COMICS!
Comics are a very large part of my literary experience. As a kid, I read mainly X-Men and G.I. Joe. However, after graduating from the 'X-Men/Marvel phase,' what began to attract me to comics were the deep well written stories. For example, Watchman and V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, and the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman all just blew me away. Of course, these books are all classics.
Extending from my higher expectations, I discovered the beauty of self-published comics. Here, the artist struggles with making a managable budget, so they have to do without the normal marketing tools of fancy coloring and large print runs. To stand on it's feet, the popularity of the book has to spread almost by word of mouth - to do this, the book has to have a _solid_ story and characters that you care about.
While reading comics, certain characters can become very dear to you. On this page you'll find some of those works which without, my life would not be complete:
Sin Cityby Frank Miller
The man that started it all. Pure genius. Breakthrough story and art.
Look for these classics: Ronin, Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, the Martha Washington series and Hard Boiled. There's too many to list, thus check out this index of Frank's stuff:
| Frank Miller Library | Dark Horse Comics, where FM is a Legend |
The Sandmanby Neil Gaiman
Awesome stuff, with tons of allusions rooted in literature, mythology and religion.
Discover the human soul through your dreams.
For you see, stories and dreams are power...
| Heart of the Dreaming | The Dreaming: The Neil Gaiman Page |
| Sandman and Neil Gaiman | Death! | Dreams | Many! Sandman Links|
Cerebus the Aardvarkby Dave Sim
Cerebus has all the characteristics only a mother could love, he's arrogant, pig-headed and rude. To top it off, he's an aardvark! Can you believe this 300 issue limited series began as a Conan the Barbarian spoof! I got into this book around issue 160 and have been hooked. Now, I'm kinda out of it, depending on the "phone books." Cerebus is well worth the time to read, despite its enormous back catalogue. Well, go to these pages to help you out, and on your way you'll probably hear a lot about self-publishing!
| Cerebus the Aardvark | Operation: Crazed Ferret |
Boneby Jeff Smith
Join Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone on their heartwarming adventures.
A fan favorite of my fiancee and my sisters!
| Bone, by Jeff Smith | Boneville | The Barrelhaven |
Madmanby Mike Allred
The World's Snappiest Comic Magazine!
Right on, Daddy-O. Drawn in the pop art style of the 50's this colorful book is full of humor and wit. Join Frank Einstein, a renaissance man of the 90s, full of existentialism and most importantly, love. Mike even has a character that looks like Chow Yun-Fat!
| Mike Allred Fan Page |
Strangers in Paradiseby Terry Moore
I love this book for it's humor, love and romance, things that make life beautiful.
| The Unofficial Strangers in Paradise Website | Terry Moore's "Strangers in Paradise" |
E-mail me about comics! alexho@prolog.net
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