Sep 21, 2010

Why I Love Comics

Oh, the usual... they tell great stories, they bring you to far away adventures, they have characters who mirror the best and worst of ourselves and all-that-literary-jazz. Comics are funny, sometimes satiric. They can be easy, engaging reads even as they show history and not-so-subtle political commentary.


Some comics are so damn good they have illustrations worthy of museums built just for them.



Also, comics make 6-year-olds read for fun. That in itself is awesome. Comics make kids beg parents to go to the bookstore where they can discover other genres and authors. Today Herge. Maybe one day Tolkien?


And so...

I was at the bookstore when I overheard a mom sneer at her child, "you should be reading chapter books, not that." That being a Geronimo Stilton comic the poor boy was clutching. As Captain Haddock would say, blistering barnacles! To Sneering Mom, except for the crappy ones, what's wrong with comics? There are crappy books just as there are crappy comics. I know, I am taking her remark too personally, but come on, Danielle Steel novel or Neil Gaiman graphic novel? You choose.




7 comments:

Barni said...

How annoying! Poor kid to have an ignorant mom. I swear I'm going to assign a graphic novel to our book club.

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Cely said...

Poor poor boy!
I, personally, am a fan of comics from childhood, my all-time favorite is Tintin and I do not feel ashamed about it at all. Actually, I hope Emma will love comics as much as I did (and still do)!

Nona said...

Felt bad for the kid. I wanted to get him the comic on the sly. Thanks for being annoyed with me. Haha!

Nona said...

Yup Cely, Tintin... what's not to love?

Nona said...

Yup Cely, Tintin... what's not to love?

Nana said...

I can't wait for the boys to get into it!