Y, Y, Y (Y, Y, Y)

It’s hard to conceive for those who know me, but there once was a time when I was ashamed of my nerd heritage.

I can’t remember exactly when that time was though. But I’m pretty sure it existed. I never ever owned up to being an Actuary, or studying Maths and Physics and I'm not sure I even admitted reading comics.

Then, one day, I woke up, and didn’t care. I took pride in being different, and having a worthwhile life. Some people reach this realization through religion, and I realised it under the Shadow of the Bat.

For a while I got quite evangelical, and still am to an extent. I always try and introduce girlfriends (who quickly become ex-es) to Sleeper, Fables or the Giant-Sized Man Thing.

My current attitude is one of arrogance. I portray comic reading as the height of human mental endeavour. In the last three discussions I’ve had with norms, I’ve dropped in the line “Yeah, I don’t blame you for not reading comics. They contain intellectually-taxing storylines whose complexity dwarfs the average man’s comprehension.”

The sad thing is, instead of all of them saying “F*** Off, you arse”, two of these people said “Well, find me a comic that you think I’ll enjoy. I promise to read it and I’ll make up my own mind”.

Shot through the foot by a gun that was loaded by me!

“Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight Returns” are often touted as the sort of books to give to chimps to make them realise what a great medium we love. However, I’ve given Watchmen to people (who I once thought of as being intelligent) and they have struggled. The Dark Knight Returns (and I can’t believe I’m typing this) is still, in the minds of the hoi polloi, a super-hero comic, and the pretentious quasi-intelligentsia I hang out with who are above such childish things.

So, if not the two biggest classics in the history of literature, then what?

Y.

Why?

1) No super-heroes. So inferior people don’t feel stupid reading it.
2) Nice clear art. Nothing complex. No Sienkiewicz inks or crazy Arkham Asylum paint-jobs.
3) No clever page layouts. No one struggling with the reading order of speech bubbles.
4) What lovely, realisitc colours!
5) Everyone loves Yorick. What greater fantasy is there for women than the thought of every last man getting killed off. What greater fantasy for a man than having a world full of women to himself.
6) It takes 90 minutes to read the first trade. This is about the length of an HBO pilot (why I’m describing a program as an HBO pilot when I live in the UK is beyond me.) Even the most stupid of norms can hold their attention for that long, especially when the story is broken up into five separate parts.
7) IMHO BKV understands the concept of the cliff-hanger better than any other writer in comics. His final pages always leave you wishing you were 30 days closer to death.
8) The ongoing nature of the series should entice norms to keep coming back for more… More … MORE!

Y is the absolute number-one best book to give to norms. Discuss (5 marks)