[B5JMS] JMS reintroduced me to Comics (& restored my faith)

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

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From: jbehling at aol.com (JBehling)
Date: 10 Mar 2001 12:11:56 -0700
Lines: 27

Hello all,

	As a young boy I discovered comic books and was immediately enthralled with
the world they created.  In a nutshell, to my little 7 year old brain, these
people were HEROES! Batman, Spider-Man, the Legion, and many others helped
other people and they did it WITHOUT KILLING THE "BAD GUYS." This message was
one that helped shape my moral development. As I got older, I saw a change in
comics, the heroes getting all the attention were the ones that not only killed
on purpose but seemed to take pleasure in "slicing & dicing." While I loved
classics like "Watchmen," this general trend made me sad and I left the comic
book fold. Then JMS starts writing RISING STARS, that I wasn't going to miss.
So I came back, I was impressed, this was actual storytelling. Then came
MIDNIGHT NATION which I enjoyed even more. While attending the "Wizard World"
comic con (in order to see JMS) last summer, I heard several other comic book
writers speak and I tried out some other stuff (childhood nostalgia led me to
begin with Marvel & DC). I have been very impressed with Paul Jenkins
(especially his work on Peter Parker Spider-Man), his stories are CHARACTER
DRIVEN, his heroes are well developed and they don't kill on purpose and/or
with pleasure. I thought the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale Batman mysteries were loads of
fun and had some nice character moments. The new Kevin Smith Green Arrow looks
promising even though we are only one issue in. So thanks, JMS, for restoring
my faith.
	Anyone have any other suggestions for me? It has been a lot of fun to
rediscover this medium!

-John


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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 10 Mar 2001 16:24:47 -0700
Lines: 19

>Anyone have any other suggestions for me? It has been a lot of fun to
>rediscover this medium!

I'd recommend "Usagi Yojimbo" for a fun book.  Fiona Avery's "No Honor"
(www.nohonor.com) is also a fine book.  The work done to return Superman's
origin in the 4 issue Return to Krypton mini is very nice.  I'd also suggest in
reprints checking out Astro City, and the Marvels, Kingdom Come and Uncle Sam
miniseries.  And DEFINITELY the Mage books.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2001 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)