Travel Advice for a Journey Into Comic Books

By Christian Lipski

Thanks to Hollywood, comic books (graphic novels) are more popular than ever among the general public, and a lot of people are interested in finding out what these things are all about. Comics have been around for a hundred years in one form or another, so it’s nearly impossible for the uninitiated to know where to begin. I’m no expert, but I can tell you what I’ve loved. My tastes run toward the superhero end of the spectrum; I’ve never delved into the world of Love and Rockets or American Splendor, two great examples of the “realistic” genre, so plan accordingly. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive map of the best in “sequential art” (as comic books are sometimes loftily known), but rather some suggestions for places to start, based on my own forays.

The Classics: Watchmen and The Sandman

The most talked-about comic at the moment is the 1986 12-issue series called Watchmen, by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, due to the movie adaptation which is tentatively scheduled for a March 2009 release. Watchmen is the only graphic novel to be included in Time magazine’s list of “the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” It takes place in an alternate 1985, where costumed heroes really existed and electric cars were developed early on. Some real-world problems, however, still remain: the United States is edging ever closer to full-scale nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Outlawed since 1977, costumed heroes are forced into retirement and most are able to put aside their previous lives, except for Rorschach, a brutal and relentless outcast who insists on following the murder of a retired hero into places he shouldn’t be.

Watchmen is one of the comics that put a new spin on the classic superhero theme by treating the crimefighters as real human beings with real human troubles. Heroes grow paunches, chain smoke, and even the “good guys” can have pasts that they’d prefer to stay hidden. Since the characters are presented as relatively normal people, the reader is more able to identify with them and feel honest emotion as the story progresses. To further flesh out this alternate world, the comics include contemporary documents like newspaper articles and memoirs from old heroes long retired. These serve to make the story more than just an episodic fantasy as comics historically were.

Although on the surface it’s a mystery about the murder of a retired superhero, the work has many layers of subtext. Since superheroes actually exist in this world, there’s no need to devote comic books to them. Instead, the comics are about pirates, and one story from Tales of the Black Freighter makes appearances throughout the novel, paralleling events in the world outside. Symbols and actions drawn into the background echo ideas and concepts throughout the work, thanks to the attention to detail from both Moore and Gibbons.

Alan Moore broke new ground with Watchmen, and it’s well worthy of its status as an important work in comic history. It’s as fresh today as it was 20 years ago. Watchmen is currently available in a single collection at any bookstore on Earth.

Also very highly-regarded is the 75-issue series The Sandman, which was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by several artists and ran from 1989 to 1996. It’s based primarily around The Endless, seven mythical siblings who represent basic human concepts, and particularly around the moody and introspective character Dream. Dream, also known as Morpheus, is the Sandman of the title and rules the world of dreams, which are universal to all beings. The storyline starts off slowly, as Gaiman was initially taking a more classic horror-comic direction, but soon came into his own. It’s full of myths and reality, and spans time from creation to right now.

The Sandman is equally as popular with female readers as with male, partially due to the essentially non-testosterone-laden story lines. That doesn’t mean that there’s not action and adventure, just that it’s not the central theme of the series. Another reason for the female interest is the strength of female characters in the work. Most popular of these, and perhaps more popular than the protagonist himself in certain circles, is Death, Dream’s older sister. She is portrayed as a teenage girl, usually dressed in a tank top, skirt, tights and boots, and always in black. She is both inscrutable (revealing no real secrets about herself or her work) and accessible (being an upbeat and happy girl with a positive outlook).

The story, while primarily told in arcs of three or four issues, has a continuity that runs through all 75, and deals with Dream himself and his basic nature. As an incredibly old being with human faults, he has built an emotional wall around himself that few are able to breach, and that identifiable nature, along with the imaginative storytelling of Neil Gaiman, is what draws in the reader. The Sandman is collected in ten volumes, all of which are still in print.

Click to read more about. . .

The Humorous: Red Rocket 7 and Transmetropolitan
The Violent but Worthy: From Hell and Lone Wolf and Cub

Pages: 1 2 3