Lunchtime Reading, part 1

As a teenager in the 90s, I'd read a small number of hologrammed X-Men comics and followed the death of Superman (then attempted and failed entirely to follow his rebirth), but, despite my well-rounded geekiness, I never thought much about comics. It was 2003 (perhaps) when a friend handed me Watchmen and then Dark Knight Returns. These being heroine of the sequential art form, I was hooked fast. In the ensuing years, I was introduced to other classics like Transmet and Sandman, but, even when I set my sights on writing comics, I was never a Wednesday regular.

One year back, I started working at Midtown Comics' cavernous warehouse and lunchtime gave me unfettered access to new books. If I ate quickly, I found I could read two, sometimes even three issues in a sitting. The simple act of reading comics in issues (rather than trades) was new and startling and it suddenly hit me that this was how most mainstream comics fans did it, consuming snippets of story week by week. Never having been the biggest superhero fan (or as I'm fond of saying these days: I'm very interested in superheroes, just not when they act like superheroes), it took me some time to figure out what I liked amid the sea of titles.

Now, soon to be saying farewell to Midtown, I offer my thoughts on what I'm reading these lunchtimes.

Amazing Spider-Man: As stated, I didn't grow up a fanboy. When I thought about superheroes, I thought about the X-Men or Batman (or perhaps derisively of Superman). I did not think about Spider-Man. When I started at Midtown, One More Day was underway and my co-workers were writing angry letters. I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd been tossing bricks through Quesada's window. They described the story to me and I agreed. It sounded dumb. It sounded like a cop out.

Then I met Dan Slott in a writing class and the man was thoroughly entertaining. He had an obvious passion for the character and it was impossible not to get swept up. So I picked up an issue. And it was fun. The hard reset button on continuity seems like a fine notion to me now, kicking the character back to the basics and keeping it focused and entertaining. I can't remember who asked the question, "When did comics stop being a world you wanted to escape to and become a world you wanted to escape from?" but Amazing with its current team manages to capture that classical sense of wonderment without being cheesy. It hasn't all been gold, but I'll repeat myself: fun.

Screamland: Classic horror movie monster ennui. I'm sold right there, but for the rest of you: Mournful, tragic, and hilarious this beautiful Image book follows the lives (ahem) of Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, Dracula, and the Mummy. Their heydays as movie stars playing themselves are over and now they're wrestling with their dying careers and their own egos. The last issue disappointed, but a trade appears to be slated for October and if the image of a bitter and alcoholic Frankenstein's Monster in therapy provokes a reaction then I heartily recommend.

Secret Invasion: Marvel's summer blockbuster. I'm reading it, but I'll admit I have trouble caring. As Chris said, it's like watching the Marvel universe play a game of mafia. It has a few moments, but the skrull goal of confusing Earth's superheroes succeeds only in confusing me. The fanboys seem very keen on discovering who's a skrull, but I find it artificial and unsatisfying.

But what really amazes is that Marvel sees this as a story to welcome in new readers, to bring in the non-comics superhero fan. I find that goal... misguided. It's playing off several years of continuity and the primary appeal seems to be in watching the payoff of seeds planted long ago. But their sales are strong, so what do I know?

Final Crisis: I love Grant Morrison. I love him mostly for his iconoclasm, but the likes of All Star Superman prove he can work his magic within the mainstream. But I defy anyone with less knowledge of continuity than Morrison to make sense of this book. He's always been a writer better at packing a story with fascinating ideas than coherent narratives, but he should know when to pull back. I want to like it, I really do, but even with the aid of annotations, I fail.