10. Strangers in Paradise -Since my wife never fell for the "they're not comics, they're graphic novels" load, I never had to bring home Terry Moore's heartfelt... whatever it is. I never even tried to read this on the sly in Barnes & Noble, and that's saying something since I did read 300 that way after the movie came out. I'd love it if I actually could read this series and in doing so erase the other "chicky" things I've seen and heard, like Pearl Harbor, Kate Hudson's entire career, and Rilo Kiley.
09. Spawn -Sure, Strangers in Paradise and I don't travel in the same circles, but I am a little surprised that the flashy and (then) new-stylish Image flagship never made its way in to my bag at Sincere Comics back in the day. Image burst out nearly the same time I re-entered the buying market, but I guess my speculator gene is a recessive one, because my sole exposure to any of the Spawn mythos is the HBO series (which I did think was pretty kick-ass). The good news, I guess, is that the series is surprisingly still around, so there's still time. (Honorable Mention: most other Image titles, notably WildC.A.T.S. and Savage Dragon)
08. Grendel -
My skipping this title in the late 80's/early 90's is a little more puzzling, because everything I've heard/read about Matt Wagner's generation-spanning story makes me sure it was way better than Spawn.
07. The Walking Dead -
Zombies. Human survival instincts tested by danger and the dulling passage of time. Written by Robert Kirkman, who's other work I've enjoyed, including Marvel freaking Zombies. The only excuses I can offer as to why I've no clue about this ongoing series is that I didn't know who Kirkman was until his Invincible got rolling (which I did come across late, but not so late that I couldn't quickly catch up), and by the time I realized Walking Dead existed and that he wrote it, it was already three trades in. Sorry, Robert.
06. Grant Morrison's "Weird" DC Titles -In the late 80's a friend of mine was briefly an overnight DJ at the local album-rock radio station. At a staff meeting, the station's music director asked the "talent" why they didn't have more Beatles in the rotation. My friend's brilliant (and totally honest) response was, "Because you don't have time to go poop while a two and half minute song is playing." That observation fit right in with my college-altered reading habits at the time, which were strictly cram-mode. This shift was mostly permanent--I still really can't sit at the kitchen table or on a toilet without something to read. My DJ friend's knock on the Beatles mirrors those habits, in that I would only tend to read something I could digest while, um, digesting and something I could just purge from my brain thereafter, like, um... you get it. What I didn't grab for kitchen table or bathroom reading was Doom Patrol or Animal Man. I blame higher education--not enough time in the day or room in the brain for that much in-depth reading. Maybe if DC was testing me on it every month I'd have devoured it.
05. Scott Pilgrim -Time will tell if this newish fan/critic darling will move up or down any future version of this list. Sure, it's an interesting premise, combining post-adolescent romantic entanglements with the classic gauntlet style test of commitment, but the art, the musical ingredient, the fanbase... it all makes me feel too old to get into it. Probably unfair, but I doubt if the legions of fans, the producers of the probable film version, even creator Bryan Lee O'Malley are losing much sleep over my not getting into that series or wanting into their club.
04. Batman: Year One -
My partner-in-blog might actually be shocked at this entry but I can explain. Miller's fleshing out of the early days of the Dark Knight went totally under my radar in 1987, due more to the fact that I was just getting back into funnybooks and was doing more catching up than picking up current books. Had the online community existed back then, I might have a more immediate notification that something of unusually high quality was out there and been more inclined to pick up the regular ol' Batman title. Back then, DC and Marvel hadn't been all that adept at hyping their upcoming "regular" titles and storyarcs-as-events, unlike their effective promotion of "outside" projects like Dark Knight Returns and Secret Wars. To me, Year One was just four regular issues of Batman that came and went without being missed by me, featuring extra insight into the character that I wasn't craving. All that said, I don't know why I still haven't picked up any of the collected versions of this, while somehow holding onto to at least three issues of Secret Defenders.
03. Love & Rockets -This may drop off the list soon, and not really because I've got so many friends screaming at me to pick the trades up (because I don't). L&R stayed off my shelves and out of my longboxes because I just didn't easily draw a parallel between the Big 2 and the Hernandez Brothers: they all have a fully functioning, living, breathing universe. A whole world to play in. The only difference in structure is that Marvel and DC don't just put out one comic featuring the length, width, and depth of that universe. Can you imagine Marvel only putting out one title, (call it "Marvel"), where you might only check in on the Fantastic Four every three months or so? I couldn't either, which is why I've never imagined picking up Love and Rockets. But again, things may change because, dammit, I'm a grown-up now. It's okay to have an appetite for something a little more sophisticated. Doesn't mean I have to stop asking my wife to dress up as Zatanna for my birthday.
02. Maus -
Hard to clarify why I've never checked this Pulitzer winning work. Maybe it doesn't feel like escapism to me. Maybe it's a youthfully harebrained knee-jerk reaction to being told a piece of art is "essential" or "required". The good news is, I don't think that way these days, and like Love and Rockets, I may finally be ready to enjoy the book of my own volition.
01. Most of the Works of Alan Moore -Honestly, it's easier for me to list the Alan Moore I have read, than the works I haven't: Couldn't really get away with not reading Watchmen, loved his Superman tales "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" and "For the Man Who Has Everything", Top Ten (as much for the Gene Ha goodness), and a couple of installments of his Captain Britain with Alan Davis, reprinted in some X-Men Classic comics I got for 20 cents each and promptly wallpapered my bathroom with. The only Moore-to-film comic I read was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From Hell, Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and most of his Miracleman/Marvelman have all escaped my notice unscathed. And to be honest, if those haven't aged any better than the Captain Britains on my wall, I don't know if I'll spend enough time in my bathroom to ever justify bringing them home.
3 comments:
The question, though (which you did address a bit): which are you going to read, and when? I'd be interested to see you read some of these and give us your grown-up take on 'em.
And welcome back!
I'll probably update this after I finish my Tuesday 10 Sequel: 10 Books I'm Embarrased to Say I Have Gotten Around to Reading.
Though absolutely no one is still reading this... please edit my Alan Moore list to include The Killing Joke. Yes, I read that as soon as it came out.
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