"Comics" are not comical.

It is my frequently expressed opinion that some of the most brilliant and innovative works of literature in the late 20th Century were comic books. Alan Moore's From Hell and Watchmen, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan and ( portions of ) Dave Sim's Cerebus are examples of genre bending works which fall squarely in the realm of modern literature. If a book can have respect and a film can have prestige, why not a comic book? Is it because of the common name of the medium? Would it help to use the term "graphic novel" instead? Maybe people have difficulty acknowledging a medium which is published primarily in serial format?

No matter what you need to tell yourself in order to justify plunking down three bucks a pop for a 32 page gem, you'd better start talking. You can start by picking up the first two issues of DMZ, a monthly comic by Brian Wood, which examines the problematic environment of the Middle East by transplanting it into our very own backyard. Under the pretenses of setting the story in the not-so-distant future, Wood takes us into the lives of a group of people living in a very different version of New York city. In this place, the proud inhabitants of the city move from day to day, living with endless war as a fact of life. These are people who have learned to survive, and even thrive in a place that cannot even be called sane.

As there are only two or three issues out right now, this is a good jumping on point for people who want to see what comic books have to offer. Well paced writing, good characters and an excellent premise give me good cause to recommend this book to anyone with half a brain.