# Does anybody read anything other than superhero comics? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2000, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814 "2000-12-03T08:39:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/1 "2000-12-03T08:39:03Z")
I’m a diehard comics reader. And I absolutely loath that the mass public perceives comics as nothing but superhero crap. I’ve been reading comic books since I was in my single digits. I remember just reading Archie and Richie Rich comics. I remember than moving on to X-Men and Avengers and all the superhero comics. I also remember moving on to comics that truly intrigued me. Lately I’ve read comics such as Invisibles, which is the Illuminatus Trilogy in pictures. Preacher by Garth Ennis, which is one of the finest stories I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in any medium. Transmetropolitan, which is what Hunter S. Thompson would write if he live 20 years in the future and still had his edge. Bone, a comic which would probably replace many of our childhood tales, such as the Wizard of Oz, if anybody would give the comics medium a chance. This isn’t even counting the medium-defining moments that came about in the 80’s. Watchmen, probably the current masterpiece of comics literature is still virtually unknown outside of the comic reading populace. Anyway, I hate to see the medium I love so much so ghettoized. When most people think of comics, they think superheroes. Think of it in this analogy. Say nobody had ever seen a movie before. And then they came out with movies. The first movie they showed was a kung-fu movie. Everybody loves it. So all the other movies that follow are kung-fu movies. It goes on this way for half a decade. It goes to the point that when somebody even says the term movie, you automatically think kung-fu. Then one day a friend of yours suggests that movies could show so much more than kung-fu. You know, a drama film, maybe a mystery, maybe a horror. You would laugh at them. “Movies are just good for kung-fu, you fool. Everybody knows that.” That’s the state of the comic industry, but even worse than that. We have a whole spate of kung-fu purists that scare off all the other potential customers. Anyway, I had a point at the beginning of this. The point, I believe, is does anybody read any comics besides the superhero genre, and do you promote it to anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/2 "2000-12-03T08:47:22Z")
I liked Kingdom Come & Dark Night Returns. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/3 "2000-12-03T08:49:41Z")
Non-superhero comics I do read: Bone Preacher Sandman Strangers In Paradise And lotsa more, but I’m too lazy to list 'em here. I like Grant Morrison, but **The Invisibles** is too damn boring. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/4 "2000-12-03T08:59:02Z")
Yep, Strangers in Paradise good. However, I don’t really think that Preacher qualifies as a non-super hero comic. I will one up Uniball (Hitler?) and say that Grant Morrison, in general, is pretty damn terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/5 "2000-12-03T09:08:15Z")
Yes, I see that Preacher can be viewed as being in the same vein as the “supernatural idea followed through to the extreme” that most comics find their plot in. See “Dogma” for the same idea put to film, if less well. Grant Morrison has also mined this vein for quite some time also, that’s my fanboy sticking through. But point out more comics that don’t follow the formula that you read. How about these “Big Books” that are historical factoids put in comics form? How about comics such as Acme Novely Library, which is almost too obscure for me. Or Dork, which is the situational comedy of the comics world? ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/6 "2000-12-03T09:14:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JDeMobray \* > \*\*I will one up Uniball (Hitler?) and say that Grant Morrison, in general, is pretty damn terrible. \*\* I still like his Animal Man. Earth 2 is cool, too. Marvel Boy #3 is brilliant. And Kill Your Boyfriend is also cool. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/7 "2000-12-03T09:19:33Z")
Oh, and I REALLY should add Transmetropolitan, The Authority (both Ennis & Millar’s runs) and Planetary. The later two are non-superhero comics **with** superheroes. Weird? Yeah, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/8 "2000-12-03T09:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uniball \* > \*\*The Authority (both Ennis & Millar’s runs) Damn. ELLIS. ELLIS!!! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/9 "2000-12-03T10:08:33Z")
**Thieves and Kings** by Mark Oakley Apart from that, I used to read **2000AD** when I was younger. Superhero comics bore me. They always have. I like the movies sometimes, as they tend to pack more punch and are more accessible, but superhero comics need to be read from the beginning to really get into them properly. (of course, they re-invent and redraw their origin stories every five years anyway, which is one part that makes me wonder about it all) The fact that when kids today want to draw comics they ALL just want to do superheroes, and in the same style as the big-name artist of the current era, really disappoints me. The state of the imagination of children today is severely limited, mostly due to TV, video games, and comics all filling in the gaps in their brains for them, instead of letting them fill in those gaps themselves. And for goodness’ sake, surely the genre has been bled dry by now! Surely! Still, it’s interesting how even non-superhero comics still have a SF or Fantasy aspect to them… ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/10 "2000-12-03T12:17:15Z")
I adore the Sandman series. My brother, being a die hard comic fan, will often hand me a pile of comics whenever we’re both home with the instruction of, “Read these, you moron.” There’s this one series that is a comic of shorts, and I love the one who features a genius kid who does… interesting… stuff. In one issue he put buttered toast on a cat, and since the two objects couldn’t land on the ground the way they were facing, their gravities cancelled each other out… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/11 "2000-12-03T14:50:47Z")
Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Deadenders, Strangers in Paradise, Stray Bullets, and Astro City. Granted Astro City IS a superhero comic, but it doesn’t have 60+ years of baggage to go with it. The only history of the characters is what you’re told in the comic itself such as not telling you exactly what happened to Silver Agent. As for superheroes, I’m partial to Green Lantern (current). Seems like this would the easiest comic to turn into a movie, at least from a SFX angle since everything GL makes from the ring is green and usually translucent. I also like DC’s Elseworlds sagas. EXCEPT that, in every Superman story, he STILL ends up as a good guy defending Metropolis. I wanna see Supes whack a bunch of innocents for a change. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/12 "2000-12-03T20:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*There’s this one series that is a comic of shorts, and I love the one who features a genius kid who does… interesting… stuff. In one issue he put buttered toast on a cat, and since the two objects couldn’t land on the ground the way they were facing, their gravities cancelled each other out… \*\* Alan Moore’s TOMORROW STORIES!🙂 I like the one with the drunken photons! ---
**Author:** ![Welfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e56c9b/32.png) [@Welfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Welfy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/13 "2000-12-03T20:59:57Z")
Count me as one of those deprived kids who never gets to buy comics, so I grew up with the huge pile I found in the basement-- Archie, Richie Rich, Ewoks, Casper, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/14 "2000-12-03T22:37:39Z")
Groo ---
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2000, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/15 "2000-12-03T23:20:08Z")
Not at the moment, but I used to read Fusion, Grim Jack, Cerebus, the Dreamery, Dynamo Joe, and all the horror comix I could lay my hands on. I also have a bunch of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and a few other old underground comics. But Weasel Patrol rules. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/16 "2000-12-04T04:24:11Z")
**Associated Student Bodies** by Arclight isn’t exactly meant for a ‘PG’ audience–but underneath the more graphic parts is a mini-series with an endearing story about love and emerging homosexuality. I cried after finishing them all. Do movie adaptations count? Dark Horse comics put out an **Army of Darkness** miniseries that I’m still trying to find a missing issue to–it has absolutely -beautiful- artwork. -Ashley ---
**Author:** ![AndYrAStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/17 "2000-12-04T04:51:30Z")
I liked Sam Keith’s “The Maxx”. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/18 "2000-12-04T05:07:14Z")
How could I forget the wonderful LOVE AND ROCKETS? ---
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/19 "2000-12-04T05:53:22Z")
Books that I read and keep: Liberty Meadows - funniest single comic out there. Yes, i know it’s a collection format of daily strips. I don’t care. Transmetropolitan - best written comic, ranging from futuristic politics to single episodes that will make you weep at the sad beauty of them (I’m think here of this months, with the child prostitutes (“Business?”) and the episode that is Spider’s column about ‘revarants’ people who were cryogenically frozen and go into shock when they see the future. Strangers in Paradise - Ah, the saga of Francine and Kootchie. Midnight Nation - great fantasy. Can’t wait to see what happens. Rising Stars - perhaps it’s nominally about superheroes, but I think of it as more of a character book. Red Star - Haven’t read it yet? Pick it up NOW. Glorious art and great revisionist russian history combined with magic. Beautiful stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2000, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814/20 "2000-12-04T14:23:53Z")
Non-superhero stuff I’ve enjoyed: **Bone** **Rose** **Castle Waiting** **The World Below** **Dork** **Monster Boy** **Land of Nod** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-read-anything-other-than-superhero-comics/43814.md?page=2)