Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga and other things that won't get you laid

[SnowflakeGirl]

I'm exhausted and need to sleep, but I did want to pop in here to briefly mention that I am biologically female and I did read Mad, some in single issues, but more in book collections. Truth be told, they were my brother's, but I did read them all religiously and enjoyed them immensely. I loved the movie spoofs the best. (Also, coincidentally, I live near the son of the creator of Mad magazine. He's a cool guy.)

[Paulie]

Don Martin was my favorite. The compilation books of his cartoons were hysterical. I hear there's a website out there that gathered all of his many sound effects into one comprehensive compendium. My all-time favorite Don Martin sound effect? "Geen geen geen!" You know what that is? It's the sound of Plastic Man flipping someone off on the 30th floor.

[happydude]

This was a question that came up at the office the other day. Did any girls read Mad Magazine religiously? I don't mean the odd one-off purchase, although even that seems unlikely. I was a fanatic Mad Magazine reader, and I just think the magazine was tailored for and targeted to boys. So I'm just curious if any girls read it, too.

Do they still publish Mad? Is it any good these days? I figure all the old artists like Don Martin, Al Jaffe, Antonio Prohias, Dave Berg, etc. etc. must be dead or retired by now.

Despite calling myself happydude (Simpsons reference...if I get kicked off I'll come back as sorrydude) I AM A CHICK!

I read Mad Magazine religiously as a child, and learned many things from it, such as the definition of the word apathy (segment titled "You know you're apathetic when..."). My older brothers bought it and Crack'd reguarly, and I read them in effort to be as cool as my brothers, and later because I liked them. It was definitely tailored to boys. We also had paperback Mads, like one on my shelf right here, Polyunsaturated Mad, with a parrot holding a small umbrella over himself while perched on Alfred E. Neuman's shoulder.

Mad still comes out every month...the last one I purchased was a rip-off on The Incredible Hulk. All the old masters are still featured, like the Aragones stuff in the margins, but none of it is new, just old repeats...kids today don't know the difference. I still think it's funny...they did a Spongebob issue that was just plain WRONG...but mostly I like it now for nostalgia.

[hepcat]

This was a question that came up at the office the other day. Did any girls read Mad Magazine religiously? I don't mean the odd one-off purchase, although even that seems unlikely. I was a fanatic Mad Magazine reader, and I just think the magazine was tailored for and targeted to boys. So I'm just curious if any girls read it, too.

My brother and I used to take turns spending our allowance on Mad. My brother got me into D&D, too, and that crazy "New Wave" music. Considering the other FORT sisters who've weighed in, maybe it's tailored for boys and their nosy little sisters.

I have to say to Paulie & Phat: I played D&D with a crowd of boys a few times a week, but I never dated any of them. Well, we were 13 or so but I don't even remember having a raging crush on any of them.

Turns out I married a guy with Mad and D&D in his past, but I don't think I would have given him a second look in the eighth grade.

[charstar813]

So I've started reading The Sandman series. I finished Preludes and Nocturnes, and I loved it. I keep asking myself why haven't I read this before? Any other Sandman fans?

[SnowflakeGirl]

OMG, Char, I love love love Sandman. That's what made me a devoted Neil Gaiman fan back in junior high! I am really glad you're reading it if you haven't before, I still think it's one of the finest comic series out there. I recommend it (and anything by Alan Moore) to people who usually doubt that comics can be a medium for fine writing about challenging themes. Neil Gaiman is a master!

Hey, anybody read Frank Miller's Sin City series? I'm really into that right now, I love the hard-boiled noir tone, and the artwork is amazing! I actually like it better than the most recent Dark Knight (DK2) stuff he's done.

[Super Goten]

Oh, all right. I admit it. I am a big fan of manga. You know, Japanese comics..... I have read all the Dragon Ball Z comics.... and also Yu Yu Hakusho... so there! :phhht

[phat32]

So I've started reading The Sandman series. I finished Preludes and Nocturnes, and I loved it. I keep asking myself why haven't I read this before? Any other Sandman fans?

I'm a big Sandman fan, as well. They're worth reading (and best read) in order, but my favorite issues (aside from Book 1: Preludes and Nocturnes) are collected as Book 4: Season of Mists and Book 10: The Wake.

I think that Sandman was a revolutionary comic book series with only one small problem: some of the artwork was just downright terrible. (My local comic book store guy and I were just talking about this the other day: Why did such a renowned, groundbreaking series not sign up better artists?)

The two collections I listed above not only boasted strong writing, but we enjoyed some terrific artwork, as well.

If you like Sandman, give Gaiman's novel American Gods a try.

Another Gaiman comic book series you may enjoy is collected as Books of Magic. If you look on Amazon.com, there are plenty of Books of Magic collections, but there's only one by Neil Gaiman.

While I haven't read all of the others (done by another writer named Neiber), Gaiman's is the original.

Hey, SnowFlakeGirl: Since you're a Gaiman fan, did you ever read any of Gaiman's Miracleman? Disturbing and fantastic.

[phat32]

Hey, anybody read Frank Miller's Sin City series? I'm really into that right now, I love the hard-boiled noir tone, and the artwork is amazing! I actually like it better than the most recent Dark Knight (DK2) stuff he's done.

I actually met Frank at San Diego Comic-Con the same year I met Garth. He's a surprisingly soft-spoken and polite guy. Real fan's delight. I told him that I had introduced friends to comics through his work, and he seemed genuinely delighted. (/End fanboy rant.)

Yeah, I love Sin City. I like the first series best, though. Some of the later series are dragged down by overwriting and that cartoony style he eventually developed (and parlayed into DK2).

If you like Sin City, try his 300. Also try David Lapham's Stray Bullets. SB is one of the best crime comics on the shelves today.

[SnowflakeGirl]

Phat! No I haven't read Miracleman or Stray Bullets, but I trust your tastes implicitly and will give those a try as soon as I get the chance.

I actually just started Greg Rucka's Queen and Country, an excellent spy action/drama set in a fictional office of the British Secret Intelligence Service. I have the first three volumes in TPB and just finished the first and am working on the second. I really like it, despite the fact that I didn't fancy the art at first. The artist switches in the next book, so I'll see if I prefer it; I did get used to the rather cartoonish artwork in volume one after a while though. Art aside, the writing is top-notch espionage.

[IMG]images/img/queenandcountrybrokenground.jp g[/IMG] [IMG]images/img/queenandcountrymorningstar.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]images/img/queenandcountrycrystalball.jpg[/IMG]

The third volume of Queen and Country won an Eisner award.