My God, MAD magazine is still published? That’s so cool! And (good) comics are the tits, low brow MY ARSE.
Great post!
autumnB
Yeah, still exists! The August issue lampoons True Detective.
benwolfson+2
But it has advertising now! And is published much less frequently than formerly, I think.
Dany+4
When I closed up shop at work, I used to draw comics and leave them for my coworkers to find in the morning. I eventually started drawing them in therapy too. It was fun, even though my drawing skills don’t extend beyond stick figures!
That being said, I’m always reluctant to tell people I like comics, because INEVITABLY the reaction is, “Cool!”
*pause*
“I mean, those are the ones everyone knows, but cool!”
fireblargg+13
Oh that’s cool, but I’m more into comix these days.
bgprincipessa+16
Wait, am I not allowed to love Maus? 🙁
bgprincipessa+3
Upon further reflection (it’s Friday, my brain is already a bit turned off, sorry), I now more understand the point of the distinction between comics and graphic novels and why people bringing up graphic novels when you say comics can be frustrating. I’m with you now. It took me a cup of coffee to wake my brain up, but I’m there.
I still love Maus.
leaping_rabbit+14
I read it not as intending anything bad about Maus but as “A lot of people have heard of/read it, and if you mention comics/graphic novels, it’s going to be brought up a lot.” That’s based on a lifetime of similar conversations, heh.
(I rarely create comics of my own, but I am a lifelong fan. 🙂 I wrote my first-ever school research paper on the history of newspaper comics when I was twelve, and did a two-unit independent study on comics and graphic novels my senior year of college. Woo, comics!)
CleverManka+34
“I once wrote a paper on low forms of art.”
SarcasticFringehead+10
Riiiiight? Similarly, the only reason I distinguish between comics and graphic novels is so I can tell everybody I read comics, because I am not embarrassed about how I spend my time.
leaping_rabbit+8
I do tend to think of/use the terms somewhat differently, but not really in a high-art/low-art way, (comics – more serialized or stand-alone as a short-form piece, in forms such as webcomics, comic books, newspaper comics; graphic novels – released all at once as a complete book) but obviously there’s lots of overlap (ex. trade paperbacks that collect whole series or story arcs into a book, collections of webcomics and newspaper comics, etc.). And a lot of my favorite graphic “novels” are graphic autobiographies/non-fiction.
laurenipsum+2
ME TOO. I definitely call them comic books. No time for haters.
rubeseatsinfo+36
I love people who say they “looooooooooooove comics!” but only mean Highly Literate and Popular Graphic Novels Thank You.
I really enjoy that feeling of intense disappointment and pre-emptive shame that settles in my gut when their face goes all glazed as I natter on about She-Hulk and web-based autobio, unable to stop because YOU TURNED ON THE NERD TRAIN LADY, HOLD TIGHT, IT’S NOT OVER TIL YOU FIND AN EXCUSE TO GO GET ANOTHER BEER
betsymore+38
“Oh, that’s so cool, I loved Fun Home!” – me
Sorry.
germanrocketcat+23
but Fun Home though!!
NicoleCliffe+4
[insert gif of Key and Peele valets here]
lizardjellybean+2
YEP, YOU GOT IT.
germanrocketcat+9
I love comics! I wish I could get more into serialized comics but the expense! I would have to trade in buying coffee for buying comics but coffee keeps me energetic…
I guess I’ll know I’ve made it when I can afford coffee AND comics.
germanrocketcat+7
in the meantime I’ve still got webcomics and borrowing from friends!
mirandawmeyer+9
I just wait for the trades and the rare occasion when I have a few bucks to spend. Much easier than a monthly expense. (I do subscribe to Ms. Marvel now just because SUPPORT KAMALA KHAN GODDAMMIT, but that’s it.)
lanascrub+5
If you’re a Marvel person, Marvel Unlimited is kind of like Netflix for comics (digital copies available ~6 months after publication) for $10/month. My husband and I signed up after figuring out it was less than what we were spending just on X-Men titles (so many x-men books, whyyyy). With most superhero stuff, I don’t feel the need to go back and re-read, and I’m not a collecter, so this is also a way to take back control of my bookshelves.
larsgarvey+3
Fantastic work, Jason!
I was very lucky to have an amazing roommate and friend who was also very into comics (much more so than I), so I never really ever felt the need to hide my love of the medium. Granted, I am pretty selective about what I read—don’t really go in for superhero comics, not that I dislike them, just spent most of my money on Hellblazer, the Cal McDonald stories, fantastic noir/crime comics like Tumor (which if you haven’t read, you should track down), etc.—but truly love an industry that creates such amazing collaborative works. Going to Emerald City Comic Con has been one of the highlights of my last few years.
That said, I have been given some curious looks when people walk into my room and see an entire shelf dedicated to trade paperbacks. (Wonder what will happen when I start framing the first ten issues of Hellblazer…)
edenmiller+4
I don’t make comics but I am involved in the indie comics scene. And yes, to all of this.
I solve the problem by either just not bringing it up or only associating with people who are already into comics. I know people mean well, but … some conversations I just get tired of having.
Goomaly+5
Ugh one of my roommates gets on my case when I say I’m reading a graphic novel, but come on, it’s like 400 pages long, it’s not exactly a comic.
That said I like comics too 🙂 I was just reading a webcomic about flying pirates in Steampunk America (is that a setting or a genre? Why not both!)
Currer_Belle+3
Is that Lady Sabre? That’s really lovely work, I enjoy that one too!
Goomaly+2
yes!
mirandawmeyer+4
COMICS!!!!
/goes to catch up on Ms. Marvel and Gunnerkrigg Court
Jason Katzenstein+17
For the record, I think it’s nobody’s imperative to know anything about comics, and that Watchmen, Persepolis and Maus are superlative works of the medium. I just wish more strangers wanted to talk to me about Ulli Lust and Charles Forsman is all. Oh, and I wish less people would call the medium I love ‘low art’. And that ‘graphic novel’ didn’t carry within it the implication that great comics should aspire toward being books. I guess I have a lot of wishes…
Dany+1
Understandable! I feel a bit bad about my comment above, I’ve been frustrated by that reaction before but it must be even more frustrating to have people constantly misunderstand what your work and passion is all about or consider it ‘less than’ in some way.
spring chickens+9
Sometimes I just wish people would ask questions when something is unfamiliar, instead of making assumptions and feeling the need to make statements about the subject right off the bat. Maybe a bit of it is that, too.
edenmiller+2
I will talk to you about Ulli Lust and Charles Forsman all day (seriously, Lust’s Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life was the best book, period, I read all of last year and she’s so cool! Forsman is doing so many cool things with the form of minicomics as a publisher with Oily and has such a great, unusual aesthetic when it comes to his own work.)
RandomCrouton+8
Webcomic recommendation thread! I’ll start:
Girls With Slingshorts (gwscomic.com) Octopus Pie (octopuspie.com)
But it has advertising now! And is published much less frequently than formerly, I think.
draqul
I think we all know the appropriate response to panel nine *straps on Attic helmet, climbs into chariot*
hellebore_
Sometimes I just wish people would ask questions when something is unfamiliar, instead of making assumptions and feeling the need to make statements about the subject right off the bat. Maybe a bit of it is that, too.
My God, MAD magazine is still published? That’s so cool! And (good) comics are the tits, low brow MY ARSE.
Great post!
Yeah, still exists! The August issue lampoons True Detective.
But it has advertising now! And is published much less frequently than formerly, I think.
When I closed up shop at work, I used to draw comics and leave them for my coworkers to find in the morning. I eventually started drawing them in therapy too. It was fun, even though my drawing skills don’t extend beyond stick figures!
That being said, I’m always reluctant to tell people I like comics, because INEVITABLY the reaction is,
“Cool!”
*pause*
“I mean, those are the ones everyone knows, but cool!”
Oh that’s cool, but I’m more into comix these days.
Wait, am I not allowed to love Maus? 🙁
Upon further reflection (it’s Friday, my brain is already a bit turned off, sorry), I now more understand the point of the distinction between comics and graphic novels and why people bringing up graphic novels when you say comics can be frustrating. I’m with you now. It took me a cup of coffee to wake my brain up, but I’m there.
I still love Maus.
I read it not as intending anything bad about Maus but as “A lot of people have heard of/read it, and if you mention comics/graphic novels, it’s going to be brought up a lot.” That’s based on a lifetime of similar conversations, heh.
(I rarely create comics of my own, but I am a lifelong fan. 🙂 I wrote my first-ever school research paper on the history of newspaper comics when I was twelve, and did a two-unit independent study on comics and graphic novels my senior year of college. Woo, comics!)
“I once wrote a paper on low forms of art.”
Riiiiight? Similarly, the only reason I distinguish between comics and graphic novels is so I can tell everybody I read comics, because I am not embarrassed about how I spend my time.
I do tend to think of/use the terms somewhat differently, but not really in a high-art/low-art way, (comics – more serialized or stand-alone as a short-form piece, in forms such as webcomics, comic books, newspaper comics; graphic novels – released all at once as a complete book) but obviously there’s lots of overlap (ex. trade paperbacks that collect whole series or story arcs into a book, collections of webcomics and newspaper comics, etc.). And a lot of my favorite graphic “novels” are graphic autobiographies/non-fiction.
ME TOO. I definitely call them comic books. No time for haters.
I love people who say they “looooooooooooove comics!” but only mean Highly Literate and Popular Graphic Novels Thank You.
I really enjoy that feeling of intense disappointment and pre-emptive shame that settles in my gut when their face goes all glazed as I natter on about She-Hulk and web-based autobio, unable to stop because YOU TURNED ON THE NERD TRAIN LADY, HOLD TIGHT, IT’S NOT OVER TIL YOU FIND AN EXCUSE TO GO GET ANOTHER BEER
“Oh, that’s so cool, I loved Fun Home!”
– me
Sorry.
but Fun Home though!!
[insert gif of Key and Peele valets here]
YEP, YOU GOT IT.
I love comics! I wish I could get more into serialized comics but the expense! I would have to trade in buying coffee for buying comics but coffee keeps me energetic…
I guess I’ll know I’ve made it when I can afford coffee AND comics.
in the meantime I’ve still got webcomics and borrowing from friends!
I just wait for the trades and the rare occasion when I have a few bucks to spend. Much easier than a monthly expense. (I do subscribe to Ms. Marvel now just because SUPPORT KAMALA KHAN GODDAMMIT, but that’s it.)
If you’re a Marvel person, Marvel Unlimited is kind of like Netflix for comics (digital copies available ~6 months after publication) for $10/month. My husband and I signed up after figuring out it was less than what we were spending just on X-Men titles (so many x-men books, whyyyy). With most superhero stuff, I don’t feel the need to go back and re-read, and I’m not a collecter, so this is also a way to take back control of my bookshelves.
Fantastic work, Jason!
I was very lucky to have an amazing roommate and friend who was also very into comics (much more so than I), so I never really ever felt the need to hide my love of the medium. Granted, I am pretty selective about what I read—don’t really go in for superhero comics, not that I dislike them, just spent most of my money on Hellblazer, the Cal McDonald stories, fantastic noir/crime comics like Tumor (which if you haven’t read, you should track down), etc.—but truly love an industry that creates such amazing collaborative works. Going to Emerald City Comic Con has been one of the highlights of my last few years.
That said, I have been given some curious looks when people walk into my room and see an entire shelf dedicated to trade paperbacks. (Wonder what will happen when I start framing the first ten issues of Hellblazer…)
I don’t make comics but I am involved in the indie comics scene. And yes, to all of this.
I solve the problem by either just not bringing it up or only associating with people who are already into comics. I know people mean well, but … some conversations I just get tired of having.
Ugh one of my roommates gets on my case when I say I’m reading a graphic novel, but come on, it’s like 400 pages long, it’s not exactly a comic.
That said I like comics too 🙂 I was just reading a webcomic about flying pirates in Steampunk America (is that a setting or a genre? Why not both!)
Is that Lady Sabre? That’s really lovely work, I enjoy that one too!
yes!
COMICS!!!!
/goes to catch up on Ms. Marvel and Gunnerkrigg Court
For the record, I think it’s nobody’s imperative to know anything about comics, and that Watchmen, Persepolis and Maus are superlative works of the medium. I just wish more strangers wanted to talk to me about Ulli Lust and Charles Forsman is all. Oh, and I wish less people would call the medium I love ‘low art’. And that ‘graphic novel’ didn’t carry within it the implication that great comics should aspire toward being books. I guess I have a lot of wishes…
Understandable! I feel a bit bad about my comment above, I’ve been frustrated by that reaction before but it must be even more frustrating to have people constantly misunderstand what your work and passion is all about or consider it ‘less than’ in some way.
Sometimes I just wish people would ask questions when something is unfamiliar, instead of making assumptions and feeling the need to make statements about the subject right off the bat. Maybe a bit of it is that, too.
I will talk to you about Ulli Lust and Charles Forsman all day (seriously, Lust’s Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life was the best book, period, I read all of last year and she’s so cool! Forsman is doing so many cool things with the form of minicomics as a publisher with Oily and has such a great, unusual aesthetic when it comes to his own work.)
Webcomic recommendation thread! I’ll start:
Girls With Slingshorts (gwscomic.com)
Octopus Pie (octopuspie.com)
I read a lot of webcomics, so I’ll just plug a few favorites here:
Heart-Shaped Skull (Finished)
EGS
Paranatural
Order of the Stick
Spacetrawler (Finished)
Girl Genius
Ignition Zero
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
xkcd
I also second the recommendation for GWS.
But it has advertising now! And is published much less frequently than formerly, I think.
I think we all know the appropriate response to panel nine *straps on Attic helmet, climbs into chariot*
Sometimes I just wish people would ask questions when something is unfamiliar, instead of making assumptions and feeling the need to make statements about the subject right off the bat. Maybe a bit of it is that, too.