Question:
I picked up a DC 100 Page Super Spectacular of The Justice League of
America that features the JLA in reprints "The Planet That Came to a
Standstill" and "Starro the Conqueror", The Atom in a reprint of
"Suddenly... The Witness Vanished!" and the JSA in a reprint of "The
Case of the Patriotic Crimes". After reading these, I was wondering if
there were any comic books that are coming out now (not reprints) from
Marvel, DC, or any other publisher that pack this much content per
issue. These old stories took me four times longer to read than any
normal sized comic book I've read since coming back to comics earlier
last summer. There was the same amount of story in just those single
issue reprints that there is in about a whole 4 - 5 issue story arc now.
So are there any comics written like this anymore?
Answer:
-Try the "Big Bang" series, sort of one-off specials featuring hugely
enjoyable (and respectful) pastiches of Silver/Golden Age type stories, with
the Round Table of America, the Whiz Kids and individual characters like
Vita-Man, the Dimensioneer and Ladybug.
-I know writing style in comics has changed over the years, with an emphasis
seemingly being placed more on the art. I love a lot of the Silver Age
stuff though I admit that Stan Lee's long-winded style sometimes grated on
my nerves. I never could get into the CrossGen books I figured to enjoy
such as "Way of the Rat" and "Brath" because I could finish the books in
about five minutes. One book I read had about three two-page spreads and a
couple of single page spreads. The art was pretty but boy did I finish
those books fast!
-Try something like Deadbeats then, a long running Vampire vs Vampire hunters
series from Claypool. Not the easiest title to get into, but very rewarding,
and the single most densely written book I know. Also the only comic book in
years which has made me consult a dictionary for definitions of words I'd
never seen before...
