comics are not just for kids okay?

Thanks to the 28 years old, dad to be cousin of mine, Gabby, I started to collect comics again.

Gabby was buying the whole of the Neil Gaiman's Sandman tradepaperbacks (tpbs) and, now, some Batman titles.

Actually, I have been the first to renew the interest in conjunction with the release of Spiderman the Movie. The first one being the 9/11 black issue and one issue for every month.

However, I was only buying because I can. It is only 5-6 bucks per month. It used to be a big deal for my allowance was 50 bucks per month when I was in secondary school and a hundred in Poly.

Now. More. The flame was reignited by Gabby.

First, it was Sin City. I was always intrigued by Frank Miller's art on the Sin City covers but never did bring myself to buy one. After watching the thriller for Sin City the Movie, I was edged over and bought the first volume of Sin City's tbps, The Hard Goodbye.

It didn't stop there. I bought the following two volumes and Gabby bought the fourth one which was The Yellow Bastard - all these volumes except for the second one, A Dame to Kill For, was feature in the movie. Sin City, as you might have seen on in movie, didn't have much of a story. It was the violent-noir style of Frank Miller art that was pure gold for me.

Y: the Last Man. Mmm...I want.. to be...

Second, from the fantastic Vertigo Comics: Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. This reads like a great sci-fi novel. We follow Yorick the last male human on earth, his male monkey, Ampersand, and several female companions in the mission to find out what wiped out the planet's habitants with the Y chromosome. Visit its website for more details. (And a free issue!).

This title has one of the most unique and incredible storylines I have ever seen! The art is great, however, it is nothing like Miller's of course. Despite that, it is something I will continue to collect.

Lastly are some stuff that I bought to sample. Titles such as The Human Target (not bad but just not as interesting enough to plok 6 bucks/mth) and 30 Days of Night (good storyline though not unique. Plus, I don't really like the art).

These comics I mentioned, besides Spiderman and Batman, are more for the matured audiences - most Vertigo and Dark Horse comics are, including The Mask - due to some nudity/sex scenes, vulgar language and violence.

300 by Frank Miller. Lucky for me it's not $300! Image courtesy of moebiusgraphics.com.

I am really enjoying my renewed interest in comics. Make no mistakes, they are not cheap. The current one I am thinking of buying is another one by Miller called 300. It is about the 300 Spartans, led by Leonidas, who stood against thousands of Persians in the year 480 BC. The hardcover tpb costs 60 bucks at Absolute Comics! My wallet is screaming "no fucking way" but my heart got no ears.

Here are some links:
Silverbullet Comic Books Reviews
Frank Miller's Complete Work by two huge fans.