[Author’s Introductory Note:I just wanna warn you up front that this sumbitch is ridiculously long — I just couldn’t shut up as I was writing it. I’m talking over 9,000 words long. So just know what you’re getting into here, and if you do happen to read your way through the whole thing, don’t blame me when you realize doing so wasted away hours of your life.]
If you’ll indulge me, I’m going to step outside the bounds of my usual television realm for this Guide. I have always been, and likely always will be, both a nerd and a geek (for a clarification of the difference, please see our own Dan Carlson’s definition); sometimes of the “chic” variety, and sometimes of the “you’re ridiculous” variety. I’ve come to grips with this and fully accept it, as I’ve been this way for a long time. Exemplary evidence to prove the point: I was a massive band geek and theater fag in high school; I was a physics major in college, I’ve worked for NASA, and I still love math, physics and astrophysics; my all-time favorite book (which I’m not naming, only because I’ll probably give it a proper Pajiba discussion somewhere down the line) has won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, which are “nerd book” awards; “Quantum Leap,” despite some obvious and glaring flaws, remains my all-time favorite TV show; I not only have a favorite physicist (Richard Feynman), but have more than once been engaged in serious colloquial debates about whether Newton or Einstein was the better physicist and more important to math, physics and science in general (I will always come down on the Newton side of that argument); and I have nerd art hanging on my walls, including an original cel from “The Simpsons,” reproductions of comic art, and two massive original painting/collages from a Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean graphic novel. Yes Mildred, I’m a grade-A geek.
But perhaps the biggest thing which allows me to be a card-carrying member of the nerd and geek club (aside from the fact that I have, honest to god, a laminated “Official Identification — Astrophysicist” card in my wallet) is that I’ve been a comic book collector for a long time (I’ve even been, twice, to the nerd haven and geek mecca that is the San Diego Comic-Con). I can remember buying my first comics when I was still living in Philly as a wee lad — my mother would send me to the corner store to buy her a pack of smokes, and she’d give me a little extra cash to pick up some comics from the lonely metal-spinny-rack standing in the store’s corner (as for why the store clerk allowed a six-year-old to buy smokes — well, that’s Philly for you). In my teen years, I gained access to the bank account with my Bar Mizvah money, despite my parents’ mandate that it was to remain “hands off,” and spent a vast amount on comic books. In my late-teen years, I used to make weekly treks to the local book store, purchasing one or two comics while stashing up to a dozen more in the back of my coat or in a book bag (sorry, Walden Books). And to this day, I still get a monthly catalogue from Westfield Comics, listing all the new comics that will be coming out, and always flip through to see what’s out there, although I don’t order or read nearly as much as I used to.
In fact, these days I’ve generally moved beyond loose comics, instead preferring to collect graphic novels (or trade paperbacks, or whatever the hell you want to call them). This is mainly for two reasons. First, my memory is utter shit. So by the time a new issue comes out, I’ve often forgotten the details of most of what happened in last month’s issue — and if the issues aren’t coming out every month, forget about it. So I much prefer to read my comics in one big chunk (and sometimes, after sampling something and knowing I’ll like it, I’ll wait until the entire run is out in trades before sitting down and digesting the whole thing). Second, it’s easier to keep and store the graphic novels. With comics, you generally need the long-white comic boxes, and if you really care about your comics, you have to put each one in a little baggy with a board behind it. It’s unwieldy, and there’s no way to make those comic boxes look good. While I have a few stashed away in a closet here, most of my comic boxes remain in the basement of my parents’ home. Graphic novels, however, can be displayed on a bookshelf, along with all my more “appropriate” reading materials, proudly advertising my geekdom to all who care (and because I’ve long ago given up on the notion of preserving them in pristine condition, I don’t care if this means they get a little beat up or get too much light or any such nonsense).
Now I don’t know where most of the Pajiba staff falls on the comics scale, although I do know that we at least cover both ends of the spectrum — I know Dan is at least sometimes a fan of the form, although not so much with the superheroes, and on the other side of things, I know that Dustin pretty much loathes all things comics. I suspect that the Pajiba readership similarly falls all over the place, and it’s with that in mind that I present this Guide.
In particular, I’m catering this discussion to those folks who generally wouldn’t touch a comic book for fear that it would shrink their sexuality and re-virginate them. My goal here is to discuss some comics/graphic novels that I think most Pajiba readers would enjoy, if only they gave themselves the opportunity. So this is not intended to be any “best of” list, although many of these frequently appear on such lists. If you generally trust my opinion and judgments (and how can you not, seeing as how I’m always right?!), go pick one of these up, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And if not, well, that’s what the comments section is for. And similarly, feel free to add selections you think I’ve missed — I certainly haven’t read everything that’s out there, and I don’t read as much of the independent stuff as I would like, so many of my choices may tend more towards the “obvious” side, so I’m sure there are plenty of additions that can be made.
One last note before we get into this. Of the nine items on my list, some are collected in a single volume, but several are much longer series (and two of those series are still being written). In the case of the latter, I’ve recommended a single collected volume as a jumping-off point, and in all but one instance that recommendation is the first volume in the series. Although there’s one exception to all of this, which I’ll get to when I get to it.
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