People who don't like comics

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

.......yes, they do exist!

My best mate in my teen years couldn't stand comics, no matter the quality or content: he just wasn't interested in the slightest, despite my occassional attempts to draw him into the delights of such diverse fare as SPARKY or 2000 AD: his response was always the same: on par with a distant relative bringing out photo albums containing endless unknowns: for him, just yawnsome and tedious, and 'can we go back to the new Sex Pistols single and beer, if you don't mind?'

He certainly recognized the likenesses of DESPERATE DAN and even JUDGE DREDD, however even the definitive Watkins/Bolland versions just left him cold, this lack of appreciation [and indeed it seemed to be an aversion to the comics medium ]overall was quite an eye-opener for me, as most folks in general definitely appear to exhibit some sort of interest in the wonders offered up by this visual medium......





I suppose this is part of the DNA of being human: I get the same sort of 'anti' feelings regarding sport in general: here in Scotland, football is almost like a religion for seemingly hundreds of thousands each weekend, to me it's just boring and pointless, and I often find myself in the pub at weekends, standing unfazed, bemused but unaffected, as all and sundry around me are getting into the exuberant spirit of the latest televised goal---I just wish football never existed!!



Musta bin the same sort of outlook for my amigo, regarding comics.

[Bigwords]

And here I thought this was going to be another attack on Piers Morgan...

Yep. There are plenty of people who haven't the slightest interest in comics, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing that they are out there. Checks and balances - some of those people would be horrified at my complete disregard for abstract sculpture, the works of "important" authors such as James Joyce and Nabokov, and - naturally - sport. Of all types.

The real fun ain't in getting them to read and respect comics on their own value, but to get them to acknowledge that some of the stuff they love has been influenced by comics. If he was a big Sex Pistols fan, then he has probably encountered a number of punk songs which were inspired by characters from comics... Always amusing to see people react when such links are pointed out to them.

[Kid Robson]

It's not just comics - some people don't actually like any form of reading outside of gossip mags and their stars in the local paper. I remember a woman I knew once boasting that she had never read a book in her life. Yes, that's right - she was actually proud of the fact. Unbelievable!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

And here I thought this was going to be another attack on Piers Morgan...

Yep. There are plenty of people who haven't the slightest interest in comics, but it isn't necessarily a bad thing that they are out there. Checks and balances - some of those people would be horrified at my complete disregard for abstract sculpture, the works of "important" authors such as James Joyce and Nabokov, and - naturally - sport. Of all types.

The real fun ain't in getting them to read and respect comics on their own value, but to get them to acknowledge that some of the stuff they love has been influenced by comics. If he was a big Sex Pistols fan, then he has probably encountered a number of punk songs which were inspired by characters from comics... Always amusing to see people react when such links are pointed out to them.

Sid Vicious of the Pistols is on record as saying he loved Marvel Comics: and he hated '99 % of everything and everyone', according to his own spiel......

[philcom55]

"I didn't get to where I am today by reading comics. I was educated in the university of life/hard knocks, etc., etc....!"

(Though actually I do like James Joyce! )

- Phil R.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

It's not just comics - some people don't actually like any form of reading outside of gossip mags and their stars in the local paper. I remember a woman I knew once boasting that she had never read a book in her life. Yes, that's right - she was actually proud of the fact. Unbelievable!

I can understand folks not bothering to pick up and persevere with a book, Robbo---it takes patience and stamina---but a good book well-written and researched is very rewarding, moreso than almost all TV and most films, it's a joy that many miss out on-----however comics are an 'instant', visual medium, and I sometimes wonder why the disinterested act the way they do: comics offer such escapism from everyday tedium/problems-----maybe some observers dislike this 'not facing up to reality?'

[Bigwords]

I remember a woman I knew once boasting that she had never read a book in her life.

How is that even possible?

Sid Vicious of the Pistols is on record as saying he loved Marvel Comics: and he hated '99 % of everything and everyone', according to his own spiel......

There are at least two punk album covers of the era featuring Dredd, and one recent(ish - 1990s) one. Not to mention all of the Marvel pastiches which prog rock and pop used. Some of them were actually as well-drawn as the comics.

(Though actually I do like James Joyce! )

I really did try to get through Ulysses, but - ugh. Just no. Thinking about that book is enough to give me a nosebleed.

[philcom55]

I really did try to get through Ulysses, but - ugh. Just no. Thinking about that book is enough to give me a nosebleed.

Try reading The Dubliners instead. Nobody wrote better endings than Joyce!

- Phil R.

[tony ingram]

"I didn't get to where I am today by reading comics".

I did...

[starscape]

It is amusing the people that think superhero comics are childish and silly but somehow think superhero movies are not. Ive even met folk who have refused my offer of lending them a comic like the Killing Joke just in case they enjoy it (they dont want to be seen as someone who reads comics).

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I remember buying an IPC comic in my early 20s, and the newsagent [an ex-cop, as if that really matters] quipped to me:

Aye-aye! Fit ye daein' readin' kids' stuff at YOUR age?*




Me:

er---I'm trying to get a JOB doing this!

He never looked too convinced..........I have also had giggling gaggles of middle-aged women openly mocking me as I skimmed through the comics section.

Good response from me that time:



Er-----I DREW this!!







* English translation of this curious Scottish local dialect available on request.

[DavidKW]

As for people who don't like them - I first thought of my parents! They'd blame the likes of Baby Crockett for starting World War 2!

I had a mate at school whom I couldn't convert to comics. He was more interested in my toy car collection.

One time I got so close, but my older sister ruined it all by first asking him in a snide voice if he'd be intersted in Beezer characters she mentions - no he membled. (sister also intervened & undermined when he came to our house; my parents let her yet if I did when her friends were round my parents wouldn't & criticise me for it & let them bully me!).

And I love the Sex Pistols. Truly discovered them & punk/New Wave when in my late teens when I was a very angry bloke! And also because the music in the late 80s was just total rubbish (bar the odd Indie track, which you couldn't hear on the radio & share with others).

Am loving TOTP 1978 repeats too.

[stevezodiac]

A friend e-mailed me the other day saying he was listening to a Punk Rock compilation cd and mentioned Penetration. I told him to look up Vice Squad - a cross between Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Sex Pistols. Becky Bondage was the singer and I had their first couple of singles - I will now seek out a couple of their albums.

My sister has never had any interest in comics and to this day says "When are you going to get rid of those stupid comics" she once tore one of my TV Century 21s in half to get her own back on me. I still have it.

[philcom55]

It's said that some of the Beatles' most enthusiastic fans from their early days in the Cavern rather lost interest when they became world-famous as it meant they weren't their own special property anymore. I must admit that I tend to feel the same way about super heroes such as Superman, Batman and Spider-Man now that they seem almost more popular than God thanks to their Film and TV appearances. At least with comics themselves (and especially British comics) it's possible to feel that those of us who 'get' them belong to a select group that sets us apart from the crowd!

- Phil Rushton

[Mr McScotty]

You have to admit if you are being honest and objective, that if you tell people as a big 30 plus hairy year old grown up that you still read the Beano you have to accept you'll get a strange(and to me understandable) reaction (as long ass its not offensive) and folk in general don't see too much of a difference between the Beano and Superman etc and will extend that reasoning and that's understandable really (and I don't think saying you collect rather than read makes much of a difference to them ) My stance is, if you enjoy it go for it dont try to convert anyone or say its similar to Shakespeare etc they just laugh -its like role playing games or train spotting to me no matter what you say its for me a passtime for geeks (and yes I rsepect their right to have fun doing it)lol