# I have never read a comic book all the way through **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251 "2007-04-15T20:47:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/1 "2007-04-15T20:47:44Z")
Am I the only one? I have read parts of several, but I just can’t get into them, not even when I was a kid. Mind you, I’m not talking about compiled books of comic strips, like a Far Side collection or something. I love those. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/2 "2007-04-15T20:50:13Z")
You may not be a minority in the real world, but you almost certainly are on this board, and even more so in this forum. I am crying a little inside, actually. You might have become a little less hot. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/3 "2007-04-15T20:51:40Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Scrappy Hero Pup] You might have become a little less hot. ☹ [/QUOTE] Fie, Sir, fie! ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/4 "2007-04-15T20:55:34Z")
I dunno, I’m kinda with you. On the other hand, I’ve read through the entire Sandman anthology, so I guess that counts against me? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/5 "2007-04-15T20:56:40Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Am I the only one? I have read parts of several, but I just can’t get into them, not even when I was a kid. Mind you, I’m not talking about compiled books of comic strips, like a Far Side collection or something. I love those. [/QUOTE] Don’t listen to them **Opal** , I’m with ya. I can’t get through them either, even as a kid I was hard pressed to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/6 "2007-04-15T21:04:13Z")
I used to read the Alf comics when I was a kid. Aside from that, nope. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/7 "2007-04-15T21:11:04Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Am I the only one? I have read parts of several, but I just can’t get into them, not even when I was a kid. Mind you, I’m not talking about compiled books of comic strips, like a Far Side collection or something. I love those. [/QUOTE] The only one I _know_ I have read all the way through was one that I needed for a research paper, and I did more of a close reading where I was focusing on a few pages at a time. Other than that, I have a weirdly hard time with comic books, I can’t seem to follow the linear narrative _at all_. I seriously think this is a clinical problem, some lack of eye coordination. Having the text in all random places makes me dizzy. I’ll read some bits of text over and over (but in the wrong order), and then miss others entirely. I’ve picked comic books up a few times, but end up putting them down after a page or two because it’s too frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/8 "2007-04-15T21:18:14Z")
But–but–they’re so short! I noticed years ago that I could read an American 32-page format comic in–well, it depends on the density… 20-30 minutes seemed typical, & I wasn’t a really fast reader. Then again, if you find something that boring, 15 minutes is too long. I think Opal is hooked on the constant laugh payoff of newspaper cartoon collections. I used to read Far Side like people smoke crack; in orgasmic binges. Then I just grew to hate Larson’s sense of humor, so I stopped. But Dan Piraro’s _Bizarro_? That’s a trip. But reading a comic book is more like watching a TV show or reading a short story. It’s still a lot easier than reading a whole novel–& since I know people who are surprised that I rarely do that anymore, that’s what I was comparing to. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/9 "2007-04-15T21:23:26Z")
Wow, way to mischaracterize my taste completely, based on an offhand comment. The truth is, I almost never read newspaper cartoon collections, but I didn’t want people to think I was talking about those when I said “comic books”. Haven’t read one in years and years, though I have a handful (Calvin & Hobbes, Bloome County, and Far Side). So I’d say that it’s 100000% innacurate to say that I’m “hooked on the constant payoff” of reading them. :rolleyes: I read almost exclusively novels. I rarely read short stories, because they don’t tend to be very fulfilling for me. I tend to like long books and series of books where you can really get depth in the story. Edited to add: I don’t read newspaper comics in the newspaper, either. Or online, unless someone links me to a specific one. I’m just not interested enough to pursue it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/10 "2007-04-15T21:31:05Z")
That’s really unfortunate, since the most prestigious writers in mainstream comics today (Brad Meltzer, Brian Bendis, Joss Whedon) require a ten-issue arc to tell a single story. My advice? Start with “Bazooka Joe” and work your way upward. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/11 "2007-04-15T21:33:01Z")
But I have no inclination to “start with” anything. The genre holds no attraction for me. I can’t explain it. It just doesn’t interest me as a story telling format. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/12 "2007-04-15T21:53:57Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] But I have no inclination to “start with” anything. The genre holds no attraction for me. I can’t explain it. It just doesn’t interest me as a story telling format. [/QUOTE] Is it just superhero comics you feel this way about? Comics offer more literate fare these days, like [Ghost World](http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-World-Daniel-Clowes/dp/1560974273/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-0970405-6839218?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176673607&sr=8-2) , [Love & Rockets](http://www.amazon.com/Music-Mechanics-Complete-Rockets-Book1/dp/093019313X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-0970405-6839218?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176673506&sr=8-3) , and [Real Stuff](http://www.amazon.com/Real-Stuff-Dennis-P-Eichhorn/dp/0974587001/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0970405-6839218?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176673563&sr=8-1) to name three. My boss at a college writing assistance lab has an aversion to the comics format itself. I lent her a copy of Marjane Satrapi’s wonderful [Persepolis](http://www.amazon.com/Persepolis-Story-Childhood-Marjane-Satrapi/dp/037571457X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-0970405-6839218?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176673468&sr=8-1) (autobiographical story of a little girl growing up in Tehran during the revolution). She says the format just hurts her eyes. Kinda like the way I was “allergic” to Brussels Sprouts when I was eight. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/13 "2007-04-15T22:23:10Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] But I have no inclination to “start with” anything. The genre holds no attraction for me. I can’t explain it. It just doesn’t interest me as a story telling format. [/QUOTE] With your fondness for long stories that you can really get your teeth into, would you be interested in testing out a longer, more novel-like series? Say, The Sandman by Neil Gaiman? Just as an experiment. I’m not smart enough to predict the result, or what will win out. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/14 "2007-04-15T22:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] Is it just superhero comics you feel this way about? [/QUOTE] No, it’s the format. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/15 "2007-04-15T22:30:43Z")
[QUOTE=Gukumatz] With your fondness for long stories that you can really get your teeth into, would you be interested in testing out a longer, more novel-like series? Say, The Sandman by Neil Gaiman? Just as an experiment. I’m not smart enough to predict the result, or what will win out. [/QUOTE] Not really. It’s rather strange that as a visual artist, I am just not that interested in a story told with pictures, but it’s true. I’d really just rather read it and let my imagination fill in the visual elements. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/16 "2007-04-15T22:36:22Z")
Dunno. I suspect that there would be at least one or two that you would fall in love with. But if you never find them, you’ll never know what you missed–so it’s not really a loss. So I’m not sure why you started this thread. It sounds like you’re happy reading books, and it sounds like you wouldn’t want to take the time to find some good comics, but yet you started a thread on the topic as if asking for some sort of input. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/17 "2007-04-15T22:43:56Z")
It’s also possible that OpalCat has only been exposed to crappy comics (of which there are plenty) and that the good stuff seems so different that you don’t consider it to be the same format. It’s like some one who hates telenovelas but loves _Ugly Betty_. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/18 "2007-04-15T22:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] So I’m not sure why you started this thread. It sounds like you’re happy reading books, and it sounds like you wouldn’t want to take the time to find some good comics, but yet you started a thread on the topic as if asking for some sort of input. [/QUOTE] I asked a specific question in the thread: Am I the only one? My purpose in starting this thread was to find out if there are other people out there who just have no interest in the “comic” genre. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/19 "2007-04-15T23:00:21Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] I asked a specific question in the thread: Am I the only one? My purpose in starting this thread was to find out if there are other people out there who just have no interest in the “comic” genre. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: Comics are a medium, not a genre. That’s why you have superhero comics, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, crime/noir, romance, humor, biographies, historical, “slice of life,” and so many other unique genres within the overarching medium of comic books and graphic novels. No offense, you’ve already said you don’t like them so you wouldn’t have realized the difference, but as a fan and student of comics, you hit on a pet peeve of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/20 "2007-04-15T23:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] But I have no inclination to “start with” anything. The genre holds no attraction for me. I can’t explain it. It just doesn’t interest me as a story telling format. [/QUOTE] I can see where you’re coming from. For a long time, comics held no interest for me. I always attributed that to the fact that, during the years I would have been interested in comics, I was living in Keflavik, Iceland, and had little or no access to them. By the time I moved back to the States, I was addicted to Dr. Doolittle novels and other such fare and was used to getting a lot of bang for my reading buck. I remember getting some comics at a store shortly after returning to the States, I was so disappointed in how short they were – barely took 15 minutes to read one. I got back into comics as an adult through “Cavewoman” and other “adult” comic fare. The thing that made that possible was, I no longer read comics as illustrated stories, but as storyboards for movies. Changeable storyboards. It’s a very diffierent process from reading a novel, which despite the much greater depth of detail and ability to get inside characters’ heads that novels offer, is a much more active and involving artform than novels in certain respects. That said, I’m not interested in “traditional” comics because I just can’t get into the stories becuase they’re not aimed at readers like me. I just started a thread on “Empowered” and how funny it is, but boy is it an exception to the rule. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251.md?page=2)