geekulture

“One of these people does not belong here.”

Snap: The ONE comic series I’d recommend to anyone who wanted to appreciate comics in a more serious light. Penned by Alan Moore with art by Dave Gibbons, this is a seminal piece of work that deconstructs the superhero genre, gives the characters excellent character motivations, all coupled with an art style that Moore himself has claimed to be “unfilmable.” [5/5]

Love: I absolutely adore the writing. Each character is so distinct, even the bit players, and all of them come together into one very believable alternate history, and you end up being sucked into this imaginary space where vigilantes are celebrated and then martyred. Monologues by Rorschach are intense, psychosis-fueled affairs, yet you are drawn into the diary and mind of this madman. Characters like Dr Manhattan open up your mind to other universes beyond our own and bleak anti-heroes like The Comedian cause you to question your own outlook on the world. Yet, through it all, with careful writing, you have a sense of each character’s motivations, you root for them as you would any other superhero in this endless / inane genre, yet you know what makes them stand apart from you, and you find yourself wanting to be just like them, warts and all. Most comics have never been taken seriously within the literary fraternity, but this series will have you applauding the accomplishment of seamlessly combining text with still images, each panel an infinite window into another world that balances reality and fantasy upon the precipice of fiction.

Hate: Talking about this with people who didn’t enjoy the series.

Snap: Fables is an ongoing comic book series written by Bill Willingham and published by Vertigo. The premise is simple, all the fairy tales you used to know? Well, they’re real, and they’ve escaped into our (mundy) world after their world was overrun by a dictator known as The Adversary. Most of the adventures involve preventing incursions into the real world by The Adversary, the real-world politicking and romancing between Fable Town residents and the how the Fables adapt to life in the mundy world. The writing is creative, witty and like all good stories, you feel for the central character in each story arc. (4/5)

Love: The unique twists on time tested folklore is already a page turner by itself. Coupled with rather mature content and scenes, it’s perfect for an audience who grew up on too much Disney as kids, and learn rather indirectly the way these fairy tales were originally written. Each trade paperback will no doubt be something you cherish alongside your favourite books, with some of the most gorgeous and inspired cover art I’ve seen. Definitely the stories I’d prefer to tell my kids.

Hate: There’s not much to hate, unless the villainy of who you thought were heroes in this re-imagination of the classics give you cause for distress. But anymore would be adding spoilers.