Dear comic book curious

Dear Friend,

Thank you for our conversation about comic books the other day (you can read my previous piece here).  

I am glad I was able to inspire you, or at the very least, cheer you up.  Inspiration and positivity are very hard to come by these days and we must all do what we can to uplift, or at least entertain, one another.

You said I piqued your interest and encouraged you to explore comic books.

You called yourself and others like you “comic book sceptics,” which, I gather, means that you don’t think comic books will appeal to you.  I imagine that when you visit a bookstore, you gloss over the staff picks for graphic novels and comic books and head straight to the other aisles.

I do not consider you a sceptic. I would much rather think of you as a comic book newcomer.  

The fact that you are reading this letter goes to show that our earlier conversation convinced you to take a second look at comic books. I sense that you are now willing to at least go through some books to see what I was talking about.  

Perhaps some cover art or a controversial title grabbed your attention. 

Maybe that maniacal Joker on the cover of Alan Moore’s Batman: The Killing Joke leered at you from the “Staff Picks.”  Or James Tynion IV’s Something is Killing the Children taunted you to open its pages and find out what exactly IS killing those children. 

Now that you are considering reading comic books, let me give you a piece of friendly advice: since you are a comic book newcomer you may wish to forego – at first – those major super-hero titles, especially the cross-over events.  

Reading the main Marvel and DC books, including Empyre, Dark Knights: Death Metal, Joker War, the upcoming X of Swords and other similar titles at this stage may just end up confusing you. You may need to wade through too much established continuity to fully appreciate these story arcs.  

As such, allow me, dear comic book newcomer, to suggest a few titles you may wish to consider as you begin your journey through this astonishing world of sequential art story-telling. I thoroughly enjoy reading all of these titles.  And I believe you will, too.  

Sara (TKO Publications) is a powerful story that combines a compelling narrative, atmospheric art and a profound insight into human nature.  I never would have imagined that a comic book about female Soviet snipers in the midst of World War II could be so exquisitely poignant and haunting. 

Sara is written by Garth Ennis, famous for his work on The Punisher.  Yes, that Marvel anti-hero known for his skull logo, heavy artillery, explosions and countless bodies left in his wake.  

In this 6-issue mini-series, Ennis leaves behind the jarring violence of The Punisher to write a moving, insightful and poetic tale about a cadre of women soldiers fending off the Nazis on the Eastern Front of “The Great Patriotic War.”  Accompanied by Steve Epting and Elizabeth Breitweiser’s nuanced art and color palette, Sara trains its sights on the search for identity, the need for belonging, the nature of patriotism, and the futility of war with the surgical precision of our eponymous sniper.

Ghosted in L.A. (Boom! Studios) is deceptively light-hearted. Written by Sina Grace, with buoyant art by Siobahn Keenan and Cathy Le, this is the story of Daphne Walters, who leaves the comforts of home in Montana to follow her boyfriend to university in Los Angeles. While there, she is inexplicably “ghosted” by her boyfriend and finds herself moving out of the campus dorm to live at Rycroft Manor. As it turns out, the Manor is haunted. 

At its heart, Ghosted in L.A. is about how people find it difficult to let go and move on.  Quirky and likeable characters, witty banter and a looming mystery regarding Rycroft Manor coalesce into an uplifting story. This tale examines the bonds of friendship and family packaged as love letter to the City of Los Angeles.

If you are a Walking Dead faithful – you may remember the hit TV show began as a comic book – I suggest you read Year Zero (AWA Upshot). Written by Benjamin Percy, with art by Ramon Rosanas and Lee Loughridge, Year Zero chronicles a zombie apocalypse from the perspective of four seemingly unconnected individuals: Daniel, a street urchin in Mexico City; Tokyo-based assassin Saga, a who is looking forward to retirement; Fatemah, an Afghan woman working as an interpreter for US troops in Kabul; and Minnesota geek B.J., who had, intriguingly, foreseen this disaster.

The stakes are high in this 5-issue mini-series. The sublime writing and textured, sometimes disquieting art frame this tale not only with a sense of urgency and dread, but also with a tinge of hope.  Amidst the ongoing cataclysm, our protagonists attempt to survive the undead onslaught in whatever way they can while trying not to lose their souls in the process. 

Once and Future (Boom! Studios) takes Arthurian legend, turns it on its head, and spins it around a few times. Writer Kieron Gillen and artists Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain question our preconceived notions about King Arthur. What if he was never the noble and valiant sovereign we all thought him to be? What if he was actually a tyrant whose rule was steeped in Dark Magic and decay? And what if a millenarian cult is now using that same Dark Magic to resurrect Arthur so he can reclaim the throne of England?

Myth and magic come alive in this ongoing saga of how mild-mannered Duncan and his machine gun-toting, take no prisoners grandmother Bridgette unravel the sinister plot and confront this ancient evil.  With quintessentially wry British humor in tow, Once and Future delivers ceaseless action in epic proportions.

Dear comic book newcomer, 

Joyce Carol Oates once said “art is the highest expression of the human spirit.” These comic book titles tap into our yearning to rise above the limitations that we so often set for ourselves.  In them, we walk with characters who muster the courage and strength of will to rise to the occasion, overcoming great personal difficulties or even cataclysmic world events.  They remind us that, despite what odds we may face, the human spirit can be unconquerable.

There are many other remarkable examples of such comic books.  I hope that after you read the titles I suggested, you will be encouraged to discover more of this fine art form I have appreciated for decades. 

Do let me know how you get on with your reading.

Yours sincerely,

A Long-time Comic Book Fan

– Rappler.com

P.S. If, in the course of your reading, you come across books or comic books you recommend I look into, email me at ideas.conversation@gmail.com