Every week I buy entirely too many comic books, my version of a crack addiction if you will. When I get home that night and put the books in an order I want to read them in, a real pattern emerges. My absolute must-read books always go on top, down to the last one, which I could read at any time. It is interesting to see which ones win now versus the ones that I had to read immediately when I was 10 years old.
A sample of my top 5 must read in 1976, at the age of ten:
Wonder Woman
Justice League of America
World's Finest
All Star Comics
Showcase
Those were the tastes I had then, and I can still go back and read these issues with a great amount of pleasure. I can sometimes remember where I was and the atmosphere in which I read them, which makes it even cooler. To this day, I still read Wonder Woman as voraciously as ever, and the JSA will always hold a significant place in my heart, as you can see below.
My current favorites:
Astro City
100 Bullets
Strangers In Paradise
Powers
Marvel Knights 4
Honorable Mention: Identity Crisis
I read titles from other companies then just DC now, and my taste is much more sophisticated, but it knocks me out that not a lot has changed in my innate sense of what I want from a read.
As the weeks progress, I hope to bring a more intimate picture of what brings me back time and again to these titles. Each of the current favorites are those books that I can hardly wait to get home from the store to read, and have to discipline myself not to open while driving.
Anyone else feeling a tad nostalgic?
Friday, September 10, 2004
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3 comments:
Wow 1976, I was 1!:)
As a kid in the 80s my favorite comics were G.I. Joe, Transformers, Spider-Man and Captain America.
Then in the late 80 and early 90s when I got back into comics. It was Legion of Super Heroes, Green Lantern, JLA, Batman titles, and Superman titles.
Now it is Hot Gimmick, Malay Mysteries, SGT FROG, Remote, Akiko, anything by Andi Watson, Planetes and Kindaichi Case Files.
Wow James, your tastes have changed as you have grown up as well! I think it is totally cool to try new things, and your current list is a fantastic representation of a thriving manga and fantasy market.
I still get excited by new books and fresh concepts, and hope that is always the case. I am convinced that I will always buy Wonder Woman and JLA comics if for no other reason then sentimental value.
Yeah I just seem to move on to other things as time goes on. I wonder in part it was because I used to bea HUGE Spider-Man fan and thought I'd always read it.
Then the Spider-clone thing happened and I haven't ever returned to the character on a regular basis. Then even later series that I thought I'd always love, have gone in directions that bewilder me. Like the Legion of Super-Heroes which lost me with.. well Legion Lost.:)
I really wonder what I'll be reading 10 years from now, as it has changed so much each decade.
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