Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie – Ten reasons to read comics

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme was a freebie, so I decided to do a post on ten of the comics you should try if you’re thinking about starting comics.

Top Ten Tuesday

1. Pretty pictures – alright, that’s a HUGE oversimplification, but comics are beautifully illustrated by people like Fiona Staples (Saga), Jock (Judge Dredd, Green Arrow: Year One, and most recently Wytches), Jaime McKelvie (The Wicked + The Divine), Dave McKean (Arkham Asylum), Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), and SO MANY MORE.

2. Creative stories – whether you’re a fan of superheroes, horror, anthropomorphic animals, zombies, or blasphemous preachers, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find a story to love.

3. Comics teach you that you can be a superhero too, like Batman – that is if you happen to be a billionaire with access to grade-a technology and a kick ass butler

4. Free Comic Book Day – Once a year you can go to your local comic book shop and get FREE comics. I’ll say that again: FREEEEE comics.

5. Wednesdays are no longer just the middle of the week – New comics come out every Wednesday. I never make it out to my comic shop on Wednesday, but I love perusing ComicList to see what new comics will be in my pull.

6. The Walking Dead – For me, this is a big reason. I started reading TWD comics in June, powered through all of the (then) 21 volumes of issues and added them to my pull list. I’ve now read all of the issues and am completely caught up on the TV show, which I didn’t start watching until after I’d read all of the comics that were out at the time. The best part about this is that the show and comics are so different – character arcs, plot lines, deaths, and the characters themselves are not always the same, so it’s like you get two completely different and unique stories! It’s awesome. It is sometimes difficult to match up the characters in the comics or show at first, but then you just become obsessed. A comic I’d recommend to those who aren’t sure if they want to try comics. Do you. You really do.

7. The book is always better than the movie – ‘Nuff said.

8. You’ll know what you’re talking about – When the next superhero movie comes out, you’ll be able to talk about the characters backstories like you’re old friends. You’ll know who the new character is in the Marvel post-credit scenes, so you won’t have to pretend you know who it is when everyone freaks out. Knowledge is power, you guys. 🙂

9. Improve your imagination – Although comics have the settings and characters drawn out for you, the minimal dialogue and little-to-no wordy descriptions, leave a lot of the world-building and character development to your imagination. You have to read between the lines (or, in this case, panels), which is a lot of fun.

10. It’s even more reading – if you like to read, comics are beautifully illustrated stories. They are books, whether you think so are not. The only difference is they are usually only 24 pages long. Unless, of course, you buy a trade paperback.

Have I convinced you? Do you agree with my reasons? What did you use the Top Ten Tuesday Freebie for? Link me up!

53 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie – Ten reasons to read comics”

  1. Pingback: Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Comics for Readers who would LIKE to try them | Caught Read Handed

  2. I used to not read comics at all! But last year my brother brought home a comics by a well-known Filipino illustrator, I got curious so I read it and I was really surprised that I actually enjoy comics after all. This post just convinced me to actively look for and read comics! 😀

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  4. This is a fantastic post! I have never really been terribly interested in them, but I could give them a shot! I think I’ve always just pictured them solely as superhero stuff directed at 13 year old boys, but you have proven that to be very false!

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    • Definitely not just superhero stuff. And definitely not just for 13 year old boys! 🙂 There’s a lot of comics geared toward adults – ones we don’t let kids check out at the library. Lol. And there’s such a variety – zombies, fairy tales, sci-fi, dystopian, fantasy, and yes, superheroes. I definitely think there’s a comic for everyone, just like there’s a book for everyone.

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  5. Pingback: Ten Books That Would Make Great Movies |

  7. I’ve never read a comic, but I have been slowly branching out into reading graphic novels…not that they are that different. Your list as definitely inspired me to pick up a comic sooner rather than later. 🙂

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  8. I’ve read a few graphic novels, and I definitely agree about the artistic element – some of them I wish I could frame! I’ve never been into comics, I think because I grew up in a small town that didn’t have a comic book store (and this was before the days of online shopping). I have a few favourites though (Transmetropolitan, Buffy) and I’ll pick up the odd comic whenever one catches my eye! This is a great post – I think comics are something that not everyone knows enough about to judge fairly, and they can be intimidating if you don’t really know where to start!

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    • I definitely agree that a lot of people judge comics and think they are only for young boys and are full of BAM! POW! stuff. But they’re not. A lot of the stories are complex and definitely for adults.
      I’ve read several single issues/graphic novels/trade paperbacks that I’ve wanted to copy and frame. Some really gorgeous art out there.

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  9. I have loved comics since I was about 12 years old! My first comic books series I ever read was Elfquest (which they recently re-released in omnibus edition of two volumes that I WILL OWN!!). I’ve been reading them ever since. Also, my fiance has TWD, and I really really really need to read them!

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  10. I don;t read many comics, but I love graphic novels. I used to read comic books back when my brothers and I all lived under the same roof, because I’ll read anything that is laying around and they always had them sitting out. I enjoyed them, and I should get back into them. I know my local comic store has a free comic day also 🙂

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  14. I used to read comics when I was a kid. My dad was friends with a collector, and I have TONS of old ones lying around. I have to say I haven’t done comics or graphic novels as a “grown up” and it’s something I’d like to try – but can’t really justify forking out for at the minute, as the last thing I’d need is another addiction!! I’m open minded to the awesome-ness though! I’d actually love to dig out my old comics and do a post on them. I sold some of the obscure ones on eBay but I have Fantastic Fours, Richie Rich’s and Sad Sack Sarge among many others lol R x

    My TTT: https://confessionsofabookgeek.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/top-ten-tuesday-book-bloggers-i-give-my-love-to/

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  15. I have NEVER read a comic. I have been to a comic bookstore, but I couldn’t see anything I thought I would like. my taste lately has turned to NA and romances. any good recommendations? I have wanted to read Amulet and Saga, but I dunno if its for me personally.
    Great post 🙂

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  16. Great list! Are there any gateway titles you’d recommend for somebody trying to get into comics? I’m always interested in them, but have NO IDEA where to even start!

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    • Well, I can tell you what I started with. I started reading comics in June of 2014 with Saga (the first line of which is “Am I shitting?” – which is hilarious). Once Saga hooked me, I read The Walking Dead comics, and I was obsessed. I think those are both really intense for some people to start with. If you like fairy tales, you might like the Fablewood comics (Fiction Squad is great). Or if there is a certain superhero or character you’re interested, I’d find the most recent comic with them and try to find all the issues. I have always loved Batman so I read all the Batman and Robin comics. Now I’m in LOVE with Damian, so that’s a fun new addiction. If you’re interested in Thor, they’ve just recently started a new story with Thor (in which Thor is a woman!), and there’s only three issues so far, which would be easy to find. Is that a good start? Lol. I can definitely give more recommendations if you’re interested!

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  17. I really wish I read comics. I have a lot of friends who love them, yet I’ve never tried them. For someone like me who’s mostly a fan of NA, Romance, Mystery/Suspense – what do you recommend? I do like TWD, maybe I should try reading those.

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    • THE WALKING DEAD! Yes. Yes, yes, yes. 🙂 SO good. Also, Saga is interesting and has a romance. It’s the comic that got me into reading comics. I also just responded to someone else’s comment asking the same thing. Maybe that’ll help you too?

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        • Right. The story lines split pretty early into the show, and there’s a lot of differences (No Darryl or Terminus in the comics). The first few episodes were hard to separate because the actors look a lot like the characters in the comics so when they did something that they would never do in the comics, it was hard. But then everything was so different so I was able to split them – it was like reading/watching two different things. Totally worth it. Extra TWD! 🙂

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