Comic books are more popular than ever, but you might still think there isn’t anything at your local comic shoppe that was made just for you. After all, usually this special combination of drawings and word balloons is really only known for capturing one audience: crones. Comics, an art form known for light humor and deeply disturbing soothsaying that mortals should consider more seriously, have long been relegated to chain bookstores and specialty apothecaries.
But comic books aren’t just for wise women who represent the third aspect of the Triple Goddess. Though these wizened mages with access to all of space and time seem like the lone audience for graphic fiction, a new audience is emerging: 16-to-25-year-old young men.
While aging sorceresses at the zenith of their female power often see themselves reflected in comics fiction, comics about the experience of young, white men have been lacking for far too long. Trent Beauchamp, of Flower Mound, Texas, is a new comics reader. “I used to think that comics were just for mystical women who know secrets no ordinary being should ever hear,” says Trent. “I was surprised to learn that there are even comics that reflect the daydreams and rich inner-lives of middle class dudes from the suburbs.” Trent cited Craig Thompson’s Blankets as a great example of this niche subgenre.
Katy Hecate-Earthsphere, an employee at Austin Tomes and Comics, said that this obscure following is unlikely to disturb the status quo. “These guys don’t really read comics. Sure, they might pick up a copy of Watchmen, but in my experience, men just aren’t able to comprehend dense prophesies that foretell the end of life as we know it. If they really liked comics, I think they’d at least try, you know. This supposed male fandom is dubious at best.”
When interviewed, crones tend to float upwards, shrieking into the night winds, their voices wailing hexes at those who try to follow. But as they rise, their echoing voices cry out, “BEWARE THE THIRD EQUINOX, UNDER THE LIGHT OF DAY A NEW TRUTH SHALL RISE, ALSO WE FELT UNFAIRLY STEREOTYPED BY NEIL GAIMAN’S SANDMAN.”
