American Comics,
… not just for fat men with orange-stained Cheetos fingers.
Let’s face it, most of you will stereotype American comic book readers as either obese or skinny guys, who live in their mother’s basement and are 40 year old virgins. But after the recent flood of movie adaptations of comic books, the younger generations are now more familiar with superheroes such as; Ironman, Hulk, Batman, Hellboy etc.
What about those heroes still stuck in monthly issues?
Most non-comic book readers are still unfamiliar with characters that are considered as major characters by readers, such as Nightwing. Don’t know Nightwing? He’s Dick Grayson. Still doesn’t ring a bell? He’s the first of Batman’s protégés! Right now, Batman’s up to Robin number three.
What got me interested in comic books, namely DC Comics, was the in-depth character history. American comics are more like soap operas, and don’t have a concrete storyline, so it has all the time in the world for characterization.
Let’s use Dick Grayson as an example. People who have read Detective Comics since the 1940s would know him since he was Robin: wearing green-scaled underwear and fighting crime with Batman while shouting “Goly Gee Batman!” But since then he has “grown-up”, picked up a new superhero identity, found his own city to protect, and now leads a team. He also has his own monthly issue series!
If you’re a manga (Japanese comic book) reader, you know what I mean when stories just drag on and never reaches the conclusion! Annoying innit? This never happens in American comic books, because of the reason I mentioned above: it’s like The Bold and the Beautiful, without the whole load of drama, abortion and your husband coming back alive three years later after what you thought was a fatal snake bite while he was on an expedition in Africa. Furthermore, I bet you’ve wished for a crossover between two different manga titles, just for the sake of wanting to seem them team-up. Well, this happens quite often in American comic books! There are many crossovers within the institutions, as well as out of the institution, for example Justice Society of America (JSA) and DC vs. Marvel.
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Maybe superheroes comics aren’t your cup of tea, but don’t let that stop you from reading them.
You like chick-flicks? Try the new series called Spiderman Loves Mary Jane, which is basically about MJ and her high school life. Juggling around school, friends and her relationship with Spidey.
Dear female readers… find yourself your favourite hot superhero, and I guarantee you that you’ll enjoy reading comic book a lot more!
If you’re looking for a superhero comic not as dramatic as Superman, try Runaways. It’s about six teenagers (who thought they had a pretty average life), finding out their parents are super villains, and runs away from home. During their adventure each individual either finds out about their hidden powers, what they really are, or obtain these awesome power gloves that can blast fire. But since they are teenagers, there’re tons of dramas! I’m sure manga readers will love this series, since the art-style is greatly influenced by manga.
And no, they don’t have eyes half the size of their heads.
How about something waaay more realistic? Then checkout Marvel’s recent title called Kick-Ass. It’s rated mature for violence, but I’m sure Year 11+ can handle it. It’s basically about a high school comic-geek becoming a vigilante. But it’s not your average success story. He gets severely beaten up by gangs and gets into a whole load of trouble.
Want something with more flare and Tarantino-esque? Grab a copy of Young Liars! It’s institution is Vertigo (which goes under DC Comics’ umbrella) because of it’s rating. So much like Tarantino’s movie, I can only recommended it to mature readers or Upper school students. But it’s an amazing read, and I can go as far as saying it’s one of the best series I’ve read.
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I’m sure you’re wondering where you can purchase these comics. If you’re looking for trade paperbacks (TPB), which are basically 6/7 issues put together, you should be able to find/order it at any bookstore. But beware, major cooperates are out to rape your wallets! They will most likely charge $20 more than the original price.
This is when the dingy little comic book stores’ awesomeness comes in!They don’t charge any additional price, and you can order TPBs too. But the fallback is that the stores are really hard to find, and super tiny. So far I’ve only found two stores, which happens to be in the same building…
Sugar Street is right behind Windsor House, the building with Toys R Us.
Metro Comics: http://metrocomics.com
Shop 112, Causeway Bay Centre,
15~23 Sugar Street, Hong Kong
Clark’s Comics: http://www.clarks-comics.com/
Shop 1, B7 Basement Causeway Bay Centre,
15~23 Sugar Street, Hong Kong
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To find out which comics are out this week, visit the institution’s websites
DC Comics… http://dccomics.com/dcu/comics/
Marvel… http://marvel.com/catalog/
Image Comics… http://www.imagecomics.com/schedule.php
Dark Horse… http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/New-Releases
360 Calories and a whole lotta Fat 