 'don't judge a book by it's cover'?! Maybe.  In any case, I am really excited to be a part of this fascinating world, and would welcome any suggestions about which direction I should go in next!


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