But on the other hand, there is also a geeky cool aspect to having a “universe” that has a huge history and a lot of context to build stories on; similar to the attraction of Tolkein fans to what some would consider providing too much detail about his imaginary world.

The varying creative teams can have positives and negatives as well. Especially with some of the long running characters, where the original creators can’t be doing the stories anymore, I think it’s interesting to see different people’s takes on the same concept; some you will like, and some you won’t, but some may even be better than the original. Frank Miller’s Daredevil is a good example of that; it wasn’t technically “his” character, but most people agree that his run on the book was one of the best.

We will have to plan to resume our comic book movie tradition when V for Vendetta is released; let me know if any of you want to read the book before seeing the movie.

i think the thing that annoys me most about superhero books is the unending serialization. if you have a good story, tell the good story and then move on. otherwise you end up with ridiculous soap opera situations where the main character has been married 15 times or has had an on and off relationship with the main chick for 40 years.

i also like that the indie artists tend to see their work through the entire process. sometimes artists and writters team up, but it not a forced relationship where each page is colored by a different person using a mandated style guide.

i don’t think the watchmen is even in production yet. last i heard paramount slashed it’s budget after seeing some pre-production work.

Clark was Martha’s maiden name.

Here’s one. Does anyone know why Martha and Johnathan named him Clark?

Nathan: I’ve heard good things about both of those books, although I’ve never read them personally. However, I don’t know if I would say that comics / graphic novels that try to cover more serious issues or personal relationship stuff are the only “real” comics. I’m assuming you’re referring to the subject matter being the guideline as opposed to actual realism, since I know that maus uses animals kind of like Orwell’s Animal Farm.

There are lots of varieties of comics out there, made and enjoyed for different reasons. I would rather not put mainstream superhero books into a “lower” category than some of the other indie stuff; some of them can be serious as well, depending on the creative team.

PS - Does anyone know when the Watchmen or V for Vendetta movies are coming out?

Any way, Superman’s (Clark’s) high school nick name? Anyone?