What current comics have that ineffable quality: stoking the desire to re-read it again in the future?

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In sort of a comics-existential crisis, I began to question my rationale for buying comics -- aside from supporting writers/artists whom I like, I mostly have trouble seeing myself re-reading a lot/most of the titles I've been following lately. Which represents a whole different attitude I have from the big boys: I could sit down with some Frank Miller any time, for instance.

But then I realized that even though I'm not even close to being a super-fan of him, I would be willing to re-read just about any Alan Moore book too, so apparently there's an issue of writing quality involved.

I could definitely name several writers that I think are good/bordering on great, but few who have this, I don't know, "timeless" aspect to their works. ("Timeless" is a bit misleading, I admit, since my main concern centers around re-readability, not issues of outdatedness.)

Has there just not been enough time passed to view such things retrospectively? (I doubt, because I usually have an immediate, gut reaction to great books.)

Or more likely, do I need to read better writers? (And there seems to be a depression in spandex quality, and instead, the timelessness is more apparent in the dreaded indies.)

So discuss these points, or just name books that you can see yourself revisiting in the future, with or without the use of time machines.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Comics I'm currently buying that I think I'll read again:

The Question mini-series, I re-read the first four issues a few weeks and caught so much more, so I assume that once the whole thing is finished, it'll be worth pulling out every so often.

The current "City of Crime" arc in Detective Comics, David Lapham has written a monster of a story here, with genuine emotional impact (seriously, I was moved at the end of #802 when Batman sat down at the kitchen table with the mother of the missing girl "and waited for the tea to get cold" or something) and stuff. Refutes Tep's blog claim that Gotham is boring, or perhaps proves it by making the Gotham a city full of people rather than a city full of Baroque rooftops. Anyway, to me, this is shaping up to be a CLASSIC Batman tale for the AGES.

Other than that, nothing comes to mind.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

There is surely a lot of bagged & backboarded stuff in my room that I will never read again, but on the other hand I could easily see myself sitting down to read Human Target, Planetary, New X-Men, Runaways, Q&C, etc. again.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm stealing Jordan's list! Just about anything from BMB, BKV, Mr. Rucka, Mr. Morisson, Mr. Ellis, Mr. Brubaker ... I'd go on, but, y'know, I'm an anomoly, so no doubt my list would include EVERY DAMN THING I "READ".

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Some of the stuff that I want to reread is because a friend bought it and I always forgot what it was about and so I want to see it all in one run: Bone and The Books Of Magic (ongoing) spring to mind.

Almost anything by Grant Morrison, obviously. Also Alan Moore.

(fill in a joke about how if you want to re-read Frank Miller, you should just get his next book. Except he hasn't done much recently, probably due to the Sin City movie.)

More later

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Should comics always try to be timeless, or is it okay for them to revel in the luxury of disposability sometimes?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes to disposability.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes to timeless disposability.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Trumped by Dr. Diva!

FWIW, I've been reading Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1, which fits perfectly into that classification!

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

timeless disposability

That would be a fantastic album title.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd hazard a guess that most pop culture (highbrow, lowbrow, unibrow) operates under the "timeless disposability" edict (even the fly-by-night trend-hopping stuff) (actually, ESPECIALLY that fly-by-night stuff, as it's hitching its wagon to a trend in the hope that some of that trend's built-in nostalgia will beneficially rub off on it).

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 23 March 2005 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

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