Do you have friends who scoff at you when the subject of comics comes up? Your first reaction might be (and rightfully so) to disown them as your friend and relegate them to the "Assholes" section of your AIM buddy list. However, doing this may leave you friendless and alone for the rest of your natural born life. I'm here to offer you an alternate solution, which is to convert them to your ways. I'm not touting comics as religion, but the conversion method is still the same: latch on to an aspect of a person's personality and sell them on your product. People that "don't like" comics are often those that don't know or understand that there are thousands of different comics that appeal to their varied interests.
In the following pages, I'll help you pair up certain personality traits with a possible graphic recommendation, and hopefully, with enough luck, you'll have a new partner to go to the comic shop with every Wednesday.
FOR THE POLITICALLY SAVVY INTELLECTUAL
Personality Traits: These are the people who often ponder their thoughts openly, and always jump at the chance to engage in a discussion of politics, whether it is warranted or not. These fine individuals can see a rat run across the streets of New York City and turn it into a debate about US Foreign Policy. Their opinions are loud - usually obnoxious - and they firmly believe their opinions to be fact.
Primary Recommendation: Ex Machina
Ex Machina deals with former vigilante Mitchell Hundred taking the office of Mayor of New York City in an alternate post-9/11 society. Your politically savvy intellectual friend will no doubt enjoy how writer Brian K. Vaughan tackles real world issues of gay marriage, marijuana legalization, and separation of church and state through the lens of these fantastical characters. Though their shortsightedness of other people's opinions may get in the way of their fully supporting Hundred's decisions in the series, they will no doubt come to appreciate the exploration of the political system in a way that is new and interesting to them.
Other Recommendations: Unknown Solider, Pride of Baghdad
FOR THE HARDENED HORROR FANATIC
Personality Traits: Hardened horror fanatics tend to eat, live, and breathe zombies, cthulu monsters, and hardcore gore stemming from burns and lesions. They live and die for Evil Dead, George Romero, and very likely hate 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. They own a vast collection of awful 1980's B-horror movies, and probably quote them to you when you aren't even aware. The only thing they read is HP Lovecraft collections, and it truly blows your mind that they haven't moved onto comics yet.
Primary Recommendation: The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is sure to get their panties in a bunch, especially when they rediscover the love they have for Romero-style zombies. Even in Robert Kirkman's description of the book, he claims a desire to create a zombie movie that lasts forever. Horror fans will get plenty of blood and guts, but also unexpected twists and turns that make the book continue to be a solid read. They will find themselves appreciating the thematic content of a society in peril, along with the pure enjoyment of potentially seeing their favorite characters ripped to shreds.
Other Recommendations: 30 Days of Night, House of Mystery
FOR THE SOCIOLOGICAL EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHER
Personality Traits: These are human beings who constantly question the reason for their existence, the interconnections between man and the universe, and quite possibly enjoy debating the philosophical relevance of the ecological hypothesis of Gaia. They usually only read things by world renowned philosophers, but often think that no one else could have possibly read them. They will question everything that comes out of your mouth, but never in an aggressive way. In some ways, they want they same thing that you do: to alter your way of thinking.
Primary Recommendation: Y: The Last Man
The second appearance of Brian K. Vaughan in this article, Y is right up the alley of the philosophical type, following a young man who suddenly becomes the last living human male amongst a world fallen into anarchy and ruled by females. Over the course of its 60 issue run, the book ponders the questions of Yorick Brown's survival, the cause of the gendercide, and the nature of love and relationships to name a few, all of which relates back to the even bigger question of our existence. The book is dense in theme but easy to read, and your existentialist friends will find themselves sitting for hours on end with the trade paperbacks, question why it was they didn't pick it up sooner.
Other Recommendations: Preacher, Sandman
FOR THE THEMATICALLY INCLINED LITERARY SNOB
Personality Traits: These beings, usually quite pretentious, refuse to believe that any form of artistry could possibly hold the same thematic value and artistic merit as literature. They re-read F. Scott Fitzgerald as a birthday present to themselves and turn their noses at any adaptation of a book, be it a film or on TV. They are the ones who highlight or underline their favorite novels (or both, depending on their system), in order to refer back to them at a moment's notice. They are the most likely to misrepresent comics as thematically barren rags meant only for children and the immature.
Primary Recommendation: Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's masterpiece is the ultimate display of comics as contemporary literature. The first solution to swaying the opinions of your thematically inclined literary snob friend, is to slap them across the face with the Absolute Edition of Watchmen and subsequently place it in their grubby paws for enjoyment. Inside, they'll find one of the most thematically dense narratives they've ever experienced, laced with narratives within narratives, meticulously detailed panels and layouts, and political motifs to make their head spin. And maybe, just maybe, they'll learn something about the comics medium itself from all of the self referential musings that Alan Moore includes in his tome.
Other Recommendations: Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, Gemma Bovery
FOR THE MACHO DOUCHE WHO LOVES COMIC BOOK MOVIES BUT CAN'T ABIDE COMIC BOOKS
Personality Traits: You all know this guy. He's at midnight showings for The Dark Knight, 300, Spider-Man 3, and Iron Man. He spouts very general factoids about these comic characters, but only admits to having read them a little "when he was a kid". More often than not, this translates to "I used to watch the cartoons on Saturday morning". That's all well and good, but there's no reason that comic book films should be taking then cake at the box-office month in and month out, while guys like this have never cracked the pages of a comic. In some ways, these are the easiest people to convert, given their pre-vested interested in the characters, but also the most difficult, since macho guys think reading is for pussies.
Primary Recommendation: Astonishing X-Men
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Most of the aforementioned douches LOVE the X-Men. I'm not sure why, but God knows every jock under the sun finds Wolverine to be a badass. Regardless, there is no better place for them to start than at Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's run of Astonishing X-Men. The 25 issue masterpiece is superhero comics at their utmost brilliance, featuring sharp dialog and spot-on characterization, as well as an appropriately epic plot. The only downfall of having someone start on this series is that every X-story they read afterwards will utterly pale in comparison. If you are lucky, this will be the starting point for a new partner in picking up weekly comics.
Other Recommendations: Batman: The Long Halloween, Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev's Daredevil
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