Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo
Ha. I deserved that one.
You are correct I grew up in Europe (Holland, in fact), but I also used to read a good few American comics as I was doing so. It's not for lack of exposure that I generally dismiss the superhero genre. I'm perfectly aware that there are instances of great storytelling, but much like fantasy I'm just not willing to spend the time wading through the majority of crap to get to the good stuff and even the better ones seem to descend into silliness eventually (especially in movie-form)...
Put it this way: It's not like you can't write good fantasy, but don't you wish game developers turned to something other than orcs & elves once in a while? Also, just because something touches on some heavy subjects doesn't make it profound. If Scooby Doo started dealing with serious issues, it would still be Scooby Doo.
I don't feel where you're from should ever get in the way of broadening your horizon. I actively seek out things that are not familiar. Too much of the same gets boring quick.
Tell you what? You try some French comics, I'll try some more American ones. Perhaps Watchmen, as suggested above, or maybe Sandman, which I've heard some about and sounds intriguing.
But I'm still not reading Spiderman.  |
I like the Scooby Doo reference. (good points)
I'm always amazed at how others from elsewhere in the world are aware of so much American pop culture. (But we don't always show other countries the same awareness of their cultures in return.)
I have no problem broadening my horizones, epspecially with comics, movies, music, etc. I like that fact that international comic creators are gradually "bleeding" into our comics over here. Japanese manga (for example) has become so popular over here, that I swear it takes up more book shelf space in our bookstores now, then the "traditional" graphic novel section.
I would enjoy checking out foreign comics just to see what's out there.
I get tired of the super hero stuff too sometimes, and I take breaks from it. I actually like a lot of independent type comic stories but it still struggles sometimes to gain an audience in The States since the super hero stuff is what sells so well. Comic shops are competing against the big chain book stores so they have to keep the stuff that sells, which doesn't leave as much room for the more "unusual" stuff. So many smaller comicbook companies have either gone under completely, or they are bought out by the big guys (DC, Marvel) because they can't compete.
But still, there are American comic artists and writers (besides just Neil Gaiman, he just happens to be very well known now), who are creating some great unique stuff. It may be harder to find, but it's out there. I still don't know a lot of the comic writers and artists out there compared to other comic fans. But I do know what I like.
Warren Ellis is another "big guy" in the biz, but I like him because he's done a lot of sci-fi stories which is one of my main interests in comics.
Alan Moore and Frank Miller are obviously very popular, and I've enjoyed some of their stuff. (I haven't read everything by them yet) Neil Gaiman is considered very "out there" but honestly, I don't care for him that much. It always feels like he's ripping off some of his ideas from Clive Barker. (as far as the "feel" of Gaiman's stories)
I'm not sure if you ever check out webcomics, but they are becoming more popular since it's so hard for an unknown writer or artist to get published. I'm thinking of doing one myself one day for my own comic stories.
http://forums.comicbookresources.com...read.php?t=275
This is a good site. They have an independent forum, and this page lists a bunch of Indie companies. I think they are mostly American, but people from all over the world visit the site. Last Gasp is one of the links. They produce a lot of interesting, unusual stuff.
