# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**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, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/21 "2007-04-15T23:01:52Z")
Ok, then “I have no interest in the comic medium, regardless of genre”. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/22 "2007-04-15T23:30:05Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Ok, then “I have no interest in the comic medium, regardless of genre”. [/QUOTE] Not even “Shakespeare meets Godzilla”? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/23 "2007-04-16T00:58:48Z")
No, you’re not the only one. I haven’t touched a comic book since the mid-‘60s. Somebody at my paternal grandparents’ house used to buy all the Archie issues in the '50s, and I remember reading them, while the grownups did whatever they did. I don’t dislike them or anything. It’s more a case of that since then, it hasn’t occurred to me to _want_ to read a comic book. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/24 "2007-04-16T01:03:27Z")
Sheesh, **Opal** , don’t let 'em bully you. Some people can only validate their own tastes by trying to prosyletize others. I don’t care for romance novels. **DesertRoomie** does, specifically Regency. I tried a couple times to read one, but would get bogged down about a third of the way in (and they’re short novels) so I quit on 'em. **DR** will read me the funny bit on occasion, but that’s it. To answer your question, I read some comics as a kid – DC mostly; they were the only game in town at the time. I read far more books. Now, hardly ever. The last graphic novel I read was _Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ in prep for the movie. The last before that was decades and I don’t remember what it was. Nowadays I just wait for them to come to the screen (LXG not withstanding). ---
**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 16, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/25 "2007-04-16T01:08:15Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] No, you’re not the only one. I haven’t touched a comic book since the mid-‘60s. Somebody at my paternal grandparents’ house used to buy all the Archie issues in the '50s, and I remember reading them, while the grownups did whatever they did. I don’t dislike them or anything. It’s more a case of that since then, it hasn’t occurred to me to _want_ to read a comic book. [/QUOTE] You just might enjoy [Red Rocket 7](http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rocket-7-Mike-Allred/dp/1569713472/ref=ed_oe_p/002-9732337-8068044?ie=UTF8&qid=1176685414&sr=8-1), a comic about an alien who comes to Earth in the 1950s and witnesses the evolution and history of rock 'n roll up to the present day. With your interest in older music, it could be worth a shot. Mike Allred’s love for rock’s forefathers is clear, and his bright, quirky “retro pop art” style (aided by his wife Laura’s coloring) fits the story perfectly, including some great likenesses of some of music’s most important and colorful figures. I linked to Amazon, who is selling the trade paperback (collected edition) with some used copies at bargain prices – it was originally published as seven separate issues, but trade paperbacks are always better and usually cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/26 "2007-04-16T04:05:26Z")
I have a hard time with somebody who says they don’t like comic books and also says they’ve never actually read one. It seems a little like somebody saying novels are boring because they tried reading one once and nothing interesting happened on the page they read. Or offering as proof that they don’t like ballet, the fact that they always walk out during the first two minutes. I’m not saying everybody will like comic books or has to like comic books. Or even that everybody should read a few comic books to find out whether or not they like them - life is short and you’ll never have time to experience everything. But don’t pronounce judgement on something you’ve never really tried. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/27 "2007-04-16T04:10:26Z")
I said I’d not made it all the way through one. I’ve made it halfway through several. I’m just irritated by the format. If I’m reading something, I’d rather let my imagination paint the picture for me. I also just don’t get into the little-bits-of-text thing. If I have a choice between a picture with a few words or a page full of a lot of words (assuming they’re well written) I’d go for the page full of words every time. The other just doesn’t “flow” for me. Add to that I don’t really like most comic style art (colored-in outlines, etc) and it just isn’t a recipe for something I’d enjoy. Please point out to me where I’ve “pronounced judgment” on comics? Because I think I’ve just stated that they’re not my bag, which is a comment about my taste, not about comics themselves. ---
**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 16, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/28 "2007-04-16T06:23:22Z")
You’re right, OpalCat, it’s just that we comic book geeks have come to think of Cafe Society as our own little “Tubby’s Treehouse,” a reference doomed to sail over your head. Sorry. ---
**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 16, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/29 "2007-04-16T13:39:19Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] You’re right, OpalCat, it’s just that we comic book geeks have come to think of Cafe Society as our own little “Tubby’s Treehouse,” a reference doomed to sail over your head. Sorry. [/QUOTE] Hey, let’s not scare her off completely. I’ve been reading comics for 25 years (I’m 29 now), and I don’t get the reference either. ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/30 "2007-04-16T14:06:53Z")
I could never get into comic books either. As a kid I read maybe 10 at most but I stopped having any interest what so ever by age 9. And, I make my living with visual information so it seems a little odd that I’m that way also. Even as a kid I found that I had far more fun looking at the pictures and captions in encyclopedias and photo heavy magazines than comic books. I think it’s the huge separation from reality in comics that makes me say inside my head, “that’s so phoney.” ---
**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 16, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251/31 "2007-04-16T14:24:36Z")
I liked Batman and the Phantom, cause they were just normal guys without any super stuff. Classics Illustrated was just plain goofy, crowding so much story into a comic book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-read-a-comic-book-all-the-way-through/400251.md?page=1)