Yes you love comics, but do you like comics about love? Do you LIKE like them, you know, more than as a friend?
Comic books are usually about punching crime in the gonads, or being a warrior mouse who lives in a medieval mouse kingdom. Some comics, however, are about real people and feelings. Difficult to imagine, I know.
Here are a few great and historical relationship books with a few weirdies thrown in to shake things up! There may be some dating pointers in there; mostly of the “What not to do” kind. To make this column smoother I’ve arranged the titles from the most kid friendly books to the least kid friendly.
Need I mention that almost all of these books can be picked up at the amazing, stupendous, and diverse comic book repository known as the Forbidden Planet Non? Bon Appetit, Bon Amie!
1. ARCHIE
Don’t roll your eyes at me! There’s a reason that this book continues to sell…it’s fun! Simple stories about kids dating in high school with archetypes, laughs, and well designed characters. No road trip is complete without a few Spider-Man comics and an Archies Digest or two. Take a shot every time Jughead eats a hamburger…oh wait, this is supposed to be an all ages column. I mean, “Take a shot of Yoo-hoo.”
Written by Craig Thompson and the winner of the 2000 “Best New Talent” Harvey, Good-Bye is a sad, sad tale of loss. This touching story of a turtle who must leave his best friend shows how touching comics can be as a medium. It might be a bad break-up, it might be the loss of a loved one, but there will come a time when everybody will need to read this book to be reminded that we are all together in our loneliness.
3. X-MEN
I KNOW I said this list wasn’t about super heroes, and it isn’t. Still, with a cast of hundreds of horny mutant gals and guys, X-Men stands as one of the longest running soap operas in comics. With great artists comes great hook-up possibilities!
This is the last stop before things get “Adult.” Scott Pilgrim is fun, bright, and enjoyable whether you “get it” or not. The core of this hyper stylized world is relationships, and the ability to fix hearts when they’re broken. The movie is great, the comic is better. You want to be entertained while crying over the messed-up nature of human bonding? Scott Pilgrim, baby!
By the brilliant team of Grant Morrison and Philip Bond, Kill Your Boyfriend is a Brit-pop, Keroak infused romp through the sheets and streets of a dangerous England. Two worthless no-ones thrill-kill and shag on their way to a p
olice shoot up. A great and nasty read! No Pathos, just the sweet enjoyment of those first stages of love, no matter how short they last.
Listen! The range of romance comics can be sweet, can be nasty, and can be gut-wrenching…in short: it can be just like the real thing! Put down those page-turning power dramas and try something a little closer to home. Who knows? Maybe you might meet a charming comics nerd girl/guy reading the same book as you on the F rain tonight, and sooner than you could say “It’s Clobberin’ Time” you’ve got yourself a summer romance!
Smooch!
All credit to Morgan for putting Blankets at the top of this column. I somehow forgot all about it. It is AMAZING.
Robert, I haven’t read Blankets, but I will now.
Agreed! Have you read Goodbye Chunky Rice? It’s also amazing.
I love Blankets. It’s a super good graphic novel.