The Freedom in Reading Comic Books

As a comic book reader for most of my reading life, I often see all the reasons to read them, few not to. There is a huge world waiting for all of us to explore. One that will take less of your time than one of those "doorstopper" novels, and less time than most TV shows. The comic book is truly evolving, becoming something that can be respected more today than it was in the beginning. This is no longer your son or daughter speeding through the latest Superman comic, waiting for a shot of Lois Lane. We have the freedom to read anything we want: horror stories, super hero tales, science fiction tales, even literary and fantasy stories. That is the beauty, and this article explores just that.

Book or Comic?

First off, the point of this essay isn't to say that comics are superior, in any way, to the novel. A big, sprawling book that takes weeks to read has its purpose. So does reading a comic book. There are differences and similarities. For one, comics allow you to move from character to character, scene to scene, faster than a book. You don't like a comic, put it down, no loss. You don't like a book, there is, often a few hundred pages to go. Yes, per page comics are more expensive than books. Why? They have artists. The power of an image cannot be understated. All films, for example, cost you more per minute than a book. But people keep going to theaters, keep buying DVDs. The freedom for the comic revolves around the shorter reading time.

Film or Comic?

The film is truly the perfect combination of story with image. Is it better than the comic book? The comic is static imagery, meaning a character isn't actually walking away; it's just a single image, not a few hundred in motion. You have different freedoms in both. However, the problem is you need less of a budget for a comic book. For example, Iron Man decides to fly through space, it will be a huge undertaking in a film, but a small one in a comic (as the latest "Iron Man" blockbuster showed, films also make more money). You get more possibilities with a comic; an illustrator can do almost anything, and the script writer guides him there.

It's all Story:

Novels, films, comics ... they each have positives and negatives. They're all stories, written down by someone, put together, and handed out. They are connected in many ways, and each has their own freedom. The comic story allows you to explore the minds of characters somewhat less than a novel, but more than a film. It comes down to your tastes, and how much time you have.

Time Saved:

The point is, if you want a quick story, go to a comic book. That is why children, as used to be more paramount in the early days of comics, go for comics before they pick up the huge literary epics. More often than not, a child can understand a comic book story. Yet there is also freedom for adults, because a horror story in a comic book allows somewhat more than a novel. There are more and more complicated stories intended for adults in this medium.

And You're Free to Collect Them:

Collecting is the basis of all this. Children often pick up baseball cards at the same place they buy their comics. Yet collecting is a freedom too: you choose exactly what you want, building a collection full of all sorts of characters and stories. As you collect, you will see writers and artists with more freedom to create. Remember: a comic book costs a fraction of what a film does, can show you more than a novel, and saves you plenty of time for other stories.