The Joy of Comics
Refuel Your 'Making Comics' Tank
PAUSE.
Making Comics is great. Yay making comics. But in this post? In this post, the making is taking a backseat. This time, enjoying comics comes first.
Reading and enjoying comics is the fuel for our Making Comics engines. If we ever find that it’s not kindling to our fire? Well that’s when it’s time to pick up a book and keep reading ‘till we rediscover that groove, just like we have time and time again.
It’s unnerving that dedicating time to read can feel surprisingly hard pull off. Sometimes we just need a bit of encouragement, and fortunately, many of the barriers that seem to stand between us and dedicated time for reading don’t actually bear much scrutiny. We can break through ‘em, and we can do so without sacrificing our productivity, nor should we be sacrificing the quality time spent with those who we need and who benefit from our leaned-in presence.
Heck, not only can we find the time easily enough once we actually make an effort to find it, but with some intentionality we can greatly benefit from the opportunity to collect our thoughts and engage with a text. Engaged reading sessions improve our ability to focus. It even serves to help us be more present and engaged in the rest of our day.
So consider what it takes to put down the screens, to stop jabbering and to just read. Dedicate some time each day. There’s nothing stopping you, just replace a chunk of our mindless cellphone meanderings with some dedicated, distraction-free reading. We really can’t be reminded to make this exchange too often…
Reading is what fuels the craft
When I was 12 years old, I thought that Calvin & Hobbes comic strips was where art and storytelling peaked. A rare case of me actually being right about something at that period of my life… maybe a singular case, honestly. I’m consistently pleased to meet fellow Calvin and Hobbes fans. That there are so many of us gives me a kind of funny hopeful feeling. It’s hard to describe… But it feels like, for whatever differences we might have, fellow fans of Bill Watterson’s mind and creative output share in a desire for whimsy, a sturdy kind of hopeful whimsey that can break through veneers of cynicism, even those that can get as thick as our own…
But we’re not twelve any more, most of us. And if you are a youngin, I’m sorry to break the news to ya, but as an adult it’s hard to make time for reading, or feels like this is the case at least. The funny thing is that it’s other forms of reading that seem to get in the way. You know, the more modern kind? The bite sized social media. The emails. Synapse firing and serotonin spiking swipes.
But there’s good news too!
Once we escape the algorithms for a beat, the nourishment we get from focused reading is sweeter than ever. It’s a battlefield for our time out there, with each new app designed to monopolize as many minutes from our day as they can take from us. To fight back for those minutes, it’s on each Comics Person (and readers, more generally, which everyone ought to be) to encourage one another to carve out some time to commune with deeply considered words on the page, words that are not designed to provoke a serotonin spike and a hit of engagement.
There’s nothing stopping us from turning this tide. But it’s a war to be fought over numerous battles, day by day.
This is all preemble btw… all paving the way into a new recurring segment for this Making Comics Substack. A ‘refuel‘ check-in to simply share in the love of reading comics, and to suggest a few books that have recently fired up my own love for reading these dang funny books.
So I suppose we might as well get to it!
Here are some great comics to fuel your reading:
Helen of Wyndhorn
Bilquis Everly. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, brace yourself for some magic. Helen of Wyndhorn is a tale about legacy, rocky or broken families, and the solace that can be drawn from a good book, including high sword and sandle fantasy, as is the case for Helen. It’s written, and written well, by Tom King, but it’s brought to whimsical life by Bilquis Everly’s ethereal lines. Just look at this work…
Everly blurs the lines between real life’s end and fantasy’s beginning, blurring both within the tale and on the page. It’s magic at work. Dive all the way into this fantasy.
Assorted Crisis Events
We’re living through all varieties of crisis events, both in the world et large and within our personal lives. In comics, the word ‘crisis’ has some significant associations. DC Comics have long utilized this word to signify the big-time universe altering events which necessitated the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Batman and a million other heroes. When that particular word is used in reference to a situation in that particular storytelling sandbox, it ain’t just The Joker robbing another bank. Nope. A crisis is a shorthand to let us know we’re talkin’ giant universe-shaking ‘events’.
Which brings us to Assorted Crisis Events, a fully creator owned series. To be clear, this book is not associated with DC outside of leveraging the comics-specific weight of that ‘crisis’ word. It’s written by Deniz Camp, with art by Eric Zawadzski.
This team has crafted a world in which any number of gigantic sci-fi or fantasy fueled crisis-level disasters are occurring simultaneously. To open an issue of Assorted Crisis Events is to be dropped into a world of the purest chaos… and yet life for the normal humans on this version of earth somehow carries on. As you dive deeper into each story, the crisis stuff is all happening along the periphery, but the stories told here couldn’t be more human.
This is a book that’s utilizing the limitless visual language of comics to its max power. Otherworldly visuals and chaotic movement catch eyes and draw us into a number of tales, tales which will eventually shock us most in their grounded relatability. That such extreme happenings can begin to feel all too relevant and pressing is a hell of a trick, and it’s masterfully executed. This book’s high concepts get real, and they circles back for the reader to devastating effect.
Each issue of Assorted Crisis Events is a stand alone story about a different individual, or family as they’re going about their lives despite the extremely affecting influences from the chaotic world around them. I wouldn’t want to ruin the book by providing anything too specific. But I will say that it explores shades of issues such as: dealing with a loved one suffering from dementia, as well as navigating a crisis of immigration in world’s turned upside down.
This book hits like a sledgehammer, consistently finding new captivating angles to explore the assorted crisis swirling around us down here on earth. For comics creators, it’s the kind of book you’ll read till you weep, because it’s proving what heights this storytelling medium is capable of, and they’re lofty indeed.
If Assorted Crisis Events sounds like a stressful read, that’s probably because… well, it totally is. But it’s captivating and, all this page-turning readability made that much more Impressive in how each issue’s featured tale turns our attention to realities that are too present for us to ignore.
Do not ignore Assorted Crisis Events.
If you’re curious to learn more, I spoke a bit about A.C.E. here (link). Otherwise just go ahead and pick up the first volume, this set collects five fully stand alone stories that are each A+ in their own right, and that much better taken together.
Brubaker and Phillips
You’d think I’d vary things up after the previous book on this list being a bit on the heavy side. But you’d think wrong!
Writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips have a niche, and it ain’t sunshine. No, their niche can be found in the kind of back alleys that come jam packed with Criminals, a femme Fatale or two, otherwise Reckless individuals, noir-drenched Pulp and real Kill or Be Killed situations.
For my money, Brubaker and Phillips are the best writer / artist duo presently working in comics. They’re certainly the most prolific. If you enjoy crime / noir storytelling, then to discover this duo is to strike oil.
If you’d like one potential Brubaker / Phillips story to start with, I really enjoyed Pulp. A fantastic stand alone story about… well. Check it out:
When Brubaker and Phillips cast out a lure, just take the bite (read the first page or two) and they’ll set the hook. These storytellers will pull your attention through their tale every dang time.
And speaking of storytelling duos…
Chris Samnee and Mark Waid
Okay… Here’s some whimsy from a dynamic duo:
If you need some convincing, here’s a recorded I made for a ‘weekly reading’ segment basically just gushing about the work of artist Chris Samnee and writer Mark Waid. In this recording, I spoke about this team in reference to their latest work, but they’ve worked on several projects together, all of which are fantastic. Put simply: if Waid or Samnee’s name is on the credits of a comic, it’s worth taking a look. If both of their names appear together? Well, in such cases you just take out the wallet and pay whatever they ask.
Nobody brings fun and whimsy to a comic book page better than Chris Samnee, and nobody understands how to direct the Samnee bullet better than Mark Waid. These two working together? Peanut butter jelly time.
Ghost Machine Books
Writer Geoff Johns must be a smooth talker. Because that dude brought a murder’s row of well-established art talent onboard for their own imprint, and imprint within the broader Image Comics umbrella. On the other hand… maybe money did most of the talking, because assuming these books are selling well, this full team of co-owners appear to have struck a great deal for the whole gaggle, and to be clear, the imprint works because of the immense talent within the room. Their imprint is called ‘Ghost Machine’ and every book I’ve read with the GM label stamped on it has been great fun.
Not only is it impressive how much talent Mr. Johns brought to the Ghost Machine team, but there was some clear intentionality and a careful eye for artistic consistency among this stable of artists. Aiding this effort tremendously is colorist Brad Anderson, who colors a lions share of the titles. He colors the work of various line artists across Ghost Machine titles, giving the color grading a consistent feel. The line artists are a dynamic crew, but it’s also fair to say that the artists on these books come from similar schools of what I’d call ‘moderate realism’.
By moderate realism I mean that these books all feel decidedly cinematic in their expressiveness. Within the pages of a Ghost Machine stamped book you’ll see forms which, however fantastic, are not quite fully elastic. These characters mostly adhere to lifelike standards. In most of these titles, the laws of psychics is a real force to be reckoned with. I mean, sure they’re bent a bit, maybe even quite a bit, but not quite fully broken like you’d find in a lot of similar genre comics.
This cinematic approach to comics hit its peak popularity from the early 2000s, back when the prospect of comics adaptations to film had become too real to ignore, following a growing string of breakout adaptations. It’s no wonder that comics starting imaging themselves as film rather than existing singularly as comic books. The consequence being that the thought of ‘but could we film this?’ feels as though it’s factored into the character designs, settings and even the page composition, whether this assessment is made consciously or not, it’s a presence.
I’m not here to lambast all this by the way! But just wanted to highlight how this school of American comics often ran the risk of becoming a bit too stiff and stoic, that they could sometimes forget the movement and elastic / expressive possibilities of comics which can transcend our ‘real’ world. Fortunately, this crew of artists at Ghost Machine, many of which had foundational roles to play in that aforementioned cinematic movement, can all compose the heck out of a comic book. Despite a pull towards moderate realism, each and every artist here knows how to toe that line, building a tangible sandbox without sacrificing extreme levels of fun and injecting just a LITTLE BIT of elastic cartooning.
Redcoat
Of the bunch, Redcoat by Geoff Johns and artist Bryan Hitch was first to catch my attention. This book features an immortal ne’er-do-well (and former British redcoat) as he romps across the history of the United States. There’s just something about the perspective of an immortal living through generations of history that this reader (me!) is consistently drawn into. If you’re a bit of a history nerd, this book goes ham with the concept of living through a ton of it, and in this case the Redcoat and various real-life historical figures rewrite most of the core facts… there’s a ton of irony along the way, and it’s just a ton of fun.
We’re asked to not even question why the dude (Simon Pure, a defector from the British army during the Revolutionary War), still wears his red coat decades and even centuries past the Revolutionary War. It’s a question that doesn’t come up, and in simply not answering or even asking this question it’s one of the most infuriating (and kinda hilarious) questions in comics.
Also, as with any good story featuring a brooding immortal, things can also be a bit melancholy…
Redcoat is a captivating series. But more importantly, artist Bryan Hitch goes super Saiyan in his line work. Mr Hitch has always been an immensely talented storyteller, practically inventing the visual language of the live action MCU, having laid it all down on The Ultimates, which released six years before Iron Man (2008) kicked of what became the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alas, fast forward to this our lord’s year 2025 and I think Redcoat has already cemented itself as my favorite of Mr. Hitch’s works. The dude’s laying down some peak moderate realism:
Rook: Exodus
For a different flavor (but still within the Ghost Machine imprint), Rook Exodus might be the most cartoonish series from the imprint (to be fair, I haven’t read ‘em all!). The story is wild and high concept, but also simple and fittingly driven by the incredible character designs and action set pieces from artist Jason Fabok. It feels like the loosest script of the bunch, and I don’t say this as a slight. In fact, I’d bet that this was intentional. because if Mr. Fabok wants to draw action like THIS, just let him!
Yes. Those are cyborg bears and that’s an exploding rocket ship on another planet. That’s how this one goes. It’s all about cool character designs and a high concept that could run a rad (albeit notably violent) Saturday morning cartoon for multiple seasons, selling countless action figures along the way, I’m sure.
Although most of these Ghost Machine books technically take place within the same storytelling universe, Rook: Exodus takes place in it’s own wholly separate reality, one in which the action can get turned all the way up to the most unrealistic max (not complaining!). Also, for reference, thus far, it seems to this reader that even those books which might in some way be connected can still be enjoyed independently just fine.
Hyde Street
Rook isn’t the only Ghost Machine book which exists in its own pocket, Hyde Street, which feels like a long-lost and more horror-tinged competitor to The Twilight Zone, also conspires within a solitary bubble. This one is also written by Geoff Johns, and might feature the most elastic art of the core Ghost Machine titles, brought to you by artist Ivan Reis.
If you enjoy horror stories. Take a stroll down Hyde Street. Genre fans are really digging this one, and I can see why.
Junkyard Joe
& Geiger
Most recently, I dove into a couple of interwoven Ghost Machine stories (also written by Geoff Johns) illustrated by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson. The first is titled Junkyard Joe, and the next is Geiger. These both take place in the same interconnected Ghost Machine world of storytelling, and stories and books are central facets of the stories in motion… topical for today’s subject matter.
Junkyard Joe pays homage to comic strips, mostly the strips I really didn’t have a touchstone for, it features war veterans and the same kind of post-war comedy that fueled shows like MASH and comic strips such as Beetle Bailey (which is clearly being riffed on here). Bringing light into such grim periods of time might be a kind of effort to hone in on the humanity past the PTSD of war and catastrophic geopolitical disasters (oopsie!). Tough waters to navigate… But Junkyard Joe was an interesting read. So too was Geiger, which I read before I even knew that it took place in the same world as Junkyard Joe, decades later… But it carries some of the themes, including the bits of solace sought (and hopefully found?) in the written word.
Alright. That’s a healthy dose of reading to consider adding to your pile!
Whatever finds its way to the top of your stack, I hope it fuels you all the way up so that you can rev that engine.
Just two more things before we end this extra-long issue of Making Comics…
Here’s the first short comic story I ever completed
As a bit of a full circle moment, I wrote this story with my buddy Brian Holland, the same buddy I mentioned in this post, with whom I developed some half-baked comics ideas all the way back in middle school. Brian really does all the work here, in a super-short story about capturing that feeling of plugging back into our passions, not unlike the feeling we get when we fully lock into reading a good book…
It’s only two pages, and it’s old enough for us to no longer even have the digital files… So forgive the grainy shots. But it’s quite relevant to today’s subject:
Rock on, Comics People.
We completed this story for the super rad team at King Bone Press (more from this crew in this space soon 😉). This short was one of many stories in their music-centric ‘Bandthology’ series of anthologies, Vol #3 specifically.
Brian and I made this in our first days out of university, as we first encountered the fuller weight of responsibility which could sometimes appear to drown out life’s sense of whimsy. But the reality is, it’s still out there. Sometimes all you gotta do is take the leap.
Pick up the book and fall into it, ay?
Oh, and here’s a picture of me and my youngest son. His name is Calvin.
Until next week, keep on…
Can’t beat Brubaker/Phillips for my money
Well now look at this. ‘Cinematic’ stuff, indeed: https://deadline.com/2025/11/atlas-ghost-machine-movie-geoff-johns-comic-book-redcoat-1236617669/