posted
Since he gave a glowing review of Secret Identity, I was wondering if he would like to (or has) tried out Busiek's other "non-traditional" super-hero comic, Astro City.
Every previous AC mini-series is available in hardcover and tradepaperback.
I think he might like Confession out of the extended arcs.
Out of the standalone atory collections he might like Family Album best.
It's a pretty interesting series. Characterization is the focus, not serial action. Like Secret Identity I'd give it a PG-13 rating...but nothing tasteless.
The basic premise is, what would life be like in a world where super-hero fantasy was real?
Not "What if super-heroes were realistic"...as Busiek himself points out, the world would be unrecognizable if such things were truly real. It aims for emotional reality.
Each issue (or extended story arc) follows a different narrator. Super-heroes, ordinary bystanders, unrepentant criminals...all can be the focus.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
First of all, I was very delighted to see Card reviewing graphic novels. I hope he keeps it up as he continues his part-time career in comic book writing.
I've met Kurt Busiek on two occasions, and one of the times, I walked away with a signed issue of Astro City: Local Heroes #1.
Although the series is very beatifully illustrated and written, I couldn't quite find anything truly captivating about it, at least not in the first issue. The story itself is readable, but there are truly better and more thrilling comics to read.
Funny thing is, I truly have no idea what to recommend to Mr. Card. The Ultimates can be a little too Hollywood, Superman/Batman is heavy with continuity, and Sin City is known to be too gritty and obscene to be able to appeal to most readers. It only comes to show you that variety in comic books operates the same way as the way we distinguish genres in novels.
"Origin," by Paul Jenkins is the the best thing I can come up with at the moment. It's a character-based story detailing the early and forgotten life of Wolverine. No continuity, no connections to current X-Men comics, just a simple, yet light-hearted and interesting tale of a troubled young man.
Posts: 121 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Which first issue? Astro City has had several over the years.
And I think comic wise for mostly non-super-hero fans (like Card) I'd suggest non-super-hero books to start with. There are a lot of good ones. The Road to Perdition, Usagi Yojimbo, Optic Nerve, Planetes...
I just mentioned AC because he seemed to like Busiek's non-tradional Superman project.
The vast majority of super-hero comics aren't very good...and even the better ones ten to be new reader unfriendly.
While I did like Paul Jenkins' work on The Inhumans and The Sentry, I found origin to be yet another uneeded Wolverine spin-off.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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AC is terrific! I was just coming on to suggest that to OSC myself. The first six-issue series had some of the best stories, in my opinion, and can be found in Astro City: Life in the Big City. I met Kurt Busiek once and found he is very generous in signing things. I got eight AC issues signed and all four issues of Secret Identity!
Some more terrific GNs are: Road to Perdition (my mom, who is normally not a comics fan, loved it more than the movie, which she loved already!)
Bone (for a younger audience perhaps, but still wonderfully written and illustrated)
A Tale of One Bad Rat (Not for younger kids, as it involves recovery from sexual abuse, but very beautifully illustrated, with nothing graphic, and with powerful, multilayered writing. Very character based.)
Usagi Yojimbo (charming, and one of the best series ever, though there is a bit of continuity you should be familiar with. It's all available in graphic novel format.)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (The Manga for manga haters. Like me. Its a japanese comic, but it was written and illustrated by Haiyao Miyazaki, the maker of the animated films Spirited Away and Howl's moving castle, which both got terrific reviews by OSC. It is by far the most awe-inspiring and epic story ever told in the comic medium, and Miyazaki's art never fails to astonish. The Lord of the Rings of comics. I cannot praise this higly enough. A new edition of it in GN format was released recently.)
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