The Professor’s getting caught up on mail, so here’s a question from 11/16:
hey phil, im new or just getting back into comics after a long, long absence. can you tell me are there any comics about, Angels such as a fight between good and evil, maybe something dark.How about elves, i used to read elfquest. Maybe as well paranormal comics. this might be a huge list but I feel I don’t even know where to start. HELP
Well, if you’ve been gone for a long time, then Spawn might be a good place to start: angels, hell, and an ever-changing storyline that spans over 200 issues. The professor stopped reading it about 150 issues ago, but it still has a reasonable following, especially since it’s (sometimes) done by one of the Valley’s own resident creators, Todd McFarlane. Another candidate would be Preacher: 60 issues’ worth of very well done conflict between a preacher with the voice of God in him, versus various angels, deities, vampires and a generally weird and wonderful cast. A current comic that involves a few elves, plus a large cast of trolls, witches and creatures from myth and fantasy (including Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, Pinocchio and Cinderella) is Fables: pick up the first trade, which collects the initial story, and see if you aren’t hooked; it’s one of the best continuing series out there right now.
From Monday, 11/30:
what is a storyline?
The Professor detects a certain degree of snark in this question, but doesn’t mind giving the questioner the benefit of the doubt, so here, from Wikipedia:
Storyline may refer to:
▪ The plot or subplot of a story;
▪ The narrative of a work, whether of fictional or nonfictional basis;
▪ The narrative threads experienced by different but specific characters or sets of characters that together form a plot element or subplot in the work of fiction. In this sense, each narrative thread is the narrative portion of a work that pertains to the world view of the participating characters cognizant of their piece of the whole,and they may be the villains, the protagonists, a supporting character, or a relatively disinterested official utilized by the author, each thread of which is woven together by the writer to create a work.
