Hey boys and girls, welcome back to another healthy installment of Fangirl Ramblings. I want to start the column out with a big thank you to everyone who read the first two columns and emailed me or posted on the nexus message board about it. This is a complete and new experience for me, as I am not used to writing anything consistently with any kind of audience. I really appreciate the welcoming feeling I received from all the staffers and the feedback from you, the reader. It’s good to know that someone is actually reading my silly little writings and asking my opinions.
Speaking of opinions, I did receive an email in my inbox the other day asking for just that. In this email David asked, “I have been trying to get my girlfriend to read comics for years and so far the only books I have successfully gotten her to read is Preacher. I was hoping to get her reading something a little more fun. Do you have any suggestions?”
Now I had quite a few suggestions for David and his lovely girlfriend, which leads me into the topic of this weeks column. How to get the Non Comic Book Reading people in your life to read comics.
We all have a non comic book reader, or as I like to refer to them as: the NCBR, in our lives. It could be that significant other of yours who doesn’t understand the joy of Wednesdays, or why they can’t sit on that white box in the middle of your room. It could be a good friend of yours who read comics back in the 90’s, but got disinterested with Spawn and the Punisher. Or maybe a coworker or friend who always sees you reading those “funny books” and is a little curious as to what the hype is all about. Whatever the case may be, as full fledged comic book loving geeks, we want to share our beloved hobby with everyone in our lives who is willing to give it a chance. Or at least try to help them understand our passion.
As I discussed last column, you have to ease the NCBR into the world of sequential art. You can’t just hand them your favorite issue of Batman and expect them to understand. That’s not the way it works. You can’t throw a child into water and expect them to swim if they don’t know how. And you can’t expect the NCBR to love a random comic book if they’ve never read one before.
The first thing that I would suggest is, find out how willing the NCBR in your life is to learning about your hobby. Have they asked before about those piles of books sitting on your floor? Maybe even asked you what one was about? Have they flipped through one while you were hanging out? Have they maybe even gone with you to the comic book store to pick up your weekly fix. Or maybe, they’ve just asked you the simple question of, “why do you read them?” If they have, your NCBR might be a good test subject for this experiment.
The first step into finding a suitable comic for the first time reader is finding out what the person likes to read in their spare time. Is it romance, thriller, horror, fantasy, science-fiction or maybe just a slice of life story. If they aren’t a big reader, what is their favorite movie, or what TV shows do they gravitate towards. You have to find a baseline to where you want to start. If a person tells you they love a good slice of life story, you aren’t going to hand them a Transformers book. But if they are a child of the 80’s who is starting to relive their childhood, you might go that route. I find that, chances are, for the first time NCBR, you might have to expand past the super-hero section and into the realm of other books.
Now, before the controversy begins, I’m not saying that the traditional super-hero comic isn’t the way to go. It really all depends on the person and their tastes. If you are bringing a friend into the mix who hasn’t read comics in a long time and wants to try them out again, a good super-hero tale is the way to go. But if you are trying to get someone, say a girlfriend, to understand your love for the sequential art, sometimes super-hero books are not the way to go. And no, I’m not stereotyping either that girls don’t read the capes and tights comics. I started with them, just a lot of people aren’t interested in that the first time.
Crazy as it may seem, comics aren’t all about the traditional cape and cowl group. They expand this vast medium that reaches across so many different genres, all put into this rectangle bound format of art and words mixing together. The stereotype exists that comics are for kids, and they are all about super-heros and villains fighting ala the old Batman TV show. You want to show your NCBR that this medium is filled with so much more potential. The beauty and grace that can fill one book, compared to the gritty noir of another. It’s all contained within this little package that we call a comic, and most of the world doesn’t know what we know. They haven’t experienced the pain of first love in Blankets, the beauty of Marvels, or the sheer fun and adventure of Ultimate Spider-Man. It’s out there, we just need to show them.
After you’ve talked with your NCBR it’s time to start thinking about the kind of comic you want to share with them. When it comes to this stage I whole heartedly suggest the graphic novel/trade paper back route. It’s the whole series or story-line in one book. This will help put your friend at ease. A single pamphlet issue might make the NCBR feel weird. Remember, our good friend Dr Wertham helped solidify the stereotype that comics are for kids. By reading a TPB or Graphic Novel, the NCBR is reading what looks like to them a book. It gives the comic book a immediate notch up in the realm of respectability. To them, they aren’t reading a comic book, they are reading a book that happens to be illustrated. It’s one way to help ease the person into the idea that comics can be for adults too. And hopefully, once they read that one story, they will be forever hooked.
The next step is to actually pick out the book that you feel your NCBR will read and enjoy. Now remember when you are making this decision you have to keep some things in mind. Hopefully by now you’ve chosen a genre in which you should start looking for a book. But you also have to keep in mind the persons taste. They might like a good down home crime adventure story, but they aren’t into the aspects of the fantastical. A story such as Greg Rucka’s Whiteout might be a good choice, but Brian Bendis’ Powers would not be. You have to gauge reactions, such as, are they easily offended, or do they love a good black comedy? All these things have to be considered when choosing the right story for someone.
Now go home my students. Talk with the NCBR in your life, find out what they are into, and stay tuned for next week where I give to you, Dani’s ultimate list of great comics for the first time reader.
But before I end, I want to instate a new feature at the end of my columns. This is the, What did Dani buy from the comic book store this week feature. Every week I’m going to end the column with what books I got this week. It’s my way of sharing what goodness I’m reading, and a way for you to love or berate me on my taste in comics.
This week we’ve got in no particular order
-Ultimate Secret #4
-Loveless #1
-Kabuki #5
-Catwoman #48
-Strangers in Paradise #77
-The Book of Lost Souls #1
-Amazing Spider-Man #525
-New Avengers #12
-Daredevil #78
-Ultimate Fantastic Four vol. 4 tpb
-Samurai Champloo vol. 1
As always, I want to hear your opinions and comments. Are you enjoying the column? Is there something that you’d love to hear my opinion on in the future? Are the columns to short or should they be a little longer in length? My life partner in crime, Mr James Hatton, seems to think my columns are a little on the slim side, but I tell him it’s just because I’m not as verbose as he is. Let me know. Give me the love.
See ya next week.
