Comics for Thought: Beyond the Superhero

Comics for Thought: Beyond the Superhero
By: Damien Wood

Last time our topic was the appeal of the superhero, and I can still hear a lot of you saying “but… I don’t like superheroes”. Fine then, but I’m not done with you yet. Beyond the superhero, there’s a representation of just about any genre you could imagine in comics today. Superheroes really only take up the comic book “mainstream” (and often superhero titles themselves have the flavor of several other genres beneath the surface, but if you’re on a strict “no pervert suit” diet I will work around it).

If you’ve ever seen something you enjoyed at the movies, at home on the television or in some other form of storytelling entertainment, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find some comic book equivalents that will float your boat just as much, if not more.

Are you a fan of blockbuster action flicks? Try either of the Couriers graphic novels from Brian Wood and Rob G or Andy Diggle and Jock’s Vertigo series, The Losers. Is science fiction more your thing? An entire line of the best science fiction from French publisher Humanoids is being adapted for North American audiences by DC Comics starting this summer. Horror? Try Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s Thirty Days of Night. Crime? Try Frank Miller’s Sin City. I could name names all day and still not be done. Even if you’re as anal in your choice of reading material as I am, there are titles to be found. Do you happen to have the same specific liking for British spy dramas that I do? You should be reading Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country then.

With as much selection out there as there is, why isn’t everybody reading at least one comic series on a regular basis? It’s like I said a couple of columns back in the “why?” piece – when done right, there’s nothing that comic books can’t be. There’s something for everybody. If superheroes are it, then you’re good to go and the mainstream will be kind to your tastes. But if superheroes aren’t it, that doesn’t mean that comics become a lost cause for you. It just means you have to look past the best seller sections of your local comic shop, just like I would hope you do when you’re looking for a good novel to read or what have you. If your vision doesn’t end where the mainstream does in the other things that entertain you, why would it do so here?

There’s an endless world of enjoyment to be had. It starts with just one comic book.

Even if you’re already a comic reader who’s just never ventured beyond the superhero before, what’s stopping you? You’re cutting yourself off from great creators working on great concepts. Check out the independent sections of your local comic shop, people.

Next Friday: No, You Can't Come In

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The opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the writer, and are not necessarily representative of TNI.

When not enlightening the masses and saving the world in service of TNI, the entity known as NmX attempts to carry out a semi-normal life as a writer and a student of journalism under his not so secret identity, Damien Wood.

Look for his online projects "I Will Speak. You Will Listen." and "Mental Puppetry" sometime in the near future.