this time, no elrond

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Comic Con. Attending last year's was a totally enlightening experience, and though I can't attend in 2008 due to a friend's wedding, I can't wait until I'm in the San Diego Convention Center once again, with all the other nerds. Considering how much I appreciated the event as a movie and TV fan, I wondered how much I was missing out on by not having any personal experience with comic books. I'd always written them off as the picture books that barely literate boys read, and now I am so ashamed for having made such an unfair generalization.

I recently finished V for Vendetta, which I think was an appropriate introduction to the graphic novel ouvre. It took me awhile to get used to reading the text in all the right order without overlooking the artwork, but once I started thinking of it as movie storyboards, the reading came a lot more smoothly. I think the excellent surprises in Alan Moore's story were ruined for me by having seen the movie a few times already, but the story was still captivating, and masterfully more complicated than the adaptation. David Lloyd's artwork was incredibly impressive throughout, with beautiful watercolor detail.

At Comic Con 2007 I attended a panel where Zack Snyder, director of graphic novel adaptation 300, fielded questions regarding his 2009 adaptation of Watchmen. Considering the outstanding casting choices, the fan enthusiasm surrounding the book, and its place on Time Magazine's list of the 100 Best Novels, I knew I wanted to read it before seeing the film. Review coming up in my next post.