Yes, you, the one who likes comics, don't be shy, step forward.
There are very few forms of expression as misunderstood as this, decades of prejudice have created the stereotype that the 9th art is an immature, simplistic stupidity concerning men with muscles and tights, able to fly and explode stuff, suitable only for the smaller ages and yet better off without it. Well, if that's how much you know on the subject, allow me to observe that you know nothing at all.
There were always comic books not like those indifferent ones that come out every month in vast quantities, if you just know where to look there's no way you won't find something valuable even in a huge industry like this one. I'm talking about those interesting, dark, realistic or not, innovative, groundbreaking stories that come accompanied by captivating art, each issue a work of art on its own, every month coming to you in a price and form if nothing else approachable. Today more than ever, with hundreds of different titles being published every month, there's a whole pile of junk threatening to overwhelm us but fear not, the same applies for those great comics that seem to be taking the place they rightfully deserve in the hearts of readers and the minds of critics.
Some of the greatest creators of fields related have turned to comics, and that's not accidental, writers and artists worked together in this brave new world using its potential. Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Alan Moore, Frank Miller and so many more, all of them proof that it's not kid cartoons we're talking about but a new form of art with an adult target group destined to change the way we think about text and picture, using a combination of them in a way, maybe not that traditional as literature, but promising and fresh. It took some hard years for the comics industry to grow up and get wise but the mistakes of the past have helped, the production is now evenly matched to the demand, the companies more responsible and the readers significantly more mature and demanding. Comic reading is no more for the geeks, those too bored to read a book or even only for the guys, people who would be concerned to be totally irrelevant to the subject nowadays show a great interest to a new suggestion willing to get you to places none ever took you before.
Arm yourselves with patience and persistence, the quest ahead of you is a hard but promising one. You might stumble upon cheap art, na've stories and uninspired characters but keep searching, for there are some worth it, capable of traveling you to lands unreachable and dreams unspoken. You may lose yourselves in magic stories and even better, you may reappear a better person. It happens every day!
