Why Don't You Read Comic Books? - Ask Your Wife Edition

When Kirk and the gang at the Weekly Crisis put the call out for guest posts a few weeks back, I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about, but I knew I wanted to throw my hat into the ring.  Kirk suggested to me that I should try handing out comics to non-comic reading friends and family and reporting back on what they though.  It sounded good, so I took him up on the offer.

For this little experiment, I decided to ask my wife why she doesn't read comics before giving her four of my personal favourite trades - Marvel 1602, Atomic Robo Vol 1, Superman for All Seasons and Silver Surfer: Requiem - to read and asking her what she thought about each. So, what happens when you hand a bunch of comics to somebody who rarely, if ever, delves into that four-colour medium? Turns out, you can get some pretty interesting perspective on this crazy world we all know and love. She graded them on story, accessibility, and artwork.  Hit the jump to find out what she had to say about each!

For today's guest post, Brandon Whaley pressgangs his wife into reading several trades and commenting on them. Brandon is a long time comic reader who blogs about comics and life in general at his blog, Prime Example. He also writes for Prent and DamnLag.com.  Finally, don't forget to follow his random musings on Twitter @primewax.

What's My Wife Been Reading?

First off, I asked my wife why she doesn't read comics as a rule. For reference, my wife is an avid reader, but mostly reads mystery novels and rarely crosses over into illustrated mediums. Her answer made sense. She told me, "That's a good question. I don't know why I don't. If you suggest something that's good, I will read it, but comics just aren't literature that I seek out."

Makes sense.  If you don't see anything in the medium that catches your eye and have no reason to go searching for comic related material, why would you read it? Armed with why she doesn't read comics, I gave her these trades to show her that comics, even super hero comics, aren't necessarily men in tights punching each other. Let's get to the trades, shall we?

Marvel 1602
Written by Neil Gaiman
Art by Andy Kubert

I got my wife hooked on Neil Gaiman's work some time back with American Gods. She loved the dark and humorous tones. I talked her into Marvel 1602 based on three things: 1) it was written by Neil Gaiman, 2) it has actual historical figures in it (my wife is a history nut), and 3) it featured Peter Parker in it. The last item is what won her over, as my wife grew up watching the Spider-Man animated series. Overall, her reaction was pretty positive. Here's some of the things she had to say about it:

"Marvel 1602 was an undertaking. It was the first comic I had read in several years. I love Neil Gaiman, and I'm a huge fan of Peter Parker. I enjoyed reading it because it merged reality and fantasy. I love history, and I liked having the real historical characters sprinkled in with these fantastic, unrealistic characters. Some parts were so fantastic and ridiculous that they were boring, but my biggest downfall is that I'm a realist. I really liked the art, because to me, that's what a classic comic book looks like. Lot's of detail and dimension. I really want to read the next one, but I'm sad that Neil Gaiman didn't write it."

Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne
Written by Brian Clevinger
Art by Scott Wegener

I decided to throw my wife for a loop with my second choice. As many of you know, Atomic Robo is one of the best books on the shelf and definitely the best independent currently being published, at least in my book. I wanted to show her the "sci-fi serial" side of comics. I knew the humor would eventually draw her in, even if the story didn't. Turns out I was right...mostly. Here's what she had to say:

"I loved the character of Atomic Robo, he's very quick witted and the comic itself was very humorous and sharp, and I liked that. The stories were entertaining, and they were funny, but some of them made me feel like I was left hanging. The comic was very ADD in the way that it jumped around. 

All in all, I enjoyed it, but I would probably have to read it more than once just because there were so many things going on. I enjoyed how they humanized the character of Robo, even though he was a robot. The short stories in the back were weird and they got on my nerves. I like the art style, and I like Robo's design. He looks like the Rocketeer. It kind of reminds me of a Saturday morning cartoon."

Superman For All Seasons
Written by Jeph Loeb
Art by Tim Sale

Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking. "Why the heck is there a Jeph Loeb book on here?" Truth is, this book is what made me like Superman again. Sure, Loeb seems to taint any franchise he comes into contact with these days, but Superman for All Seasons wasn't bad at all. I gave this to my wife for the fact that she hates Superman as a character, and I thought this may turn her around the way it did for me. Let's see what she thought of this one:

"I loved Superman for All Seasons. I loved the art style, it was very unique for a comic. I liked that it was classic Superman. It was an easy read, I was able to sit down and enjoy it, because everybody knows the story of Superman. I liked that it was narrated by different characters throughout. I thought they made Superman a little bit too bulky."

Silver Surfer: Requiem

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Art by Esad Ribic

OK, I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for anything sporting the Silver Surfer. However, for some odd reason, this is the only trade I have for him. Sure, I have lots of back issues and both Essential volumes, but I didn't want to put my wife through that just to show my love for Norrin Radd. So I decided, against my better judgement, to start her out here. Without spoiling anything (it's on the back cover and in all descriptions of the book), Silver Surfer: Requiem is the story where the Surfer dies. Could my wife be interested in a character who is basically on his deathbed throughout the entire trade? Here is what she thought:

"I'm not familiar with Silver Surfer, I don't know anything about his backstory. With that in mind, I can definitely say I liked it. The Surfer was a very noble character, and he was very sympathatic. You felt bad for him. I wish this was not the first Silver Surfer book I had read, since he dies. I liked that it had Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in it because those are my two favourite Marvel characters. I wasn't very wild about this art style. I know it was meant to look like a moving painting. The Surfer looked good, you could tell he was moving, but the other characters looked kind of flat."

Conclusion

Well there you have it. It was actually quite fun getting my wife's perspective on some of my favourite books. Apparently she had fun as well and she has even agreed to read all of Annihialtion & Annihilation: Conquest for a future interview. That's quite an undertaking and I can't wait to see what she thinks of each.

However, before ending this guest post, I want to ask you if you've ever asked your non-comic reading friends or family what they think of comics or even attempted to get them into the medium.  If so, what books did you give them to start with?  Any success stories?  Any trades you think make great introductions to comics for these potential new readers?

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