The jump on spots

One of my comments from my last blog got me thinking about what a good jump on spots are for when you might be talking to someone with at least a passing interest in comics.

My first choice is to do what I did this weekend. I was having a BBQ at my house with my family and some friends. after a few hours of hanging out, just kinda out of nowhere, I was talking to one person about what I thought they would like reading. Fast-forward about 30 min and I was going through my collection, trying to match everyone up to what I thought they would connect with, depending on what they were interested in, or like to read or whatever. Long story short, out of the 10 people there that were not interested in comics, 8 of them are planning on going to the comic store and checking out some more titles this week.

Everyone is different but these are what I like to pull out a lot of the time, depending on t

he person. When not in a personal setting like I was talking about earlier, I usually like to suggest a graphic novel instead of just a comic in the middle of a series. It just seems easier to give someone a full story, and it feels a little more"grown-up" to people that feel that comics are childish. And make sure that you have copies that they can actually read. Most people are not going to remember or have enough interest to go into a store without have an interest to start, no matter how much you talk it up

My first selection is usually Sandman. I am not going to be giving a review on these books (although they are genius). I usually like to suggest these books to people that already read a lot. Anyone that seems to be a bit of a deeper thinker usually love these books. They are far more than just an ordinary comic book. It is not a title for everyone. It may be hard to follow for a lot of people. Those that do love this title will end up reading a lot of other books once they realize how smart this medium can actually be.

Fables is a fantastic series put out by Vertigo. It is a great more mature title

that is a great for people with little to no comic background because it has instantly recognizable characters from all over literature. So far there are 15 novels out on trade paperback. It has a touch of comedy, mystery, fantasy and action. Again it is smart but not so deep as the Sandman series so it is not quite so involved that it can be frustrating. I hate to say it is a girl series but I have not yet met a girl that can not get

into it...Of course I really like it too..

The Watchmen.. What can I say about this title that has not already been

said a million times,

more eloquently than I could hope to say it. Anyone that talks about how his comics are inferior reading material should be forced to read this book. It is personally one the most meaningful books that I have ever read. It is great if they have seen the movie, but even better if they have so that they can see ho

w superior the writing is(although I did love the movie). If the only thing the reader can talk about is the big blue penis, that person is probably a bit too immature to read anything by Alan Moore.

Spider-Man, Death of the Stacys. This is a a run from 1970-1973 and is Spidey at his best. It is a good book for anyone to jump on because, well, everyone knows Spider-Man. The familiarity, along with such a great story is a cant miss.It is a great book for all ages

American Vampire. I love this title. It is written well and has intriguing characters. The art is absolutely stunning. BUT...there is one reason why everyone will line up o read this. One of the writers of book one is Steven King. That seems to be enough that people that read "real books" can forgive the fact that it is a graphic novel.

This is not the end all, be all of jump on point books but hopefully it is a good stat for you.

Honorable mention go's out to Scott Pilgrim

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