Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Because this book isn't about comics, not really.   It's about the people who write comics - and there's a huge difference.   Someone suggested that I write about K&C in my essay for Simmons.   Except I haven't read it.   I've tried, once, but I ran screaming after about the first twenty pages.  I found it bloated and pretentious.   I've never tried another Chabon, that's how turned off I was by this book.

Furthermore, I'm more interested in the general history of comics - what politics formed the way comics were made - or creators talking about how they came up with comics.   Like when Stan Lee says that chose gamma rays for the Hulk because they 'sounded the coolest' and that he didn't know about science?   Alright.  I don't want to know about all your personal stories, though.   I love Stan Lee, but it's because he created something I love.   (And from what I know, he seems pretty awesome: kind, willing to poke fun at himself, etc.)   That being said, I don't want to know about comic creators in great detail for the same reason I don't seek them out on Twitter: I want my comics to be pure entertainment.  I don't want to know the traumas that created these characters so I don't have to dwell on them and can just enjoy them.  I also don't want to know my favorite creator is a secret racist, or wife beater, or whatever.  I just want to enjoy my comics.

So, the other thing about this book?  It's like saying, 'well, if you like comics, do I have some real literature for you!'   Sighs.   No.  I read comics for a reason, and if I want to read prose that is comic related, I have so, so many tie-in novels.   Not to mention, Abnett's Groot and Rocket was scathing satire on business.   And a prose superhero novel.   Go figure!   

Champions has said more about the current world clime than most books I read, and can do so more quickly: once a month, I get some more commentary on the world we live in.   The issue about Muslim radicals denying women education was not only incredibly smart, it was empowering in that those women needed help - but wanted to be part of the solution.   The Champions were willing to do their beatdown, not even giving a second through the next incursion of radicals.   The women not only stood up the radicals, but also to the Champions, saying, 'no, we need this, and we need it done this way, and this is why.'   

That takes guts.   (Also, please note all the Muslims in their country were willing to let the women get education until the first terrorists came in.   This book was in no way trying to say 'all Muslims,' or put down any religion.   They were just acknowledging that this was a problem for some people.)

So why is the first recommendation for a comic lover a prose book?   A long prose book that has very little about what I love about comics: the mythic elements, the superpowers, the visuals, the soap opera elements?   Because I get suggested this a lot, with the side of 'if you haven't read it yet.'  

If it's not a customer, and just a random recommendation there's a stony silence, followed by 'no, no I haven't.'    If there's a customer involved, I just shrug and say I haven't.   And they tell me I have to, and I secretly think I'd rather gouge my eyes out than finish that book. 

So, so boring.   So bored.   So much bored.   

I think I just twitched and snapped because this dude has recommended K&C before.   Multiple times.   Please don't.   Please stop.   Like everyone, please stop.   Comic book fans will not automatically like this book.  I'm sure there are some that do.  I am not one of them.   Instead, you can try suggesting a book like Watchmen, that made the Times list of 100 best novels.  Or Maus, Art Spiegleman's biography that tells the tell of his father's experiences during the Holocaust.   Or even Vision, which is one of the most nuanced books I've had the pleasure of reading or rereading.  If you're feeling overly ambitious, suggest More Than Meets the Eye, or Lost Light, James Roberts' opus which is, in my mind, the best comic being put out today.   And Lost Light in particular is uncannily timely, given our current president.   I mean, you won't have anyone take you seriously; they shut down as soon as they realize it's a Transformers comic. 

My point is, no, thanks.   I read prose for a different reason than I read comics, and right now?   I'm in a huge comic book mood.  I'll read that, thanks!  

What do you think?   Have you read this book?    Do you like it?   Am I being too harsh because I want something more quickly paced when comics, so maybe I just had the wrong expectations?   Or have you read it and also disliked this book?   

Do you disagree and believe this is a reasonable suggestion for someone who likes comics?   I'm eager to hear what you guys think.  It's unlikely that I'll pick this up again, but who knows?   Maybe I will someday!