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Underground > Comic Books >

Introducing Comics to Non-Believers

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the credible hulk

22:40 / 10.04.06

I've got a few friends who I think would really enjoy reading comics, but don't yet view them as anything but a childish curiosity.

What comics would you drop in a non-believer's lap as an introduction to the medium?

I'm currently considering the "look, legitimate writers also dabble in comics" route, but aside from Orson Scott Card (unfortunately, his Ultimate Iron Man series isn't that great) and people like Neil Gaiman, I can't think of a lot.

23:13 / 10.04.06

If they watched the movies, they may dig "E is for Extinction".

23:13 / 10.04.06

Depends on the person, really. I wouldn't give the same comic to a fan of horror novels that I would to a fan of sci-fi. But I would think that whatever it would be would have certain qualities that carry beyond questions of genre or style.

1. Short. If it's a huge tome like From Hell, it'd only scare them off

2. Self-contained. The story should begin and end in that arc. Oh, there can be minor throwaway forshadowing, but not more. Furthermore, the reader shouldn't require a lot of prior knowledge to understand the plot.
3. Straightforward. Nothing too experimental, in format or storytelling. non-linear acid trips will only confuse them.

Some examples, off the top of my head:

The original Books of Magic miniseries.
V for Vendetta (especially nowadays).
Batman: Year One.
Superman: Birthright.
Marvel Boy.
Daredevil: Man Without Fear.
One of the Busiek Conan trades.
Pretty much any Hellboy trade.

There are probably others.

23:21 / 10.04.06

Seconding the Hellboy trades.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

01:19 / 11.04.06

A friend of mine - long-time friend - didn't read comics because there was a level of unreality that didn't work for her; not the things-happening, but she feels much the same way about most animation (except her beloved Futurama, and maybe Family Guy) - but when working with some discarded comics at her job (she works in a thrift shop), she picked up V For Vendetta #1 and totally clicked with it. I was thinking of introducing her to Kill Your Boyfriend afterward, or possibly Berlin.

Dan Fish - @Fish1k

07:36 / 11.04.06

My girlfriend really liked Marvel Zombies, which is probably the last thing I'd think to give to a non-comic reader.

Dark side of the Moonfrog1

09:04 / 11.04.06

I'd spent ages trying to get Mrs Moonfrog to read comics, but to no avail. She's a big Neil Gaiman fan so I thought Sandman would be perfect, however it didn't push her buttons (to be fair she only read Preludes and Nocturnes which is a bit sub-80's horror gash I suppose...)

Strangely enough the one Graphic Novel which converted her to comics was Preacher. She absolutely adores it.

I reckon its a pretty good starting point - the artwork is simple but slick, it's a relatively easy to follow story, all the familiar hero/villain archetypes are in there and it's got a hard-drinking Irish vampire. What more could you want?

10:49 / 11.04.06

I dunno, maybe *trying* to get people into comics is a bit of a mistaken enterprise, as opposed to pointing out some of the great comics that are out there to people who are already vaguely interested in reading something new...

I've introduced a fair few people to comics that they have loved. Sometimes they have gone on to seek out a variety of other comics on their own, sometimes they haven't, but most of them have been able to say that they found a comic they've enjoyed.

11:06 / 11.04.06

My brother is not a huge fan of comics, and yet loves Batman: Year One and any Madman-- depending on the jollity and demeanour of your victim or disciple, I suggest those, while also seconding the Hellboy vote. I might also suggest some of Alan Moore's ABC titles (eg. Tom Strong), which have a freshness yet a wryness and intelligence that makes them both good, old-fashioned furious reads and yet fresh and innovative takes on the genre. The best of both worlds!

Keith, like a scientist

12:02 / 11.04.06

I'd second the ABC stuff, but would put Top Ten out there as the perfect gateway comic, perhaps starting with the prequel graphic novel The Forty-Niners. It tells a very self contained story, is beautifully illustrated, and smartly written by Moore. After reading that the other week, it made me go back and read all the rest of the Top Ten titles for the third or fourth time.

Haus of Mystery

13:14 / 11.04.06

Youngblood
Brigade
Fathom
The Darkness
Evil Ernie
Witchblade
Pretty much anything published by Avatar

That sort of thing should do the trick

the permuted man

13:42 / 11.04.06

Runaways, is the most accessible comic to non-comic readers out there in my opinion (which is rather amazing since it's in Marvel continuity). I just wish they had regular trades instead of the manga volumes. I get the issues so it's not a concern for me, but it's a shame for new readers not to get the full-sized art.

Otherwise:
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 1
Death: the High Cost of Living
Stardust
Watchmen

14:22 / 11.04.06

The first trade from Waid's Fantastic Four run is pretty self-contained, very accessible, and a whole lot of fun. It'd make a totally acceptable gateway drug for anyone with any science-fiction leanings.

20:17 / 12.04.06

Usually any guests I have go straight for the Transmetropolitan.

It's unnerving. I think it might be the super-dense art, naughty words and the fact it isn't a superhero comic.

21:04 / 12.04.06

At uni, people comming back to my place usually headed straight for the calvin and Hobbes rather than anything else...

Yeah, YMMV, but looking at this thread, and some of the comics recommended would actually put me off comics instread of turning me on to them.

In my completely non-exisistant sales career I learned a valuable thing - if you are selling something to someone the first question you should do is ask them what they like - then you have something to work with when recommending products and services...

Bubblegum Death

22:53 / 12.04.06

I thought I could get my mom to read Identity Crisis because she really likes mysteries, but then I read it; and there was so much going on that you'd have to be a comics fan to know; I knew she wouldn't like it. I'm still hoping she'll ask to read a volume of League of Extraordinary Gentleman.

I used to read comics to my son's mother. Her favorites were Teen Titans Go! and Love Hina.

The Natural Way

16:54 / 13.04.06

But, but, but....Hulk, you've yet to provide us w/ any idea as to what these guys might actually like. So far, as in all threads of this nature, we're just throwing random ideas out there/listing our favourite funny books. Give us something to go on. I've got tons of people reading comics - quite a few of them'll now fork out their own dosh for the odd'n, and some could even be considered collectors - but I turned them on by having at least a vague idea of what they're into.

Just ask my colleague in front of me, with the copy of Ronin sitting on his desk.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:16 / 13.04.06

Undertoad- I imagine she'd have to REALLY hate comics to get into IC...

22:43 / 13.04.06

I've just lent my mate Vimanarama on a whim, he flicked through it and seemed really jazzed - he loved the artwork and the unusual (for mainstream comics, anyway) settings and characters.

He's not big a comics reader, but is interested in the idea of them, and is a total head and an art fan - he's covered in tattoos that remind me of Bond's eastern imagery in this story; lots of lotus flowers and symbolic images, and he loved the colouring in the art especially. I reckon he'll enjoy vimanarama, especially it's different ethnic focus, as I mentioned. I think people that aren't necessarily turned on by the spandex and muscles vibe that most of us go for are more likely to respond to comics that at least subvert a little their idea of what a 'normal' comic is like. So we can go "See, comics can do this as well!" I think the shortness of the story helps in it's pickupability.

On a related note, I gave my partner We3 last week and it made her cry, which is about the best thing I could hope for. Now she wants to see what all this Doom Patrol fuss is about. Neat.

13:15 / 14.04.06

My girlfriend's actually expressed some interest, and I'm choosing my weapon carefully before I make my play. She's a fellow law student and would probably enjoy something that dips into government and politics. I figure I'll start her off with Ex Machina. It's not too comic-booky to put her off, but it should provide an entry point. I think new readers need to be eased gently into the more stylized stuff, like Transmet or Marvel Boy.

15:57 / 14.04.06

I wouldn't necessarily recommend Ex Machina because it is more than a little silly in what doesn't seem to be an intended way - King-fu artists and German economic terrorists to name two rather jarring elements over an above the rather tirsome habit BKV has of cutting and pasting fun facts about US electoral law and such

If you are looking for a well-written and fun comic about political macinations I'd really recommend Cerebus: High Society. The only downsides are that it is quite big, and that might be off-putting to some and it is all in black and white - But, yeah - that would be my recommendation...

What else does your girlfriend like? What sort of sense of humour does she have?

16:01 / 14.04.06

Politics, huh? Any thoughts on the Garth Ennis Unknown Soldier mini?

16:53 / 14.04.06

I had this class with a nice young man who didn't read comics at all and expressed only the smallest interest in comics. I recommended GM's JLA run. I did so because one only needs passing familiarity with the archetypes (and we're all familiar with Supes and Bats). The plotting is breakneck pace, with hundreds of throwaway ideas to munch on.

The other thing I recommended was GM's X-run, well, because the flicks were popular with this gentlemen, and I thought the run encapsulated all that is great about the X-Men. It's fun, it's scary, it's world-shaking (Xorn, Genosha).

One more thing I suggested was this single issue of JLA (can't remember the number) written by Mark Waid (I think), in which the JLA shrink and try to battle with a tumour which was a civilization inside a kid's brain. Instead of fighting, the JLA convince the aliens to pack up and stop killing the kid. Superman stays behind six months to help the aliens move. While on the other side of town, two alien parents, seeing their civilization come to an end, create a ship for their small baby. The parents perish, yet their baby soars into the air and lands in the stomach... implying the origin of Superman, which is neat. It also implied to this young man whom I suggested it to, that perhaps we humans are just viruses in a larger body.

the credible hulk

16:56 / 14.04.06

But, but, but....Hulk, you've yet to provide us w/ any idea as to what these guys might actually like. So far, as in all threads of this nature, we're just throwing random ideas out there/listing our favourite funny books. Give us something to go on.

Well, I'm not really thinking of a couple specific people, so much as I'm interested in wha you guys think good introductory comics would be.

I got my science-fiction-loving roommate into We3 and Planetary not so long ago, and we got him the first Ultimates trade from the public library. My girlfriend on the other hand is a tougher sell. She read The Dark Knight Returns and Maus for school, and liked them, but is still pretty turned off by the medium (largely because of the way women are drawn and portrayed in a lot of comics).

This thread was more curiosity for me than anything.

The Natural Way

18:21 / 14.04.06

I'm more and more of the opinion that most of the people I've converted to funny books were initially interested only because I picked something I knew would pique their curiosity: in the case of my younger sister, Ghost World; my blokey mate, The Ultimates; my toy collecting, Juxtapoze reading colleague, We3; my g/f, Blankets; a hippy-dippy, Mists of Avalon reading galpal, Sandman (tho', admittedly, right now she doesn't so much read comics, per-se, so much as Neil Gaiman stuff).... You get the picture.

Anyway, I think yr post illustrates my point perfectly. Yr g/f would pick a different comic to my design obsessed colleague. Entry level comics are hard to generalise about, because people's tastes are different.

19:52 / 14.04.06

As hard as it rocks, Cerberus would be a bit of a hard sell to my girlfriend for the usual reasons.

Regarding Unknown Soldier, I see it as more of a conspiracy book and less of a political one. More political intrigue than the actual workings of government, if you see what I mean. I also think the lady friend would find it a little too macho; after all, it's about big scary men in the military.

The danger with JLA or X-Men is that I think full-on superhero action will provoke the same "C'mon, this is silly" response as Transmet. Too comic-booky, too soon. She'll get there. I dunno though, you might have a point about Ex Machina, sleazenation. I'm starting to consider Batman: Year One for a smooth, muted lead-in to superheroes. Plus, she's guaranteed to like it-- everyone does. Likewise for Tom Strong. That book would make anyone smile.

As for what my girlfriend likes, here's what she's got shelved next to her bed: the collected works of E.E. Cummings, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a W.B. Yeats anthology, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Brothers Karamazov. Not sure how to translate that into comics taste.

20:20 / 14.04.06

She might like Invisibles (I suggest the Bloody Hell In America trade). She sounds like she might be interested in the more mystical aspects of it.

The most political book I can think of is actually a manga title, called Eagle.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

21:16 / 14.04.06

(largely because of the way women are drawn and portrayed in a lot of comics).

Cerebus=bad, then. Imagine... you get someone into comics on the strength of Church & State, then they have to read them all...

then it's goodnight Vienna.

A

02:29 / 15.04.06

I've given plenty of non-comics readers comics to read, and it's usually been successful.

If people used to read superhero comics when they were younger, then it's easy to find a good recent superhero title they can enjoy. I've given friends New X-Men, X-Force /X-Statix and Morrison's JLA and they've loved them.

If people aren't superhero fans already, then I don't think superhero comics are the way to go. You want to give them something to show them that comics can be as interesting, exciting and worthwhile as their favourite books, movies or TV shows.

I've found that the first Transmetropolitan trade is almost a guaranteed hit. My girlfriend loved it. My dad loved it. I can't think of anyone who hasn't like it.

I've found that The Invisibles is also a good one to start people on if their tastes are a bit more "literary" or "metaphysical" or something than average. Otherwise, something a bit more straightforward seems like a better idea.

I've had zero success giving people Ghost World to read, however. I thought it would be a good one to start people on, but the feedback I get seems to be "depressing, arty crap".

06:53 / 15.04.06

I've found that the first Transmetropolitan trade is almost a guaranteed hit. My girlfriend loved it. My dad loved it. I can't think of anyone who hasn't like it.

Well, my ex-boss for one. He knew I was into comics, and saw me with a Transmet trade. This was back before I finally gave up on collecting the series. I gave him the first three or four trade (up until the year of the bastard). He took them away, read them and didn't really like them. Unlilke me, I'm guessing he never read the rest of the series and was therefore spared the inconsistencies and down-right cop-out of the last few issues.

A comic/grahpic novel that I've found people who didn't read comics responded favourably to is Gaiman and McKean's Signal to Noise. Short chapters, a gripping story about a dying film director, ideosyncratic artwork, it is an effective demonstration of comics ability to tell all sorts of stories from the small to thelarge. The feedback I got was all positive and a fair few people told me that they were unaware that comics like that existed.

But, you know, YMMV.

07:00 / 15.04.06

I've had zero success giving people Ghost World to read, however. I thought it would be a good one to start people on, but the feedback I get seems to be "depressing, arty crap".

And yeah, this kind of underlines what I was saying earlier about knowing what your potential reader likes. If they uses phrases such as "depressing, arty crap" then they are unlikely to appreciate much of the 'fantagraphics ouvre'.

20:59 / 15.04.06

I'd second Preacher, I've used it on a number of people and they've all gone further into comics. I think it's best to stay away from superhero stuff for the first title, just because everyone already knows comics do superheroes, if you give them Preacher it simultaneously shows that comics aren't just for kids and also that comics aren't just superheroes.

It's instantly hilarious, and pretty easy to get into the character arcs. Most series you have to tell people "Stick with it, it gets better," but Preacher is pretty solid right from the start, and if they get to Until the End of the World, there's no turning back.

22:19 / 15.04.06

Every girlfriend or female friend I've met in the last handful of years, has been sucessfully turned to "Y The Last Man!" "Supreme Power" works pretty well, especially if you have friends who are familiar with politics (and who isn't political nowadays.) "Runaways" definitely works for women and kids, it seems, and "Preacher" for any of your saracastic friends who have counter-culture tendencies.

Anyone of these titles are good introductory books because they are not obvious or stereotypical comic book fare. They both change the persons perception of comics and are good hooks to catch a new reader. You can explain any of these titles premises and get a mild interest from the person you are trying to pitch it to.

22:53 / 15.04.06

My girlfriend was seduced to comics by the first Sandman trade.

02:02 / 19.04.06

I've always wondered what sort of comics it would take to get people into them, and I've always thought of it as differing depending on why the person wasn't into comics to begin with. For instance, Astonishing X-Men is a great series, but someone who doesn't like the whole tights/fantasy aspect of comics would never enjoy it. That being said, we should create a master list of "Top 10 Comics Your Girlfriend Will Love" or ".... Your Dad Will Love" etc. etc.

Or something.

Stardust - the Charles Vess with-pictures version. It's not a comic, but it's definitely a good halfway point between a normal short story and a comic. I'd say if someone could read it and enjoy the story and illustrations, they'd go for a Books of Magic or Sandman arc or two.
Akiko
Strangers in Paradise (I don't know which arc, though)
Transmetropolitan (said before, but definitely seconded and thirded and ... oh it's so good)
Y! The Last Man (ditto the above)

Planetary
Promethea
Invisibles

Global Frequency
Ultimates
Authority
Powers

V for Vendetta, if not for its greatness than at least for its recency.
Batman: Year One
The Walking Dead
Superman: For All Seasons
Solo (#1 is especially beautiful)
Local

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