Five Favorite Comics Characters

So it's no secret - I love me some good comic books. Part of me wants to grow up to write and draw comics myself. Ironically, though, I didn't really grow up with comics. I watched the cartoons after school, and, every now and again, I'd pick up an odd issue of the X-Men or something. Really, though, I got into comics within the past five years, just as I was getting out of college.

I've tried to do a lot of exploring - reading comics from a variety of authors that tell a variety of stories. I've made a lot of new "friends" this way, so to speak - characters whose adventures I love coming back to. Here are five of my favorites.

(Note I'm not saying "Top 5." While numbers 1 and 2 are pretty much accurate, I like a LOT of comics, and a LOT of different character. I reserve the right to come back and talk about some of the others later)


5 - Hellboy

What makes Hellboy so great, other than his barhouse wit and giant fist made especially for punching things, is the types of adventures he embarks on. Hellboy is primarily a monster fighter, but writer Mike Mignola usually doesn't satisfy himself with the run-of-the-mill mosters and ghosts found in other comics. Hellboy's adventures take him through the realms of mythology and folklore - territory seldom touched upon.

A good Hellboy story mixes history in with the monster-punching, and that's what earns Hellboy this entirely arbitrary #5 spot.


4 - Koiwai

As a rule, I don't read manga. I'll admit that I've let some... rumors... about the medium taint my perception. I heard about Yotsuba&! and was intrigued by its premise (there's a little girl who loves absolutely EVERYTHING, despite not knowing a thing about anything). It's weird, silly, and VERY positive. The tagline that accompanies the series is "Enjoy Everything" - a mantra I very much agree with.

Of all the characters in the series, my favorite is Mr. Koiwai, Yotsuba's adopted father. He's long-suffering, hard-working, and prone to silly bouts himself - exactly the type of parent a character like Yotsuba needs. He's willing to put his foot down when he needs to, has a lot of patience for Yotsuba's... episodes... and, most importantly, is willing to put his underwear on his head and parade around as the evil Boxerman if the situation calls for it.

In short, he's pretty much the dad I want to be.


3 - Beanish

This is Beanish.

He's an artist.

He's in love with the sun.

...and that's pretty much all you need to know about him.

Larry Marder's Beanworld is one of the strangest comics I've ever read - and it's by far one of my favorites. Unlike the bulk of my comic collection, the focus isn't on epic battles or even telling jokes. Beanworld is all about the strange world of the beanfolk and their ordinary lives. The world Beanish lives in is almost completely different from ours, yet it functions with its own set of rules that we can easily follow.

Beanworld is full of fascinating, bizarre characters, but none stands out so much as this visionary cosmonaut of love.*

2 - Batman

As much as I've professed my love for Batman here on this blog and in pink pen in the pages of my diary, I'm surprised to find that I can't honestly say Batman is my all-time favorite character from comics. In truth, I love the IDEA of Batman more than most of what's come out with his name on it. I don't think I really found the ideal Batman story until Grant Morrison's run earlier this decade. Most Batman stories I've read, unfortunately, are bland, forgettable, or downright awful.

Make no mistake, though: Batman is the single greatest super hero ever to grace the pages of a comic book (and that's an incontrovertible fact according to my dad). His adventures allow for fantastic set-pieces, insane fights, psychological depth, and good-old-fashioned fun. As prevalent as the Dark Knight's been in the media these past few years, there's not much more I need to say.


1 - Calvin and Hobbes

As much as I love Batman, I have to say that Calvin and Hobbes are the reason I love comics. Theirs are the adventures I grew up reading and love to return to, even as an adult. Artist Bill Watterson won my artsy side over as he unleashed Calvin's nearly limitless imagination against fantastic backgrounds (especially fantastic when you consider the space limitations of newspaper comics in the 90s).

Since I grew up with Calvin and Hobbes I find that many of the philosophies Bill Watterson expresses through Calvin and Hobbes have become my philosophies. Hard work builds character. Television is a terrible waste of time. Quality time with the family is important.

Of course, like Calvin, I tend to rebel against these philosophies :-)

More importantly, Calvin and Hobbes represents the best qualities of comics-as-art, thanks largely to Bill Watterson's impressive integrity. Calvin and Hobbes got into mischief for ten years and then, when the stories were told, the strip ended. Bam. No plush dolls, no video games, no movies - Bill Watterson told the stories he wanted to tell, and then he moved on.

Watterson was an idealist, and his care and concern for his craft are evident in the simple yet profoundly memorable adventures of an energetic boy named Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes.

* - When I die, I want the words "Visionary Cosmonaut of Love" carved into my tombstone.