Comics for everyone!

[untonuggan]

My eldest nephew is six. I just found out that he doesn't have any comic books, and apparently, "The comics in the newspaper are for teenagers."

My brother is a bad, bad geek.

I've decided to remedy the situation with comic books for Christmas. I told the folks at the comic book store what I was doing, and they declared that I was doing "the Lord's work." I'm not sure what I think about their phrasing, but I do feel it is necessary.

Which has led me to think...why not give comics to everyone on my Christmas list? Surely there is something that could peak every fancy. My parents do not really "do" comics (as in, I don't have to fight them for the comics section every Sunday, as I do with my partner). My mom finds Pearls Before Swine funny, but I think that's about it. However, there is a collection of mouldering Daffy Duck comics in the basement that my dad had as a kid. They were some of the first I read (even though I wasn't supposed to touch them, because they were fragile). Perhaps an inner comic-book reader lurks in my dad's statistical-minded, non-fiction-reading brain. I think he might enjoy Calamities of Nature, for example. Or something else that is science-y.

Clearly, my sister needs to read Hark, a Vagrant! She is a teacher and a liberal arts geek.

Nephews are taken care of. My mother I can figure out.

But what to do about my brother-in-law and sister-in-law? I don't know their tastes quite as well. My brother and his wife did meet at "nerd camp," though, so I can't go completely wrong if I pick a comic for her. (Perhaps Cul de Sac? Definitely something that doesn't have long story arcs, so she can put it down when the kids demand attention. Same for my brother.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for good "intro" comics/graphic novels to give people who may not be (as) familiar with the medium?

Comments

[theoretical_cat]

A friend of mine sent me over here to suggest some comics. I read a LOT of webcomics, so I've been working on a making a list of comics I read / have read. I've granted you basic access to my account so you can view the list here. The first set is from my current bookmarks, and has comments about each comic. The second was added to by friends on google Wave, so I can't make any guarantees about everything there. However, I read or have read most of the comics in both lists (some are repeated), so if you have questions about any of them (e.g., language or not-good-for-kids content), just let me know and I'll see if I can help :)

[untonuggan]

Awesome, thank you! I recognize some of the webcomics on your list, but not all of them. (Oh the deliciousness of new archives to read through...)