How do you have any clue where to start on comic books?

[postcards]

You might consider reading through this thread.

[Colibri]

Originally Posted by Modevo

I think I want to start collecting and reading comic books. How do I start? Which ones should I buy first etc.

Since the Cafe Society thread is still active, I have merged this new thread from General Questions with it.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[gonzoron]

Originally Posted by Colibri

Since the Cafe Society thread is still active, I have merged this new thread from General Questions with it.

thus making this post:

Originally Posted by postcards

You might consider reading through this thread.

highly amusing.

[Measure for Measure]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

Ok, so I spent some time this afternoon going through my library's interlibrary loan and requesting stuff.

You could also try another library if that is possible. I'd recommend checking out at least 2 of a series at a time. If it's manga, don't worry if you can't start with book 1 -although I would try to check out consecutive copies: check out volume 3&4 or 6&7, etc. If you like the story, circle back to the beginning.

I find it useful to follow author/writer/creators rather than titles. eg:

Neil Gaiman (Sandman)
Frank Miller (Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Martha Washington)
Alan Moore (Watchman, Top 10, Miracleman)
... and others.

In Japan, manga series are typically penned by a single author, so that advice doesn't apply as much. Recommendations:

Death Note (writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata, both exceptional though the artist's talents are subtler)
Monster (Naoki Urasawa)
Full Metal Alchemist (Better to start at Vol 2, as it is more representative than Vol 1. Often the artist takes a while to find their voice. The author's earlier series were not as good, IMHO.)
Emma (Kaoru Mori)

Some of the stuff is available on online. In fact in the case of Emma, some of it will only be available online.

There's an excellent guide to manga written a couple of years back:
Manga: The Complete Guide by Jason Thompson http://www.amazon.com/Manga-Complete...manga+thompson

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by Modevo

I think I want to start collecting and reading comic books. How do I start? Which ones should I buy first etc.

Anything that you've read before that you liked/disliked? Why?

[Anaamika]

Hi, I wanted to post an update. I think Wednesday....? I picked up a ton of books at the library, and have been reading pretty diligently all weekend. I read every day, some, so I've made quite some progress.

First, the negatives:

- Hellboy - boring, surprisingly. Not enough dialogue, and too much WHAM! BAM! and huge pages of pictures. The pictures are pretty enough, and I like Hellboy a lot, but he's a little too simple-minded for me.
- I also couldn't read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The whole thing is Black and White and nearly pencil drawings at that. If I am going to read comic books why would I want ones without any good drawings in them?

The positive:

- Y the Last Man is fantastic and I've already finished four books of it and am working on the fifth. I requested the next 5.
- Watchmen was indeed much, much better than the movie. A lot of digressions which weren't that great, but a heavy amount of dialogue in almost every panel, a haunting and graphic world, and I understood the Comedian and Nite Owl much better. I still felt like Nite Owl and Silk Spectre got their crappy romance all over my comic books, to coin a phrase, but I understood that more, too.
-Tales of Cthulu - very cool and beautiful artwork.
- The Killing Joke - far, far darker than I ever thought Batman could be, even darker than the current movies. I mean, the treatment of Barbara Gordon was really surprising to me. Good, though.
- Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck was entertaining, though it got tedious long before the end.


So pretty good turnaround, on the whole. I have not started [b]Sandman yet, as I got so into Y The Last Man I didn't want to start another series. I started reading Planet Hulk. It's got similar problems to Hellboy. Big and dumb (or in this case, angsty, though he's got a point) is not really my thing - I prefer intelligence. But I'm only about 10-15 pages in, so I'm going to finish it before I make my final judgement.

So, thanks! Look how well I'm doing.

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

Enjoy Sandman.

[cmkeller]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned yet in this thread, but I'll recommend James Robinson's Starman. I was hesitant to mention it myself because it so heavily uses DC Universe history (most of which has been written out in this "New 52"), but your most recent comments make you sound like less of a comic book novice than I originally took you for, and if you can manage Sandman (which you indicate you plan to tackle after Y the Last Man, which I agree is wonderful), you ought to be able to handle Starman. It not only super-hero action/adventure, but family drama and world-building (well, city-building) fictional history. I think you'll enjoy it.

[Anaamika]

cmkeller, I may be a comic book virgin (well - not anymore) but I know how much of the stuff I like is based on comic books. People think it's only SUPES but if you really get down to the nitty-gritty it is amazing how much is based on comic books, comes directly from comic books, or has comic books based on it!

[GargoyleWB]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

...
- I also couldn't read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The whole thing is Black and White and nearly pencil drawings at that...

The positive:
...
- Watchmen was indeed much, much better than the movie. A lot of digressions which weren't that great, but a heavy amount of dialogue in almost every panel, a haunting and graphic world...

Interesting differences in perspective from mine I'm always amazed how artistic tastes and desires are so subjective. In my case, I think Nausicaa has some of the finest drawing ever put to the page. I also felt the artwork in Watchmen was lifeless and dull and soon felt myself simply reading the text without caring about the art.

[Anaamika]

I admit, I hate boring black and white. I generally avoid black and white movies, too. Yes, this makes me a heathen and uncultured and unsophisticated. I feel, I have these rods and cones in my eyes to see beautiful, brilliant colors. Life is too short for b&w.

[Gerald II]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I really liked the graphic novels of Maison Ikkoku.

I discovered that at a library sale. It was one installment of the thick little books. They have the individual 22 page comics at comic cons and comic shops but I think the better value is the little books. Very good comic by the way.

- probably comedy is the best. I like sharp, biting satire and sarcasm more than physical humor.

Anything by JM DeMatteis & Keith Giffen. Together.
Justice League International, I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League, Formerly Known as the Justice League, The Defenders, Metal Men, Hero Squared.

Alan Moore's 1963.

- I also like sci-fi. I don't generally like romance dirtying up my sci-fi, unless it's superbly done and doesn't hijack the story.
- I love dystopias in any other genre, so I see no reason why I wouldn't love them in comics.

80s anthology comics like Alien Worlds, Alien Encounters, Death Rattle, Ray Bradbury Comics.

Then there's We3, Akira, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ghost In The Shell.

[Gerald II]

I also like Maison Ikkoku. Only have one volume so I need to get more.

Anyways, comicons are fun but you're right, only if you know what you're looking for since nothing is categorized by genre, but instead alphabatized. I've only been to one but the cheap deals you get are worth the crowd.

Here's my list of comics you might like:

Comedy
Justice League International by Giffen, DeMatteis & Kevin Maguire
Hero Squared
I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League
Formerly Known as the Justice League

Science Fiction
Ray Bradbuy Comics
Aliens (series II)
Terminator: The Burning Earth
Alien Encounters
Alien Worlds
Death Rattle
Akira
Ghost In The Shell
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (haven't read it but it's dystopian)
Weird Science
We3
Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol


Horror
Hellraiser from Epic Comics, now being reprinted at comic shops as Hellraiser Chronicles
Tales Of Terror
Twisted Tales

Superhero
The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City
Batman-Legends of the Dark Knight:Faces
Batman-Legends of the Dark Knight: Going Sane

Green Lantern:The Sinestro Corps War(it's fun but compared to the rest you really need to know the characters history)

Daredevil: The Elektra Saga
Elektra: Assassin
Elektra Lives Again (has to be read in that order)

Superman-For the Man Who Has Everything
Superman-Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow

Supreme-Story of the Year
Glory #0, 1, 2
Promethea
Miracleman
1963

Supervillain
Grendel-Devil By The Deed
Grendel-Devil's Legacy (not as good as the first but interesting)
Grendel-The Devil Inside
Grendel-God and The Devil (dystopian)
Batman/Grendel

Strange Surreal
Flaming Carrot
Graphic Muzik
Graphique Muzique
Madman
Flex Mentallo Man of Mystery

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

If I am going to read comic books why would I want ones without any good drawings in them?

To give the actual answer to that, it comes down to the difference between manga and comics.

Both mediums started out as children's fare, nearly a century ago, but there's two massive differences between the US and Japan which caused a divergence in the medium.

The big differences are that Tezuka Osamu made an adult, animated film, whereas Walt Disney never did, and that in Japan, public transportation is and has been the way that people get to work for the last 60 years.

In the US, comic books evolved in such a way as to continue to attract child audiences. They added color to attract them and sold advertising space to help offset the cost so that little kids could afford it.

But in Japan, middle-aged and even elderly business men had nothing to do for 1-2 hours every day but to read on the train. Because of Tezuka Osamu, they had grown up with the impression that animation and comics could be an adult medium. Of course, school kids also ride the train to school, so there is an even more sizable audience for kids and teens manga, but still adult manga has been a sizable market for decades. More importantly, the overall market for manga has been vastly huger on a per capita basis in Japan than it has been here. To produce the mass quantity of manga that it takes to fill 1-2 hours of a person's day, day in and day out, according to the desires of a wide and varied audience of both sexes makes the possibility of doing nicely colored comics entirely unfeasible.

Minus the import of Japanese animation and comics, it's likely that American comics would have taken another decade or two to start targeting adult audiences. Even as is, there is still a singular focus on superheroes and making works for a male-only audience. Japan has been producing a wider array of stories, for more audiences, for far longer. The art might not be in color, but there is more variation in art style.

Watchmen was considered game-changing because it pointed out how limited the medium was, as it was being used in the US. To a Japanese person reading it, that wouldn't have been a big revelation.

By all of which, I'm not saying that you're a bad person because you're limiting yourself to "the shiny", but I do think that you should consider muscling through and getting used to black and white, speed-drawn works. There's a vast body of good works in the manga world that you'll be losing. These days, there's probably a sufficiently rounded body of adult-oriented, high quality works for men, in American comics, such that there isn't necessarily any advantage to also picking up manga. But there's a distinct lack of stuff for women or "anyone in the family", like Nausica.

[Spoke]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I feel, I have these rods and cones in my eyes to see beautiful, brilliant colors. Life is too short for b&w.

Again, I recommend Daytripper. Intelligent, thought provoking, moving, and colorful. I think it has everything you're looking for.

You can see samples of the artwork here.

[Little Nemo]

A good series that hasn't been mentioned is Powers by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. It's a superhero comic but it's not part of the Marvel or DC world so it's self-contained (although it was partly published by Marvel). The central characters are Christian Walker, a former superhero who lost his powers and now works as a cop, and his partner Deena Pilgrim. They're assigned to a unit that handles superpower-related crimes. There are currently thirteen collections of the series (or five hardcover collections). And there are plans to make it into a TV series so you can get in ahead of that.

[Alan Smithee]

Everyone so far has talked about graphic novels and trades, which makes a lot of sense and is how nearly everyone gets into comics nowadays. But let me make a plug for monthlies. I got into monthlies with the DC reboot and I find them surprisingly fun. It's a different experience waiting to read the next chapter each month and speculating about what's going to happen, and in some ways it's more immersive, since you get occasional mentions of things in other books and brief crossovers. (I thought those would be annoying, and they can be, but when they're well done, they give you a sense of the stories taking place in a larger world without requiring extra knowledge. And with the internet, it's really easy to see who a character is and what you need to know about them.)

As has been mentioned, DC rebooted pretty much everything in September, and they're coming out with the first trade collections now. In two months, they're celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the relaunch with "0 issues" that take place in the past and lead into new stories, and they're meant to be good jumping-on points for people wanting to try new comics.

As a general rule, I've discovered a couple of things about monthly superhero comics. Any time a new writer starts on a comic is usually a good place to start. Also, comics are a bit like soap operas or old fashioned Doctor Who stories--the end of each story leads into the next one (even when a new writer starts, he might have to tie up the loose ends from the end of the last story), but once you start a new story, there really isn't typically that much you need to know (with some exceptions). Most superhero comics run stories over about six issues or so, so even if you start in the middle of a story, you won't be lost for that many issues. Also, most mainstream superhero stories are still light entertainment. In the worst case, it's like walking into a showing of The Avengers half an hour late--sure you'll have missed a lot, but it's not like walking into the middle of Inception.

Recommendations from current DC: Action Comics (Grant Morrinson's take on Golden Age Superman!), Batman & Robin, Batman Incorporated (started pre-reboot, but doesn't matter), Dial H (China Mieville--very strange, very fun!), Wonder Woman (excellent!), Demon Knights (Medeval fantasy comedy by one of the writers of Doctor Who).

[Measure for Measure]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

First, the negatives:

- Hellboy - boring, surprisingly. Not enough dialogue, and too much WHAM! BAM! and huge pages of pictures. The pictures are pretty enough, and I like Hellboy a lot, but he's a little too simple-minded for me.

Cool. I like Hellboy but I haven't bothered to read all of them. Which collection did you read? The strength of the comic lies in Mignola's artwork and sensibility. Lovecraftian, but with a certain odd humor. Good for a laff in my view.

I also couldn't read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The whole thing is Black and White and nearly pencil drawings at that. If I am going to read comic books why would I want ones without any good drawings in them?

I'm a manga freak. But I admit I've only read a couple of this series. Very dense older-style drawings. Probably not a good entry point-- though I imagine its wholesomeness puts it in quite a few libraries. Yes, it's a classic and I'll probably get around to it someday (I'm a fanatic after all). But I can see your point.

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I admit, I hate boring black and white. I generally avoid black and white movies, too. Yes, this makes me a heathen and uncultured and unsophisticated. I feel, I have these rods and cones in my eyes to see beautiful, brilliant colors. Life is too short for b&w.

Try Death Note or even Hikaru No Go. Read 2 volumes. Yes, it's black and white, but it's not as dense. Avoid Negima! - very detailed drawings. If you still don't like it... hey no worries. Comics are for unsophisticates anyway.

I will however shove Gaiman's Sandman down your throat. Good stuff.

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

But in Japan, middle-aged and even elderly business men had nothing to do for 1-2 hours every day but to read on the train.

True. That said, the manga market peaked in Japan during the 1990s. Cell phones have apparently displaced a lot of manga among commuters.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

The big differences are that Tezuka Osamu made an adult, animated film, whereas Walt Disney never did, and that in Japan, public transportation is and has been the way that people get to work for the last 60 years.

Well, no. The big difference between how comics are viewed in America, and how they're viewed in pretty much every other nation in the world, is entirely down to the influence of Fredric Wertham, and creation by the comic publishers of the Comic Code Authority in reaction to the threat of a congressional crackdown on the industry. Essentially, at the point where, in other cultures, comics were maturing along with their readers, and becoming a fully fledged art form, American comics were enjoined from presenting any topic that wasn't appropriate for the youngest of children. When readers began to mature out of the kid-friendly comics, there was no more mature material for them to graduate to, and most people abandoned comics altogether by the time they were teenagers. It wasn't until the early seventies that comics began to break free of the kiddie ghetto, and while the CCA is now defunct, American comics still haven't entirely shaken off the stigma of "kid's stuff."

[Anaamika]

I copied all of the suggestions here into a Word document. i figure I'll work through it slowly. It'll probably take me a year, at least. But I do have a question.

A couple of you guys recommended Superman comics. I really, really don't like Superman. I absolutely hate Lois Lane and Margo Kidder. I don't like Superman's goody-two-shoes schtick; I prefer my heroes darker.

However, that doesn't mean I absolutely won't try them, if you think some of the stories might be a bit darker or more interesting. If they are all about Supervillain causes trouble! Superman tries to save the day! Superman gets hit by Kryptonite. Superman recovers! Superman saves the day!

Ugh, can you tell my complete and utter dislike for it? Way. Too. Pretty boy.

[Alan Smithee]

I agree that that style of storytelling is boring for Superman. That's actually why I like Superman, because he more-or-less forces any halfway decent writer to come up with something else. Batman can get away with beating up bad guys, but Superman pretty much has to be put in a situation where the challenge is to out-think them, or there's just no drama.

[Miller]

I'm not a Superman fan, either, pretty much for the reasons Anaamika listed, but Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman was ten kinds of awesome. Which is weird, because Anaamika's description fits it almost perfectly. But it's still one of the best comics I've ever read.

More proof that Grant Morrison can do almost anything, I guess.

[Drunky Smurf]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

- I also couldn't read Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The whole thing is Black and White and nearly pencil drawings at that. If I am going to read comic books why would I want ones without any good drawings in them?

I never read the manga but I did see the animated movie. It was really good.

http://www.amazon.com/Nausicaa-Valle...ey+of+the+wind

You could probably Netflix it.

[Alan Smithee]

Originally Posted by Miller

I'm not a Superman fan, either, pretty much for the reasons Anaamika listed, but Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman was ten kinds of awesome. Which is weird, because Anaamika's description fits it almost perfectly. But it's still one of the best comics I've ever read.

More proof that Grant Morrison can do almost anything, I guess.

Well, it does start off with Superman finding out that he's going to die and can't do anything about it. I mean, he doesn't get mopey about it, but that is kind of dark. The whole premise of the series is "How does Superman spend his last year on Earth?" (Not a spoiler.)

I agree that it's great, but I disagree that it's a good starting point. It does stand alone, but ti's chalk-full of allusions that non-fans won't get and things that look like established parts of the Superman mythos that we should recognize but really aren't (like Quintum, Samson & Hercules, etc). If you do read it, it also helps to know going in that it's not a graphic novel but a series of separate but connected stories, one in each issue. That's a form I didn't really get until I started reading monthlies, and it's really a key to understanding All-Star Superman.

[Gerald II]

@Anaamika

If you don't like typical Superman stories I think you'll like Alan Moore's take on the character.

But after thinking about it, don't read Supreme or Glory then. You need to have knowledge of all the crazy, goofy and whimsical stuff from Superman and DC Comics 60 year history to fully appreciate those stories.

[Gerald II]

Originally Posted by Alan Smithee

If you do read it, it also helps to know going in that it's not a graphic novel but a series of separate but connected stories, one in each issue. That's a form I didn't really get until I started reading monthlies, and it's really a key to understanding All-Star Superman.

I thought All-Star Superman was a good comic but a little overrated. It was geared towards people who were already fans of Superman.

In fact, I think that's how DC promoted the All-Star line-up. People familiar with the more classic elements. Most non-comic fans don't know the first Robin's real name, or that Biblical and Mythical characters pop up in Metropolis all the time.

I found Alan Moore's Supreme story to be a better take on Silver Age Superman. I like when Supreme reveals his identity to his Lois Lane-like love interest.

"Wait, you just put on a pair of glasses? Are we all idiots or something??"

"Yes, over the years I always wondered about that," Supreme replies.

[Measure for Measure]

Originally Posted by Miller

Well, no. The big difference between how comics are viewed in America, and how they're viewed in pretty much every other nation in the world, is entirely down to the influence of Fredric Wertham, and creation by the comic publishers of the Comic Code Authority in reaction to the threat of a congressional crackdown on the industry.

That was an important primary cause.

But there is also historical accidence. Japanese comics have always been creator based and have often been made with a beginning, middle and end. Since the 1930s, US comics have been character/brand base. Since the writers and artists are hired help and the brand is precious, US comics have tended towards the formulaic: this applies to the dominant superhero genre but also to Archie and Donald Duck. And unlike drama, which is about change, in superhero comics and television series things stay the same. Or rather each episode (or occasionally pair of episodes) tends to end where it begins. That way it can be easily handed off to another writer.

In Japan, manga has always been subject to strong commercial pressures. But when you have a writer or artist imagining whole stories rather than participating in a preconceived serial, there are simply more imaginative possibilities regardless of the genre. Part of the reason for this tradition might be due to chance, but the early success of Osamu Tezuka may have played a role. He was a prolific creator of stories, but he also was talented enough to take what was pure kiddie fare and raise it up several notches. Other artists saw his work and were inspired to level up as well, or even enter the industry rather than pursuing something else. From there things snowballed: better works created better readers, who provided a market for better works.

Even in Japan, I understand that manga is frowned upon in certain circles and considered to be throwaway pulp by many. "It's just manga", they say. But they also understand that their work operates at a higher level than the US material.


Reference: Bakuman and an autobiographical manga by an artist whose name escapes me.

[Sealemon2.0]

There is so much great stuff out there, both DC/Marvel and indie, but the first thing I thought of when I read this :

"I also like sci-fi. I don't generally like romance dirtying up my sci-fi, unless it's superbly done and doesn't hijack the story.
- I love dystopias in any other genre, so I see no reason why I wouldn't love them in comics."

Was Ronin, by Frank Miller. Be warned though, pretty much all of the characters are unlikable in one way or the other, but DAMN that' a great book! Excellent story AND innovative use of art to help tell the story as well.

If you like Batman then I'd also suggest The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, also by Miller. Stay the hell away from the sequel he wrote though: The Dark Knight Strikes Back.

Also, for a great series of essay describing the hitory an impact of various DC/Marvel superheroes I'd suggest Scott Tipton's column Comics 101, found on comics101.com

[The_Peyote_Coyote]

Anaamika: To see what can be done with black and white in American comics, get the Kitchen Sink Reprints of Will Eisner's post WW2 Spirit. Eisner and his stable of assistants put out some incredible artwork. The stories also have a wide range: noir (the three-parter where he fights the Octopus), whimsical fantasy ("A Day at the Beach"), dark fantasy ("Lorelei Rox"), fables ("Gerhard Schnobble" is as good as LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"), stories where the Spirit is a crimefighter like Batman, spoofs, science fiction (The Spirit on the Moon with Wally Wood doing the art). The character of Ebony may be a little jarring to modern readers, but Eisner also came up with some great femme fatales: P'Gell, Silk Satin, Sand Serif, etc.

Re Superman: I would try Alan Moore and Curt Swan's Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? If you like some darkness, Krypto's encounter with The Kryptonite Man is as intense as any horror comic.

For super-hero comics, I would also recommend the Paul Levitz-Keith Giffen Legion of Super-Heroes, especially the Great Darkness saga.

[pricciar]

I'm not really new to comics. But, there are plenty of graphic novels I have never read. So, thanks to this thread and some research on my own I picked a bunch of books worth trying out from the library. They are on hold now, and hopefully will be available someday soon.

Strangers in Paradise Vol 1
The unwritten. 1, Tommy Taylor and the bogus identity
Walt Disney's the life and times of $crooge McDuck
Batman & Robin. Batman reborn
Justice League International. [volume one]
Superman. Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Ultimate Spider-Man. Vol. 1, Power & responsibility
WE3 : the deluxe edition
Promethea. Book 1
Astro City : life in the big city

The ones that weren't suggested here I chose based on the author, or subject matter.
If I remember I'll come back to this thread after I have finished and offer my thoughts on what I read.

[Anaamika]

I'm still reading this thread. Just thought that I'd let you know that the further recommendations have not gone awry. I do want to say, though, that I really see absolutely no reason to try and black and white comics. There's a million gazillion comics in color. I haven't even approached 10% of all of the great recommendations in this thread. I see no reason why I have to bore myself with b&w!

I am still reading Sandman and Y the Last Man. I usually read faster, but I had to wait for the next five books of Y the Last man, and I got distracted with this month's Kindle selection; mainly, Life and Loves of a She-Devil - a very dark revenge story.

pricciar, I read Scrooge McDuck. It was Ok, but it got boring and long-winded sometime in the middle of the second book. Too much filler. I will add your other suggestions to my List, howev er.

[Little Nemo]

Originally Posted by Anaamika

I'm still reading this thread. Just thought that I'd let you know that the further recommendations have not gone awry. I do want to say, though, that I really see absolutely no reason to try and black and white comics. There's a million gazillion comics in color. I haven't even approached 10% of all of the great recommendations in this thread. I see no reason why I have to bore myself with b&w!

It's like watching movies. Yes, there's enough color movies out there that you could watch great ones for the rest of your life and never have to watch a black and white movie. But if you never watch any black and white movies, you'll never see Casablanca or Citizen Kane or Dr Strangelove or It's a Wonderful Life or Night of the Living Dead or Raging Bull or The Seven Samurai or To Kill a Mockingbird. You'll miss a lot of great movies.

Same thing with comic books. Yes, you can read a lot great comic books that are in color. But you're going to miss some great comic books that happen to be in black and white. Why would anyone choose not to read Concrete or A Contract With God or Love and Rockets or Neat Stuff or Those Annoying Post Bros?

[Anaamika]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

It's like watching movies. Yes, there's enough color movies out there that you could watch great ones for the rest of your life and never have to watch a black and white movie. But if you never watch any black and white movies, you'll never see Casablanca or Citizen Kane or Dr Strangelove or It's a Wonderful Life or Night of the Living Dead or Raging Bull or The Seven Samurai or To Kill a Mockingbird. You'll miss a lot of great movies.

I've seen most of those. Meh. Some of them I didn't even like! Great for their day and all. The books were better, and of course the books are black and white.

But the primary difference is, in my lifetime, I plan to probably watch hundreds if not thousands of movies. I will probably only read, at the most, 100 or so comic books altogether.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but, though the stories you guys recommended are good and enjoyable, the medium as a whole is not gripping me. I find it a PITA to have to turn the page every paragraph or so; and the art is often kind of distracting rather than complementary. I certainly do like them, but they will never be my favorite.

[Measure for Measure]

Well, you should probably at least look over a manga and like I said Nausicaa isn't especially representative. I'd try something penned within the last 10 years. Acceptable choices might be Death Note, Naruto (Part I, avoid volumes 28+), Fullmetal Alchemist (starting book 2), Monster, Yotsuba&!, Emma, A Bride's Story, Pluto by Naoki Urasawa or Hikaru no Go.

Originally Posted by mfm

Reference: Bakuman and an autobiographical manga by an artist whose name escapes me.

That would be A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi.