What Makes a Comic Book Truly Stand Out?

[xewecan]

Hey everyone,

I'm diving deeper into the world of comic books and wanted to ask the community: What do you think makes a comic book truly stand out? Is it the artwork, the storyline, the character development, or maybe a combination of all of these elements?

I’ve come across some interesting comic book discussions on sites like stripnieuws, but still feel like I'm missing something. Some comics leave a lasting impact while others don’t quite hit the mark. What are your thoughts on what makes a comic book unforgettable?

Looking forward to hearing your insights and recommendations for must-read comics!

 

[Nitin K]

As you have mentioned, a good comic book is a combination of all the 3 points along with good non glossy paper quality. Off late I was on a look out for the earlier Tintin & Asterix comics which were much better than the current reprint ones available on Amazon in terms of paper quality & font style. Tarzan comics were fantastic with their illustrations too.
The earlier Marvel/DC comics use to be good but the current ones look too busy, a bit cartoony & non engaging probably due to the clutter, cell arrangements, mediocre or bad storiyline & drawing style & in many cases the page size has also reduced.
Another favourite were Mad comics which were just too good with their storyline, drawing style, spoofs & jokes. Too bad they stopped publishing. Even the Calvin & Hobbes collection is great. Bill Watterson's imagination is superb and takes you back to your childhood with this one and is a great stress buster for grownups too.
In our Indian scenario, Amar Chitra Katha comics were also very good with excellent stories.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

For me, the characters and the illustrations must transport me to the fantasy world that I can escape to for that half an hour. A comic book connects me to my childhood like few other things can today. It’s the child in me who reads comic books even in my fifties while the adult reads everything else.

The imagination and the drawing both matter, but in that order.

My all-time favs: Peanuts, C&H, Indrajal

 

[fusebulb]

For me both storyline and artwork, i used to get lost in the artwork of Uderzo who made Asterix, it used to transport you into a different world, such was the power of its artwork