Help me find a comic for my dad.

Discuss the future, present and past of sequential art.

Moderator: Moderators

Locked
Rochnarand
Forum Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2001 7:00 pm
Contact:

Post by Rochnarand »

My dad and I were talking about comics the other day. How they didn't have to be any one genre or subject matter. Then we began discussing what kind of comics my dad might like.

He suggested something like a high quality painted version of the merry widow operetta. My dad loves Opera. He is typically not into fantasy or sci fi. He likes things that are about real people or people who could be real. Heroes are good, superheroes are out.

Some of the tv shows he likes are "Mash", "Golden Girls", "Keeping up apperances", "Are you being served?". The movies he has liked are "Paint Your Wagon", "My First Lady", "Romeo and Juliet"(the latest one). These are just some examples.

He might like Sin City, so I'm thinking of getting "That Yellow Bastard", which nearly brought me to tears by the way. But that might be too dark and action oriented. My dad prefers to have more dialouge than action. Something European or Japanese seems like it might fit the bill. Any suggestions?
shadefell
Regular Poster
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: chicago, il, usa
Contact:

Post by shadefell »

if you want character driven comic books, try "strangers in paradise" by terry moore (this features lesbians, so some people might not approve), "hitman" and "preacher" by garth ennis (both extremely violent, but funny...and if you consider sin city, you might consider them) perhaps "bone" or "cerebus"? i've only read a bit of bone and very little of cerebus, and while they are not human characters, they are very strongly written.
Tragic Lad
Forum Member
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: The Great White North
Contact:

Post by Tragic Lad »

If your dad likes true crime tales, or is a fan of Tarentino films then I heartily recommend 'Stray Bullets' by David Laphum. Each issue was a self contained story, but all the stories weaved together to form one giant tale. Sadly, I don't think David's publishing anymore... someone please tell me I'm wrong on this. But the individual issues and tradepaperbacks should still be relatively obtainable from your comic shop or online.

For something character driven, I'd recommend 'It's a Good Life If you Don't Weaken' by Seth.

For something a little more sombre and serious, there's either 'Maus' by Art Spiegleman or 'Our Cancer Year' by Harvey Pekar,Joyce Brabner and Frank Stack.
Image
shadefell
Regular Poster
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: chicago, il, usa
Contact:

Post by shadefell »

maus and "cancer year" are both EXCELLENT. incredibly superb.

he might also like "signal to noise" by neil gaiman. it's one of his better comic works, in my opinion, and has no super heros or magical creatures, unlike "sandman," "black orchid," etc.
User avatar
Greg Stephens
Forum Founder
Posts: 3862
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact:

Post by Greg Stephens »

I'd have to put in a third vote for "Maus". Also "Strangers in Paradise" is an excellent genre-buster. "Cerebus" is a good suggestion, and good books to show to somebody unfamiliar with the concept would be either "Melmoth" or the "Cerebus Zero" issue. Neil Gaiman is almost always a strong choice, but if your dad's not into fantasy then maybe "Death: The High Cost of Living" might be a better choice than most of the Sandman's main run (though "World's End" might be another good choice).

Lest we forget- there are tons of collections of newspaper comic strips out there- most people seem to separate these from comic books for some reason, but it's all the same art, so don't forget those. I mean, how many people really think that "For Better or For Worse" has that much in common with "Superman"?

And (unsurprisingly) one of my favorite comics to lend to non-comic-readers is "Understanding Comics".
Good morning! That's a nice tnetennba.
shadefell
Regular Poster
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: chicago, il, usa
Contact:

Post by shadefell »

Another possibility is Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships. I ordered a copy of it recently after seeing it heavily recommended at Sequential Tart. It's a comic version of the Illiad. Very human, no superheros and somewhat operatic in scope.
how much does that cost? who publishes it? sounds good!
User avatar
Greg Stephens
Forum Founder
Posts: 3862
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact:

Post by Greg Stephens »

Age of Bronze hardcover or softcover
Good morning! That's a nice tnetennba.
jturner
Regular Poster
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Post by jturner »

I would second the vote for Will Eisner's stuff. It is masterfully done and extremely accessible.

If your Dad is into opera, there are a few opera adaptations done by P.Craig Russel which are quite lovely, though I'm not sure how easy they are to find.

Jason Turner
User avatar
Greg Stephens
Forum Founder
Posts: 3862
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact:

Post by Greg Stephens »

Slipped my mind earlier, but it occurs to me now that this is the perfect place to mention Johanna Draper Carlson's Comics Worth Reading website. She updates it regularly and I always find it worth the visit. Lots of good suggestions of stuff to read that you may not have given much thought to previously.
Good morning! That's a nice tnetennba.
Jake Thompson
Forum Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: Scotts Valley Ca.

Post by Jake Thompson »

On the subject of frank millar try giving your dad 300 this is an excellent historical comic there should be more like it
Also try Artesia afield and the tale of one bad rat
glych
Frequent Poster
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2001 7:00 pm
Location: So' Cal, USA
Contact:

Post by glych »

Anything my Danial Clowes, (I.e. Ghostworld or David Boring.)

Your dad will defidently admit these are not super hero books.

-glych
---
"I may not be able to move that rock, but -man- can I make that rock think it's been moved"-Corran Horn, Star Wars

Glych's Experiment
Guest

Post by Guest »

Second the Eisner. Mind you, if you're trying to give him some Gaiman, I imagine Signal to Noise would be much more appropriate than Sandman related stories.

How about Vittorio Giardino's A Jew in Communist Prague (or for that matter Jason Lute's Berlin).

Jim Ottavani also did several books of anecdotes about scientists, only one of which I read (with a strong bias towards Richard Feynman (though I'm not complaining)), the various narrators' rather gemutlich tones offer something of a recommendation to those not interested in the scientific aspects that encroach on the stories from time to time; featuring numerous artists.

And there's Andi Watson's Breakfast After Noon that's just been compiled by Oni I believe.

Kenya
brendanbeltz@starpower.net
Locked