Fables, Air and The Sandman

I really enjoy a lot of Vertigo titles that have been out. I've loved reading comics since I was a tiny kid. I remember the TMNT comic I was reading at the hospital when my sister was born, Then there was the incident when I was about 5. I went to a friends house and we were playing and he said, "I'm gonna lock you in the 

shed." I was not for this so I threw a lock at his head. I got in trouble, my mom came to pick me up and she had comics, that I could not read. I remember this vividly for some reason, especially the cover to Archie, with Jugghead eating a sandwich of course. The periodical store that sold comics in Hangtown (Placerville, CA) was a magical old building with a creeky floorboard and a unique woodsy smell. A shelf in the middle held the titles of the day: X-men 2099, X-Factor, Gen 13. I even think there was a Terminator comic. My dad also owned Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the World which I wish were the textbooks for schools around the world.

Currently I'm reading Fables by Bill Willingham. An awesomne book about exhiled Fable characters from their Fable homeland. There are 13 or 14 trade paperbacks out and every Chicago Public Library has a few of them. I love the storytelling and the use of characters that we all know and love. However, seeing them outside of the context of their particular fable is another fun treat. It's just so cool. I would recommend starting  on book #4 March of the Wooden Soldiers. The first 3 are all stand alone books that introduce the characters. However, each book has a quick character intro in the first pages so it's not entirely necessary to read the first 3. They are fun too but for some reason harder to get at the library, though I've been able to rent them 2 time because of persistence. Do read Fables.

Air is another great title though severely underrated. The series got cancelled and as such only has 4 trade paperbacks. Unfortunately #3 is not that great. However, the underlying story and ideas used are wonderful. The inclusion of world events, history and the supernatural are all used to great effect. Air is a title that will be missed. I also like Unwritten and I really hope that it doesn't get cancelled too.

Furthermore the Sandman books by Neil Gaiman have long been a favorite of mine after stealing #5 from my high school library.The sandman is Morpheus, Dream of the Endless. An incarnation of dreaming that has taken a human form. He has brothers and sisters in the form of Destiny, Death, Despar, Destruction, Delusion and the pan-sexual desire. This series was written back in 1988 through 1996. The stories are sometimes wild, or slow burning, intense thrillers. Sometimes they are scary or whimsical. My favorite character is the dream lords's nightmare creation, the Corinthean. Who will, I shit you not, eat your eyeballs. Why? Because, he's got mouths for eyes.

The sandman is super emo

Now, I'm super excited too because this months Chicago "one book" library thing is Gaiman's Neverwhere and as a result he will be coming to town to tour around. I am definitely going to one of those things if not more. He'll be doing lectures and presentations and whatnot. So that's really cool. 

So do try to check out some of the titles that I've mentioned, it's for you own good.