I’ve toyed with this on and off for a while. But one of my favourite hobbies, aside from Gaming has always been reading Graphic Novels and keeping-up with comic series.
I always have one on the go, something on order or wish-listed, and it’s something I’ve loved since before I even really got into gaming in the way I have since.
Comics and Graphic Novels have been such a significant part of my formative years and beyond. Why not add them to the Dying Art Media wheel house?
We’re adding a Graphic Novels and Comic Book section to the site.
A Dying Art
Printed media is dying that slow, painful death. People get their comics and graphic novels digitally. Hell, I’ve read plenty on a tablet and a phone, because they were cheap and I wanted to read them.
But, much like the written word should be preserved in-place of video and audio. So too should print, in place of digital versions of Graphic Novels and Comics.
There’s nothing quite so satisfying as a big omnibus, the weight of it, having it bed-side ready for a quick perusal. Much like preferring a real book to a Kindle, the tangible difference is significant.
We love a kindle, and heck, the written word, digital, or print, is important. But that art, properly printed. Those stories delivered as intended. A printed handful of comic book issues is so much more satisfying.
We want to help preserve that, by buying more and casting a light on the good, bad and average.
Graphic Novels
The bulk of our reading time is taken up by Graphic Novels. Weekly/monthly series are hard to keep up with, without expensive subscriptions and orders.
We love to get a full collection of a story in one go. Much like binge-watching a new series.
Whilst we love a proper comic book, and buy plenty. The real meat comes (to me) from a Graphic Novel.
As such, there’s quite a collection and a history with some of the finest, and some of the worst, out there.
There’s always been an element of “who the hell am I to write about these?”. But frankly, that applies to everything, so why should Graphic novels of Comic books be any different?
So, fuck it. We’ll crack open a beer, read, and then write. It’s no different to anything else we cover, right? As long as it’s something that we love, and care about enough, that should be all that’s required.
Everything is viable
Whilst the bulk of my collection is Marvel/DC. There are some independent books in there too. Smaller publishers have great stories and characters, too.
In a world of saturated MCU/DCU takes. I don’t want to get into all of that. This is about the pure, original medium. Printed, either massive or tiny. It doesn’t matter.
I love to read, and well, I love to write. So why has this never been a thing before now?!
Join in
Much like anime, I love recommendations (no tentacle stuff, thanks!) for Graphic Novels and Comic book series.
Just shoot over a name of something you think we should cover! There’s a lot to go at, and honestly, it means I already have a bank of things to go back to and write about. But anything new or different is welcomed.
To start with, I’ll go over some classics and bigger books that have reputations already. See where I align with the wider world.
It’s a great chance to re-read and look at things with a fresh perspective, too!
The promise
I can’t promise everyone will love what I have to say. But I can promise it’ll always be honest.
These things are always subjective, and Graphic Novel/Comic book fandom is equally passionate as gaming fandom. Sometimes, we’re going to disagree, and that’s fine.
Shedding light on anything that might get one more person into something cool is all I can ever hope for.
Plus, the tie-ins with so many games these days, mean that my Graphic Novel and Comic book love is always being appealed to, even when not in the purest form.
