Just read a blog that annoyed me by stating that comic strips could be off-putting to potential readers. Yes, I know that the point was that Murky Depths has something for everyone but I am baffled as to what is supposed to be so bad about comics. We've come a long way since Superman. Ever read The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (he writes novels too), Ghost World or Maus? Then compare that to some of the shit that a novelist like Richard Laymon puts out. If I had to read "she liked the way the cool air felt against her nipples" one more time...

Those are extreme examples. I personally like trashier fare than the comic examples I stated above; stuff like Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and The Punisher, but love a good novel too. I don't prefer one form over the other because they offer different experiences. Comics are somewhere between a good book and a movie. The art of a novel or short story is to paint a picture with words. Unless you have an illustrator. Then it's just a comic with less pictures.

I guess my main problem is with any form of intolerance. If you think you may not like something, you may be right or you may try it and surprise yourself. A lot of work goes into writing a comic. The process is every bit as involved as writing prose. I sometimes look at my scrïpts and think that the imagery is too difficult to bring to the page as a picture, but that is the challenge.

Murky Depths stands out because it mixes strip and prose. There is something for everyone, but why only allow yourself half of the experience?

Luke Cooper
A reader

That's funny.  I'd say if the comics in Murky Depths are off-putting to potential readers, those aren't really Murky Depths' potential readers.  It's like saying stories about vampires and zombies might be off-putting to potential readers.

I'll happily read Hellboy, Batman, Runaways, Y the Last Man, and anything by Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, and Alan Moore.  I'll happily read them right along with my stack of novels.  Seriously, it's like comparing TV to a podcast.

I can only agree with you both.

Certainly, Frank Miller's Batman stuff - Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One were excellent. And other graphic novels like Hellboy are great, too.

To use Hellboy as an example, it's the same genre as a horror/paranormal novel, only it's presented in a different format. Why limit yourself to experiencing something in only one form?

If I had to choose, I'd pick prose over a comic strip, but that's if I HAD to choose - I wouldn't want to be faced with that decision.

I think comics are actually harder to follow, and some people just can't hack the different way a story is presented. Prose stories leave it all up to the imagination of the reader, whereas comics are grabbing your attention in various ways. If I wasn't one for sitting on the fence with almost everything I'd vote for comics . . . then again . . .

^TBH, the main thing that attracted me to MD was the combo of comic strip and prose.

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benedictjjones - TBH, the main thing that attracted me to MD was the combo of comic strip and prose

. . . and that there aren't many other mags doing the same thing is contributing to Murky Depths' success.  

--Last edited by lucifal on 2008-09-10 13:56:41 --

^agreed i thought it was a very original idea when i first saw it. couldn't believe no one had done it before!!

Quote :

benedictjjones wrote : ^agreed i thought it was a very original idea when i first saw it. couldn't believe no one had done it before!!

It isn't unique, but the mix and execution is.

^have you read china mievilles 'looking for jake and other stories' collection, he drops a graphic tale in aongst his prose in there.