Geek Out: Comics You Should be Reading

So I’ve discussed video games and comic book movies so far in this column, so I think its about time I look at comic books.

I’ve previously stated in other editions that I’m a huge Marvel Comics fan so you’ll only see Marvel comics mentioned for the rest of this article. I don’t hate DC Comics, I just don’t find their characters to be all that relatable. Superman’s way too powerful and Batman is way too depressed, how can one root for these heroes when one has very few weaknesses and even though he’s extremely powerful already he still gains new abilities. The other while being a great detective has more issues than Lindsey Lohan and Courtney Love combined. Another reason why I’m a huge Marvel comics fan is because my mom is. When I was younger I stumbled across the huge amount of X-Men comics that my mom collected when she was younger and I instantly fell in love with the mutant outcasts. I was a smart kid who saw the parallels between the mutants and the black community especially the struggles that African Americans went through during the civil rights movement.

After burning through her Age of Apocalypse storyline, which is perhaps the best X-Men story to ever be told, I ventured into the world the Spiderman. However, instead of reading the Amazing Spiderman comics, I read the Ultimate Spiderman comics which started out as a modern retelling of the original story. High school Peter Parker was a character that I could connect to, he seemed human. In fact a good portion of Marvel characters have this human quality about them that DC characters seem to lack. Enough of my backstory with comics, lets get on with the suggestions shall we.

First on my list is actually a comic I just began reading. Actually I have only read the first issue, but I’ve been hearing good things about it. The new Ms. Marvel comic book is simply amazing. The comic introduces a completely new character in Kamala Khan and gives her the mantle of Ms. Marvel. The title of Ms. Marvel is usually associated with Carol Danvers, but that character has a new name in Captain Marvel so Marvel needed to fill the void of Ms. Marvel. That’s a lot of Marvel. The strength of the comic is in its main character and its great writing. Kamala isn’t some cookie cutter character, for starters, she’s Pakistani. Her ethnicity isn’t there in name only however, her family and her values and beliefs all stem it. She’s a fun character, whose exploring her new Inhuman powers. The writing of G. Willow Wilson is similar to Brian Michael Bendis. Both writers understand young characters and how to develop them. Ms. Marvel is a great comic and its one that everyone should be reading.

The second comic on my list of an older one to a degree. This comic is Miles Morales: Ultimate Spiderman. This comic features the ultimate universe’s Spiderman, Miles Morales. This universe’s Peter Parker bit the dust and Miles replaced him. Like Kamala, Miles isn’t the stereotypical white character, Miles is black and Hispanic. His ethnicity, while being refreshing, isn’t the main draw for this book though. It’s the way Bendis has taken this character and made him standout from just being Peter Parker’s replacement. The character is fully fleshed out and his integration with Peter’s family and friends is great. The comic is great for those who know about Spiderman, but want something new and refreshing.

There are many more comics that I’d love to suggest in detail, but if I did then I’d be writing more than 1000 words so Ill end it here, but please go to your nearest comic shop and buy some comics. Get to know more about the movies that are dominating the film industry.