The Importance of Return Reading

Earlier in the week, The Comics Reporter had a very interesting article about "return reading" as it pertains to comics, appended by some personal examples. It's an illuminating and thoughtful read, and though we all here see where Tom Spurgeon's going when he invokes comics' "impermanance" as a big factor in making comics less pleasurable for return reading than literature, we all kinda disagree too.

Though yes, what's going on in this month's Spider-Man may not "matter" in a year or even a month, the emotions of the story (when the story has them), and the subtext of the story (when it has some) don't ever wash away. And due to this "impermanence" in presentation and even form--even a 500 page graphic novel could be read in a few hours--comics, almost more than literature demand return reading. There's a visceral-ness to comics, when they're good especially, as you're just sorta speeding through the pages, maybe not even to "see what happens" but just sorta absorbing the narrative and dialogue and art and everything else through osmosis.

For me, the work of Moebius is like this and is ideal for re-reading. Not even because his stories are usually pretty allegory heavy and cryptic but just because there's a kind of stringing-along that his art and deceptive simplicity creates. What happens exactly in Gardens of Aedena, I couldn't really tell you, but I know how it makes me feel.

Returning to the comic though, time and time again, makes plot and narrative matter even less (I know where it's going) and it's almost a kind of rote reading, like those moments when you're driving and you don't even recall the time or actions between Point A and Point B, just that like, rush of completion. But well, Moebius is an awful example because he's known for being a guy whose work demands return reading--though as I said, not for reasons I cited--and so, here's Jesse, David, and Sammy with some additional thoughts.-brandon

Jesse:

For me, re-reading comics is essential. Something about the way my eyes move from the text to the art, or the way the brain translates the two--they just don’t properly cohabitate. Whenever I encounter a great comic, especially a serialized comic, I read through it fast for plot, generally focusing on text, and then go back and just look at it, panel-to-panel. Nine times out of ten, I noticing something new, like a certain character’s expression or the background detail in a panel. A lot of times these are the details that make or break a work. So, really the second time through is really more like the second half of the first.

Anytime I go back and re-read through a comic later it’s at a considerably slower pace. I already know the plot, so my frenetic "get to the end" mentality is gone. You could stare a panel from Big Guy and Rusty all day or zoom through, absorbing it like the fast-paced adventure comic it is. Or purports to be, that second reading could reveal all kinds of wonders.

This is really only applicable with the best though. The comics I find myself revisiting are my absolute favorites, but especially ones with great art. These are ones that I have the easiest time picking up, because I can just sit down and lose myself in the art and even sometimes flip through, just reading random pages. I think this ability to set your own pace is what makes comics so unique. There are different ways to read the same comic and only way of really capturing these is to go back and take another look.

David:

For me, reading is re-reading. I would almost go so far as to say that you cannot really say that you've read something—I'm talking about all literature here—until you've re-read it at least twice. I think this is especially true for comics and this isn't just because they are relatively quick reading. Obviously with comics you are dealing not just with text, but with images, as well, and your brain processes verbal stimuli differently than it does imagistic stimuli.

Beyond that, comics, perhaps even more than other narrative forms, are constructed with elements that tend to commandeer readers' attention—things like plot and action and affective elements—and these often make it difficult for us to look at things analytically, especially on a first read. Thus, it is difficult for readers to see what's really going on in a comic, its sophistication and subtleties, until we read it again and again. I think this might have a lot to do with the reason that mainstream, superhero comics are generally dismissed as being less sophisticated than your garden variety indie "comix."

People tend not re-read things that at first appear quite simple. Thus, many readers might scoff at the idea that, say, Elephantmen is more sophisticated than Maus, when what is really happening is that all of the sophistication of the latter rests on the surface, ready to be mooned over by any half-attentive reader, while in the case of the former, it takes multiple reads to see the actually complex moral world painted on the pages of the comic.

Anyone paying even scant attention to my contributions to this blog of late will recognize that I am in the midst of burgeoning love affair with Japanese comics. Because of the exigencies of the industry in Japan, there are a lot of manga which typify this view of the benefits of re-reading. On the surface, comics drawn by such masters as Osamu Tezuka, Akira Toriyama and Naoki Urasawa embody a simplicity of style that allows the creators to write and draw stories at a pace that would put many of the most prolific American cartoonists to shame. But if readers only read these comics one time, they are likely to miss the almost miraculous sophistication and subtlety buried within the simple designs.

A book that I have found myself turning to again and again since first reading it a few months ago is Hideo Azuma's Disappearance Diary. Azuma's panels are drawn with a simplicity and cartoon-ish-ness that is unusual even for manga. But what has really become apparent to me through my process of re-reading is how Azuma's choice to create a manga with "a positive outlook on life," and thus to remove much of what is usually portrayed as "realism" in addiction memoirs, has resulted in a narrative that conveys more of the emotion, indeed, more of what is "real," in the experience of addiction and recovery.

Sammy:

Part of comics is collecting, for better or worse, and hopefully if you're collecting, you're re-reading and not just letting your white boxes and shelves fill with Marvel Essentials you'll never read and back issues you don't really care about. Re-reading is more than just re-visiting the story, but often the characters and time period, especially with comics, where from month-to-month, some big event is changing the way Batman reacts to certain characters, or even who Batman even is.

Going back in time and reading older event books, especially ones that changed the status quo the way Secret Invasion did, are essential to understanding each detail. Despite strong feelings of hatred towards Brian Michael Bendis (maybe the most legendary tweet-hound) felt amongst most of the comics community for his story arcs reach across the entire 616 Universe, BMB's backlog of books do put together a giant picture. Going back and reading his storylines and picking out small examples of characters "acting funny", or unwarranted malice completes Secret Invasion and also brings together the more recent events of "Dark Reign" and the older "House of M" series. What seemed like just another Marvel event, cool and exciting but purposefully fleeting, has me coming back to it one year later.

Secret Invasion

Marvel's (and more specifically Brian Michael Bendis') Secret Invasion is a comic book made in your room with your friends, talking shit while playing with action figures. The tie-ins and crossovers brought anger from the comics community, and the $3.99 price point was all most people could talk about, ignoring Yu's art and (outside of Luke Cage's semi-racist dialogue) Bendis' writing actually being good.

Secret Invasion did something most comic books don't do anymore, throwing the moral "depth" and forced politics out the window for double page spreads and issue-long fight scenes, Super Heroes saving the world from an Alien race, not sitting around talking about what to do next, or being sad asses. SI is a comic book from my childhood, continuity heavy but still entertaining. Marvel has done the unthinkable, and made two year long story arc comics popular again.

It's easy to first say to yourself "There's no way Bendis knew what he was going to do, there's no way he planned that much." You start to reread and think things like "Well Tony Stark must've been a Skrull, that's why he signed the initiative and killed Captain America." or "If so-and-so could be a Skrull, than maybe so-and-so is one too!" At first it seems foolish to be someone who falls into the "Who do you trust?" hype, but that's the best part about reading Secret Invasion, it turned readers back into True Believers.

Rarely does an "event" series actually cause a change in the comic universe's status quo, things returning to normal shortly after the books are off the new issue wall. Marvel's House Of M, Civil War and even the events that lead up to and followed World War Hulk reshaped their characters and the world they live in. The company has set themselves up, allowing new characters and series (the newly back in action Hawkeye, Nick Fury's Secret Defenders, and the War Of Kings tie-in titles) to give you a hint of what's coming, the entire Marvel Line coming together, making sense again.

What makes SI special, and I do mean special, is that it's a collaborative effort by all at Marvel, every character and book being impacted by the Invasion and Skrull reveals. Final Crisis was Grant Morrison's idea, but, even now at the end, it didn't feel complete. DC Comics didn't trust in Morrison, and added too many mini series to tagalong, ultimately confusing fans trying to keep up with everything, especially nerds (who also write great books) making Final Crisis Annotations.

It's extremely hard not to compare the two, the event books coming out around the same time, both being heavily advertised and both were to be universe-spanning. Secret Invasion has a definitive ending, it makes sense and most importantly, was an event comic. Final Crisis should have been an Else Worlds sort of thing, or something that was understood to be out of continuity. The progressive ideas Morrison may have had about where Final Crisis was going were simply bastardized by DC's barrage of mini series tie-ins that didn't really tie-in.

The major flaw of SI is that there may have been too many tie-ins that weren't new mini series, particularly with the New Avengers, Mighty Avengers and Avengers: Initiative, essentially putting your regularly scheduled programming on hold so you had to concentrate on the main event. They were too involved, and held pieces of the bigger picture, Marvel did a good job giving you bits and pieces to inform you, but it pushed you to buy more and more, a bummer at the $3.99 price point.

Outside of the straight Secret Invasion issues, I personally only read the X-Men and Inhumans mini series, not really caring about the other things going on. The new "recap" page in the front of Marvel books reminded us what was going on, and news broadcasts shown in the actual pages updated the reader on what was happening in books they may not have been reading. You never felt out of touch or detached from what was going on.

Now, with the collected issues coming out in hardcover and paperback, it's incredible to read the comics I didn't read monthly, seeing differences and figuring things out, watching the destruction of the events of Secret Invasion, which take place over the course of only two days or so. It also branches out into the Dark Reign and War of Kings separate event books, War of Kings taking place in space, reintroducing Marvel's cosmic characters, some of which I thought were lost forever.

Like most of Marvel's events, it feels like the moment it lead up to was a boner kill, the entire series ending with Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin and leader of the Thunderbolts, duh dudes) being the hero at the end of the day, which leads into the Dark Reign and the Dark Avengers.

All their books are connected, and it does mean you have to try to follow some continuity which some people can't handle, but catching up isn't hard. Everything is in trade now if you're willing to dish out the cash or you know, go to a library. With comics becoming popular, one shots and mini series are popping up everywhere, it's easy to get into any character you'd like, even dead ones like Captain America.

Continuity heavy comics are the only way the nerdy bullshit we love in super hero comics is going to survive outside of weird and kinda fun nostalgia comics like Old Man Logan. Haters of Secret Invasion just never gave it a chance, even the introductions were more captivating than whatever Superman mini series was going on. We don't want reality in our fantasy, so stop acting like you do. Y: The Last Man may be popular, look good in trade on your shelf and be acceptable to your girlfriend, but you're reading it because it's Science Fiction. Secret Invasion is so pure, it's brightly colored super heroes fighting a bad guy they all understand is bad, and winning. It's just, you know, no bullshit.

Where My Money Went - Dec. 4th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Secret Invasion may be over, but the ripples it has caused will be felt in the Marvel Universe for years to come, or at least until the next event book. Stark returns to the battle field sporting an "old school' suit not attached to the Stark Tech main frame, and despite the throwback look, he's still seen as more of an enemy than a hero to his peers.

Skrulls are defeated, and everyone is looking at the Skrull Queen/Spider-Woman and ready to kill her, the heroes becoming momentary villains for the good of earth, when Norman Osborne shoots her in the head. The entire world sees this act and dude becomes the hero of the war, sorta like a Giuliani in 9/11, except people managed to forget Osborne was you know, the Green Goblin. Everyone goes their own way and it's revealed that Osborne has gathered together an intense group that mirrors the Illuminati, so much that Namor has joined up. Bringing the Prince of Atlantis back in as a bad guy is an idea that opens lots of doors. Emma Frost of the X-Men is also there, along with Dr. Doom, Loki, and The Hood. I can see what all of these people have to gain from an alliance with Osborne, but Emma Frost? What is going on in the world?


X-Men Noir feels half like an old pulp novel without the grit and half like Marvel 1602 where you know the characters are based on Marvel's cast, but you can't always place them. Someone's killing Xavier's "X-Men" who are hinted at being powered, but no one is giving it up, similar to Sub Mariner: The Depths in that it forces you to question if it's a fantasy book or not. It's not a very strong issue but it's not weak enough for me to write it off yet, right now it just feels like X-Factor but not as interesting.


What If?: House Of M should be an easy sell. What if instead of Scarlet Witch taking all mutants' powers away, she took all super powers away from all meta humans? Black Bolt would be able to speak but powerless, Namor wouldn't be able to breathe under water, Wolverine could be killed. Captain America ages in a matter of moments, becoming what we can only assume is dust. For some it'd mean a chance at normal life, but others it means losing the only life they ever wanted.

I have nothing but great things to say about the writing and story, the art however, was the worst thing ever. Imagine the cliche graffiti that every weird nerd in UFO pants does in your high school, but applied to super heroes. The artist ignores anatomy completely, arms and legs all different lengths, and the faces are even worse, contorting in ways only mud does. It's the kind of art you see in sad 90's independent comics and show your friends because you can't believe "Universe Extreme Comics" would even publish it.

It's simply amateur work that pushes you away from books you want to read. GURU eFX tries to hide the pencil's mistakes with digital coloring but just accentuates the problems, placing Liefeld shine and "ink" to cover blank spots. If it were hand inked some of the problems could have been corrected, even Liefeld used an inker. What was Marvel thinking here?

Where My Money Went - Nov. 27th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Brandon wrote about this yesterday, and really nailed it. The Jim Lee cover has something hilarious about it, the characters seeming completely different under his pencil: White Violin looks like a member of Gen13. The Umbrella Academy is more of a family than a super-team, where they feel connected to each other but work as individuals to prove to their "father" their worth. To sorta cement this, U.A. uses "Futura", the same font Wes Anderson uses in Royal Tenenbaums.


Superman has no problem beating the shit out of zombie-looking Vampires and feral Werewolves, but when he recognizes a face, he becomes this wimp. Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves is secretly this great team book, where neither Superman or Batman are the main character. Green Arrow, Dimeter the Vampire, Janko the Werewolf, and now The Demon, are all fighting together. It feels like a Marvel book that brings old characters out of the white-box to make them exciting again. If only Kelley Jones drew this book...

The Thor one-shot series has gotten better and better with each and every issue. After reading DC Comic's The Ring of Nibelung it's awesome to see Thor and The All Father outside of super hero story lines, even if it's just retelling of myths. In this issue, Thor fights Brunnhilda, a Storm Giant, and his father Odin. It's more than a five minute read--like some of the Wolverine one-shots--making the $3.99 price point worth it.

Incredible Hercules continues to be my favorite monthly comic, even more so after the World War Hulk story lines have ended. Hercules, Namora, and Namor save Poseidon from the Amazons, but not the world, since they seek axis mundi, which will put them at rule of the planet. Marvel implants it's mythology-based characters into their own universe using their original tales as a basis, and then, building the story lines and current lives of those characters around that.

Secret Invasion: Inhumans has come to an end, but it's been left open for a new series, War Of Kings. Medusa and Crystal settle their differences and find the location of Black Bolt, who no longer needs their help. His connection with his son grows, Black Bolt's able to communicate with his child the same way he does to his wife. Escaping from his restraints, he blows a super skrull away with a fucking whisper and returns to his family. Crystal marries Ronan and the Royal Family realigns itself with the Kree, meaning that hopefully we'll be getting some more Marvel space comics. Great ending to a great mini-series. Here's some promo art to get you pumped UP:

Where My Money Went - Oct. 22

Every Wednesday I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


I read this on the bus ride home and immediately read it again. My first time through Secret Invasion #7 I sped through it, wanting the action, needing to know what fucked up thing was going to happen next. The second time I examined each panel looking for new Super Skrulls and cameo characters in the background. This series puts me in a place few comics do, my childhood, when two page spreads of fighting weren't from a lack of story telling but because one page couldn't contain the action. There's only one more installment of the event left, and questions are being answered. Spider-Man says it best when he says "Hey, you know what, this ain't so bad, all things considered. These big Earth shakers, I've been around them. You know when you have to worry, is when Uatu shows up." But then he shows up, so they are all fucked.


With a steep price point at $5.99, I didn't pick up the first Soleil comic Skydoll, but I could not pass up Samurai: Legend. It has the same huge "MATURE CONTENT" label on it as Wolverine: Saudade but here it makes a lot more sense. Visual narration is a big deal to me (I think you should be able to know what's going on page to page without reading text) and movement should feel like it's actually moving. The violence plays out in this comic like an old samurai film you'd watch late night on cable, but without the bad dubbing or engrish subtitles. The scenery is it's own character, feeling the dank depths of caves and freezing cold mountain tops, making you feel for and understand the characters more. Samurai Takeo is a masterless traveller searching for his destiny but becomes side tracked as his party begins to grow. They get chased by gnarly masked samurai who are basically monsters, while searching for answers and an ancient treasure called "The Thirteenth Prophet". I don't know what else you'd want.


I saw this thinking "Another X-Book?" but picked it up anyways since I'm a sucker for Wolverine. After all the drama in the main X-Men series, Wolverine is moving into his new home and unpacking his things, meaning a box with a six pack in it. His past catches up to him with a picture of a woman and an old spear head that fall on the floor after (a REALLY well drawn) Nightcrawler drops a box. After all his years without memories, the few he does have he constantly reflects on and regrets, so he decides to make good with the local crime syndicate since he's moved into their town. At the end of the story another one of Wolverine's ex-lovers appears along with another situation he may not get out of. I should have just summed this entire comic up as "Wolverine drinks beer and wears a cowboy hat and then fights a bunch of kung fu dudes, it's awesome." but I decided to give you guys little more.


I want good comics, not just any comics. Here's where my money didn't go:


I wanted to like Final Crisis. I wanted to be involved in both major company's event books, but Final Crisis didn't cut it. Not enough of the characters are interesting and half the time I really just didn't care. I thought the death of Martian Manhunter was incredible and very Morrison without being too metaphysical, but the third issue just bored me. I had to pick it up four times before I could really get into it. I didn't buy any of the tie-ins because I just didn't care. Nothing grabbed me in any of the books.


I read the Inhumans and X-Men Secret Invasion tie-ins, but the Spider-Man seemed strange. After the "Brand New Day" story line, it seems weird to put him back into continuity after pretending the Civil War didn't happen. The Super Skrull consisting of the Web Head's villains looked cool, but not enough to justify reading the issues. Maybe I'll read the trade.

Secret Invasion #6 By Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu

With two issues from its end, the series finally starts to come together. With lines drawn in the sand, and Skrull sleeper agents revealed, the entire Marvel cast gets ready to take on the Skrull Empire.

S.I. number six begins by wrapping up most of the S.I. tie-in titles, giving you a sense of time, and how far the invasion has spread. The Mighty Avengers and rebel New Avengers rush to New York City, ignoring the Registration Act (and their differences) in order to push back the Skrull Armada. When they arrive, we are given a two page spread showing the destruction of the city, Skrull ships floating above, the Baxter Building in a Negative Zone hole, and the city covered in rubble.

On those streets stands Nick Fury and his new Howling Commandos, the Secret Warriors, a band of young mutants and super humans who were unknown before now, assuring us that they are not Skrulls. For fans of Nick Fury, this has been a GREAT book, not just because he's finally back in the game, but because he's where he belongs, in the front lines, shooting aliens and shouting orders. The level of disbelief from his return and respect for Nick Fury is shared even by the crime syndicate created by the Hood, as they watch from the sidelines and try to decide if they should enter the fray.



With lightning striking and thunder roaring, all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes turn their heads to Central Park where Thor's hammer strikes the ground, heroes rejoicing as the God of Thunder makes his return. The fear and excitement sets in for all as the final battle begins, Thor summoning all to the battle field. The super human community of Earth walks what may be their final mile as they enter into what could be their last adventure. Even Thunderbolts leader Norman Osborn keeps his squad of registered psychos in check, understanding what is at stake in the fight to come.



The Skrull Queen (posing as Spider Woman) gives them a chance to be saved and surrender to the change. She announces the phrase haunting those who have been attacked, "He loves you." Spider-Man Pushes his way through former enemies Bullseye and Wrecker and asks the question we've all been waiting for "He who?" With the answer and a Skrull holy war upon us, Nick Fury answers, giving us possibly the best panel ever, the Mount Rushmore of Marvel comics.




With that, Iron Man assembles the newly re-cast Avengers including characters ranging from Venom to Luke Cage and even Howard the Duck! The Super-Skrulls begin arriving in all their stolen forms, with even a Galactus Skrull standing above all others!



Yu plays with the idea that ANY character could be a Skrull, and that not all Skrulls have to be just one hero or villain. Seeing a Super-Skrull that has the power of the X-men is incredible, and forces you to go back and try to name every character combination you can. The texture on every character and piece of the background makes the story actually feel gritty, the dirt on their faces and rips on costumes actually earned in a fight.

With two issues to go, Secret Invasion is turning out to be what event comics should be. Bendis-Haters (a club which I certainly am a member of) are ignoring the strengths of this series to shit on it's weaknesses. The price point is high but S.I. is worth it, this issue in particular. Seeing the Avengers working together again and not being a government tool has given me hope for future books, and with Tony Stark looking outside of himself for the first time in a few years makes me hope for another all star Avengers team. Seeing characters like Kazaar fighting alongside Hulkling and Reed Richards is exciting in a way that The Infinity Gauntlet was, the whole Marvel gang together to fight for the good of the universe, and that's what comics should be.