'Til the Sandman, he comes...

I apologize for blatantly stealing lyrics from the same song that Hilly just used for her post. But it works for mine as well. C'est la vie. Great minds, right?

When I was closing the gym with Katie the other night, I noticed that one of our regulars was carrying an issue of Wizard magazine with him. In case you don't know, Wizard is one of the magazines that comic geeks turn to for their fill of graphic novel news. I used to read this magazine back in college in my comic heyday, before it became far too expensive a hobby to maintain.

Heck, one of the last issues of Wizard I read was one in which I won the grand prize in a poetry contest sponsored by David Mack and his Kabuki comics. I got a boatload of swag including the watercolor concept art for his first Kabuki trade paperback signed by him. Actually, everything I won in that contest, save for the T-shirt, was signed by him. It was a haul.

Okay, back on topic.

I started talking to this guy about comics and how I've been interested in getting back into them (all the while, Katie was rapidly shaking her head trying to coax him to leave) but that I had no idea where to start nor money to really get into it. That's when he told me that our library -- the library I already frequent for my ritual music fix -- carries trade paperbacks and graphic novels.

Say what? You've gotta be kidding me!

Alas, I visited yesterday and discovered he was not yanking my chain. In fact, they have four shelves of TPBs and graphic novels. I only wish I had more time to weed through them all. But, for the time being, I picked up three: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman, and Death: At Death's Door by Jill Thompson.

I figured these were a good start. And, since they're free, you can't really complain.

And this guy from the gym is primarily responsible for it because his wife works at the library and relies on him to come up with ideas for what to stock. They have a government alloted budget that gets taken back if not spent. So he helps in any way he can. I think I may need to chime in with some suggestions of my own. They have purchased CDs that I've requested in the past. Got any good stuff for me to start off the recommendations with?

Oh comic geekdom, how I've missed thee.