Three Things: Comic Books

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On my exciting trip to Chicago yesterday I stopped into a comic book store called Graham Cracker Comics. I wanted to browse and write down the names of graphic novelists or comic artists that I had never heard of before. Earlier this week I picked up a vintage Justice League comic. I loved the pulpiness of the paper and the bleary, bright ink. I was also struck by the cheesiness of the dialogue and the bizarreness of the superheroes. I have long been a fan of the original Stan Lee Amazing Spiderman series, but I have rarely stayed into other superhero territory. I was hoping that Grahams would have some more Justice League. 

I ended up deciding not to buy any of the JL back issues that I found at the store, because I had bought a birthday present for my brother and didn't want to spend any more money. But as I was walking out I said to the guy, "Hey, thanks for letting me look around. You have a great store. I am sorry I didn't buy anything. I am pretty tight for cash right now." I thought the guy would shrug it off, but instead he said, "Did you take your three free back issues? We are giving away three per person today." It was such a fun surprise. I ended up choosing three different comic books based off of different criteria, because I couldn't find any JL. 

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1. The Fly
I picked this because The Fly seems very strange to me. His eyes are really weird and the drawings are not over-sexualized like a lot of other superhero comics. I liked that it appeared to have a similar innocence and goofy, cheese-ball quality that reminded me of Spidey in his cheeky Stan Lee days. Also The Fly's eyes weird me out and I am strangely interested in that.

Illustration based on the art of Mark Parobeck

2. The Warlord
I got this one for the exact opposite reason. This one has very sexy bodied people. The interesting thing about this one is that the men are just as scantily-clad as the women. I haven't yet read it, but so far I kind of like a comic that lets the gratuitous skin-exposure go both ways rather than just having the ladies bare it all. The other reason I chose this one was for the weird colour palette. The paper was super-pulpy and the ink bleeds a bit. The colours are purples, greens, oranges and blacks. I think that is odd and I like it.

Illustration based on the art of Mike Grell

3. MPH
I don't know much about this one. I chose it because it is more modern--written in 2014 by the same guy who wrote the original Kick-Ass comic. The main character is a Latino girl who seems intelligent and cool. I like that and want to read about that kind of character. She also seems to exist in a universe which has some superhero elements, but is a little more grounded in reality and grunge.

Illustration based on the art of Duncan Fegredo