Long time no write. Yea, i know, nobody cares :)
its not from lack of wanting to, its from lack of time. been really busy with work. i do have some down time, but not enough to sit at a computer and write
up a proper blog. i spend a lot of time on Twitter. i highly recommend it. it really is like how AOL chat rooms were back in the 90's (for those of you that
were around then, that is lol). Its a nice challenge to try to say what youve got to say in 140 or (usually) less characters. its also a great way to talk to
comic book industry people. the format is really good for that type of thing. Look me up on there (if you dare! hah), ThoseBackPages .
I've been trying to come up with a way to "spread the word" when it comes to reading comic books, especially for those of us that are adults.
when i started reading comics again last year for the first time since the mid 80s, i kind of found my way around on my own. not that there is anything
wrong with that, but i wish i would have had someone to point me in more of a direction that i am in now, if that makes any sense.
"Comic Books"
most people hear that term and think .... Superman, Spiderman, Batman, XMen and the like. Maybe thats because that's what the media pushes as
the main idea what a comic book is. Marvel and DC Comics are "The Big Two" as far as comic book publishers go.
Maybe its time for that to change. The only way that can change is through spreading the word. The internet is a great way to do that.
Look, the "Big Two" are not going to go away, maybe not ever, but certainly not anytime soon.
i am here to tell you that there ARE alternatives, if that is something that you might be interested in. Not EVERYONE wants to read superhero books,
AND THAT IS "OK". Hell, *I* am one of those people. There is only one "capes" book that i read. ive blogged about it before (it's called Invincible),
so no need to go over all that again.
im here today to tell you that there are comic books to read and enjoy (and "collect" as well, if you so choose) that are not "superhero" books, and not
released by the BIG TWO.
There are a LOT of "independent" comic book publishers. they rely heavily on sales of comics, because they dont have tons of movies or Disney
backing them up financially.
But enough negativity. i want this blog post to be about how i can help spread the word. would it be easy enough for me to type out what i currently
read monthly, give you a synopsis of what each is about? sure, that would be easy enough, but there's not much fun in that. hell, you can google any
title i list, and boom! instant "reviews" from many sources.
What id like to do is offer to either send you some reader copies of select books i feel that you would like to read, or offer you some sort of paypal deal
if you pick them up yourself and do not care for them, to the point that you tell me "Eric, what is this shit? i HATE it!" ive done this one other time (last year)
and it went over well with people. Even the creators thanked me for doing so (not that that was the point of it, but it was nice to hear them say it)
Here are the Genre's that i like to read
Horror/Drama
Horror/Violent
Horror/Comedy
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Sci-Fi
Nior
Pretty vague list now that i look at it, but it is what it is.
In closing .... There are some great comic books out there that are not all about flying men punching buildings, with unlimited special abilities, kicking the
shit out of each other. There are comics that the characters die, and STAY DEAD permanently. There are books that are emotional, that are funny, that
are "real" (as real as can be, as these ARE comic books afterall, but you know what i mean).
There are comic books out there for adults, and when i say "adult" i dont mean porn. not that theres anything wrong with that either (and there ARE comics
for that purpose as well). What i mean is that there are comics out there that people over the age of 30 can (AND DO) enjoy.
THEY ARE OUT THERE PEOPLE, and with my help, i really hope i can help you discover and enjoy them!
Its time to put the stereotype that comics are for kids to bed once and for all!
So there it is. i want to get the word out there for the books that i love.
Let me know what you think.
Hit me up on Twitter (@ThoseBackPages) if you'd like to talk about this some more, shoot some ideas back and forth and such.
As Always,
ThoseBackPages
