I'm a comic newbie*. Until the last few months, I found
comics--and, by extension, graphic novels--a completely foreign entity,
something I either wasn't interested in or wasn't capable of understanding. The
comics world seemed tight-knit, exclusionary, full of insider baseball, and to
an outsider like me, it was impossible to tell where to start. Or why I'd even
want to.
That's not to say I'd never read a comic before coming to this
conclusion: I read (and adored) Bill Willingham's stunningly imaginative Fables
series years ago. Someone along the line had also pressed Watchmen, that much-loved
classic of comics, into my hands, and I devoured it in just a few days. I even
volunteered at the Titan Books booth at New York Comic Con and got to a) go to
NYCC and b) meet Dave Gibbons (and have him sign my copy of Watchmen).
But somehow, those felt like exceptions to a rule rather than the
start of something new.
Over the last year, though, comics have started to issue a siren
song I've found impossible to ignore. I discovered that my local library
carries the Saga series,
and I moved from the first three trade volumes of that to Brian K. Vaughan's
other two series: Y: The Last
Man and Ex Machina.
I tried Rat Queens (which
I didn't love as much as the rest of the internet) and read all six volumes of Sweet Tooth in one morning
(I cried at the end).
What this new-to-me dive into comics has taught me, though, is not
just that there are some epically wonderful series in the comics world. It's
that my entire concept of comics was wrong:
The Comics Culture
Comics people are not exclusionary. With very few exceptions, I
have found that what I once took to be clique-like and full of insider baseball
is actually just a series of rare and enviable instances of a community of
people finding "their people." And this community is always looking
for--and willing to help indoctrinate--new members.
The staff at my local comics, for example: pretty freaking
awesome. Awesome and willing to spend 15 minutes walking you (me) through the
store to find just the right new series based on the limited experience you've
had so far. They know their stuff, but they don't lord their knowledge over
you: that knowledge is there for the sharing.
Comics Change the Way You Read
You have to learn to read the pictures. I've gotten better at this, though I admit I still finding
myself reading only the dialogue in a desperate attempt to find out what happens, and
thereby realize I've missed the incredible artwork on the page. Reading comics
has taught me to read more slowly, and to savor the page. I've also found the
urge to re-read--something I do occasionally with my most favorite of novels
and non-fiction books, but not often--is ten times more prominent in my comics
reading: once I know what happens, I want to go back and revel in the beauty of
each page.
You have to learn to appreciate a story in small episodes. Whether you read individual issues or trade volumes, comics
come in episodes. I'm used to reading multiple books at one time, so the idea of enjoying multiple
series--and therefore multiple storylines--in one time period, albeit over the
course of several weeks or months, is not foreign to me. It’s still not easy,
but learning to appreciate this style of reading is enjoyable in and of itself.
It’s OK to Admit What You
Don’t Know
I don’t know all the most famous, most iconic, most important
comic series in history.
I don’t know how to set up a pull list. I only vaguely know what a
pull list is.
I don’t know if I like reading individual issues, or if I will
continue to read all trade editions.
I don’t know what other series I should be reading.
I don’t even know what else I don’t know.
And that’s ok. Because comics (and reading in general, I’d argue),
are about more than being an expert in something.
They’re about being an expert in trying new things, experimenting with new
ideas and formats and approaches and styles and art and beauty and
what-have-you, and going into it all with an open mind.
---
*Newbie as in new-to-something, not to be confused with
noob/n00b/noobie, which I've learned has a slightly different meaning (and definitely different connotation).
---
Fables | Created by Bill Willingham | 2002 - present | Vertigo
Watchmen | Written by Alan Moore, Illustrated by Dave Gibbons | 1986-1987 | DC Comics
Saga | Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples | 2012 - present | Image Comics
Y: The Last Man | Written by Brian K. Vaughan | 2002 - 2008 | Vertigo
Ex Machina | Written by Brian K. Vaughan | 2004 - 2010 | DC Comics
Rat Queens | Written by Kurtis J. Wiebe | 2013 - present | Image Comics
Sweet Tooth | Created by Jeff Lemire | 2009 - 2013 | Vertigo
To put it briefly: Bill Willingham is a genius.
