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In this introductory column I’ll explain a little about my history with comic books and how completely out of the loop with regard to the comic industry.
Like many people who enjoy reading comic books I’ve been doing so since I was a kid. I inherited my love of comics from both my parents. In what I assume is an unusual twist, it was my mother who enjoyed superhero comics while my father was all about Walt Disney (like Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories). My mom read only Marvel, including Fantastic Four, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, among others.
Both of my parents gave me all their comics, starting me out with a nice collection of worn Silver Age books. The six or seven issues of Fantastic Four my mother had were my favorites and I became a lifelong fan of The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine. Jack Kirby’s art was incredible with all those tiny colorful dots. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos was another favorite, especially the character of Percival “Pinky” Pinkerton and his bumbershoot. As for Disney comics, my favorites were any that included Huey, Dewey and Louie.
For the longest time, my comic collecting consisted solely of Fantastic Four and Captain America. New issues arrived from Marvel every month and I would scour back issues bins to fill in holes on the cheap. It was at a drug store, however, that I bought my first issue of Guardians of the Galaxy. It was included in one of those sealed packs of two or three comics. One was an issue of Fantastic Four I didn’t have. The other was an issue of Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn’t even bother reading it at first. But once I did, I was hooked.
So, to sum up, the Fantastic Four are my favorite superhero group. Captain America is my favorite superhero. And Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite title. It’s only recently (as in the past two years) that I started really branching out, buying comics from publishers other than Marvel. I’ve never had the courage to dive into any of DC’s long-running books, but miniseries are fair game. I’ve had mixed luck so far. The Huntress: Year One was a blast but The War That Time Forgot has been disappointing. Aspen’s Fathom (Volume 3) was a pleasant surprise, and Vertigo’s Air and House of Mystery are excellent. But WildStorm’s Chuck adaptation didn’t live up to expectations.
These days I’m deeper into comics than I ever have been before. Even so, I’m barely scratching the surface. I’m only reading ten to twelve books a month, at most, and the bulk of them are still from Marvel. Looking at any given week’s releases and there are dozens of titles I don’t even recognize, let alone know anything about. There are a few, like Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight and some of IDW’s Star Trek miniseries, that I’m collecting in trade paperback.
Even with the titles I’m collecting, I have a hard time keeping storylines straight. I often have to reread previous issues just to catch up. And most of what I know about the X-Men, for example, comes from the 1990s FOX cartoon. I have no idea what the current X-Men or Avengers roster is made up of. I don’t even know if the Avengers are still around. Weren’t they recently disassembled, reincarnated as youngsters or turned to the dark side? I don’t know.
As for the talent behind the comics, that’s even more of a mystery. I know people who can rattle of the writers and artists of every book they read. I don’t know the names of anybody working on any of the titles I’m reading. Sure, I’m aware of some of the big names, but I can’t say what they’re working on or who their feuding with or whether they’re coming or going.
Just trying to keep up with what’s going on in the comics industry through websites like Newsarama or CBR is daunting. How anyone can keep a handle on what’s happening within, say, a dozen titles and keep tabs on whose writing and inking them and know what’s coming up in the next few months is totally beyond me. I applaud anyone who can do it, though.
Oh, and I’ve never been to a convention, though I’ve read a lot about them.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
I learned a lot of the creators back when I was heavily reviewing for Paperback Reader, but even before that, I had a pretty good idea. But it’s funny that you’re getting deeper, because like I said in my column two weeks ago, I’m having to back off for a number of reasons recently. Even last September, I could have easily continued writing a weekly columns just on what I was reading every month. But I like to sneak in comics into my column all the same. In a few weeks, I’ll be writing about Final Crisis again, for example.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Given that I was only reading two books a month as recently as 2006, it didn’t take much to get deeper in. Regarding creative talent, even with television, which is a medium I am heavily invested in, I don’t know all that much about the writers and producers of most of the shows I watch.
Sure, I recognize names like Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams, David E. Kelley and Chuck Lorre but I couldn’t tell you who created The Mentalist or How I Met Your Mother or Ghost Whisperer. I guess it’s just not something I notice and thus not something I’m good at remembering.