I'm sure other people will give better resources for news, science, and such, so I'll post blogs I read about niche subjects I'm enthusiastic about. Car Blogs Autoblog - It's my go to website for industry news. Other places tend to have more in depth articles, but if you want to hear about something as soon as it happens, Autoblog is a good place to start. Speedhunters - They're a car blog written by people who are super passionate about cars. They focus on everything from custom builds to car culture in general. What makes them stand out above and beyond all other car blogs for me though is their photography. The photos they use for their articles never disappoint. Petrolicious - Although they have editorial and journal pieces, I come here mainly for their short films. They're mini documentaries focused around people and their passion for cars. Hot Rod Network - They're owned by the same parent company that owns Motortrend and Automobile, two car magazines that I have all but stopped reading. What I love about Hot Rod Network though, is that they are kind of like Gawker for cars, without being shit. If you want to check out traditional custom builds, Muscle Car Review is there for you. Are you a bit of a gear head? You'll love Engine Masters. Want to see people participate in automotive shenanigans? Check out their web series Roadkill. If you like cars, it's easy to spend half your day on Hot Rod Network alone. Hooniverse - Are you one of those guys that likes going to cruise-ins and cars and coffee and just shoot the breeze about anything car related? Hooniverse is those discussions, in blog form. Comics and Entertainment Bleeding Cool - They cover mostly comicbooks, television, movies, and games. Other sites will be more in depth, but if you're looking for a quick blurb here and there without spending too much time, Bleeding Cool has you covered. Comic Book Resources - Once again, comics, television, movies, toys, and nerd culture in general. They tend to keep you up to date on rumors and news and they often have some fairly decent editorials as well. Comic Vine - Yeah, they're owned by the same people that own Gamespot. Yeah, Gamespot is full of sellouts and sucks now. The one thing this place has going for it is the number of previews they have to offer. Boxing/MMA Bloody Elbow and Bad Left Hook - I'm putting both under the same section as they're both owned by SB Nation/Vox Media. That said, they're both great sites for keeping up on MMA and Boxing news and rumors. Fightland – In my opinion, Fightland is just wonderful. They have great articles and editorials and their pieces often really focus on the more human element of MMA/martial arts. When I want to share something martial arts related with people who aren't fans of martial arts, nine times out of ten I'll be sending them an article from Fightland. Boxing Scene - What these guys lack in quality, they make up for in quantity. Boxing Scene is like taking a shotgun to the face for boxing news.
I just looked at their site and Emerald City ComicCon seems to have a pretty good mix of guests this year. If you're not super huge into comics, just go around snooping from booth to booth and see what grabs your eye. You'll probably find some pretty cool stuff. Similarly, check out their panels and go to anything that strikes you as interesting. More often than not they tend to be at least halfway entertaining and informative. I did want to point out one duo that is going to be their this year, Comfort Love & Adam Withers. These guys probably aren't all that well known. They're self published. That said, I did go to a panel of theirs one time about the process of creating comics and they were awesome. If you get the chance, check them out. They're a very cool couple. Now, on to authors/titles. I have read a LOT of comics over the years. 20% of the stuff out there is absolutely terrible. 70% of the stuff out there is entertaining, but not really worth remembering. The other 10% though? They're an absolute treat. Here's some of the stuff that is in my opinion, among the best. I see that bfv has recommended Lock & Key, Sandman, and Hellblazer. If those are your style, I can't recommend The Unwritten enough. It is a fun, exciting read and it does a great job at looking at how not only stories affect us, but how we as a collective culture influence the stories we love. Since you have a personal love of reading and books, I really think this will be right up your alley. Stan Sakai is probably my personal favorite author. His book Usagi Yojimbo has been around for almost 30 years now. Stan's writing is deep and rich while at the same time beautifully simple in how the stories play out. The characters themselves reflect this, being both complex and flawed while at the same time fitting standard archetypes. I really can't stress enough just how wonderful this series is. If you like epics and fantasy, Jeff Smith's book Bone is really high up there on my list of books that I think you should check out. It is absolutely fantastic and I haven't really met anyone who has ever had anything overly negative to say about it. Rick Remender is another personal favorite of mine. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi and pulp and I think his two best titles, Fear Agent and Black Science embrace those elements perfectly. They're colorful and creative and the pacing of the books are brisk without being overwhelming or confusing. To continue on the Sci-Fi bent, ever briefly, Brandon Graham's series of The Prophet is absolutely divine. The story itself is great, though paced very differently than most mainstream comics (it's slow to unfold), but the books are worth it for the artwork and world building alone. It very much reminds me of Jean Giraud's standalone illustrations. Mike Allred, like many of the comic authors I'm pointing towards you, has worked on tons of stuff over his career. His personal creation though, Madman, is just wonderful to read. I probably reread it every few years. If you like Madman, you'll also love Concrete by Paul Chadwick. At the heart, it's nothing more than a story of a man trying to get by in life. Now, I'm not a huge fan of the DC universe, the one exception being Batman. If there is ever any books I'd recommend to you, it would be Jeph Loeb's and Tim Sale's book Batman: The Long Halloween. Everything about this book is fantastic. The artwork. The story. The depth. Ugh. It's just amazing. Rob Schrab is comedy writer who has worked on shows such as The Sarah Silverman Program and Parks and Recreation. What a lot of people don't know, is that he wrote a comic series in the early '90s called Scud: The Disposable Assassin. This book is a fucking trip. There's actually a lot more books I could recommend, but I'm afraid of overwhelming you. If you ever want more suggestions though, hit me up. I'll open up the flood gates. :)
So a big part of the reason I haven't gotten too into comics is I read fast. They seem so tiny and expensive for not a lot of story. Are these longer? Are there anthologies or something I can get that are the length of more traditional books? Or do you just buy like 5 at once? Do libraries have these? I'll give it a go either way just wondering where to start.
A very large chunk of the comics out there get published in what are called Trade Paperbacks. The majority of them are soft cover, but there are some hard cover ones as well. Trades usually have anywhere from 4-8 issues in a single book, giving you more bang for your buck. The fact that you can put them on your bookshelf adds additional value in my opinion. Comics are, for the most part, a pulp medium. They're stories boiled down to the most important elements, the action, the drama, the suspense, what have you. As a result they're often a very fast and a very easy read. What makes comics amazing though, is how the artwork and the words on the page work together to tell the story. Before you even start reading comics, I recommend you check out Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. It is to comics what film school is to movies. After reading it, you'll have a whole new appreciation for the medium and you'll be able to pick up on things you never picked up on before. I know you're hesitant about spending money on comics. To be honest? I wouldn't recommend you buy very much without experimenting first, seeing what you do and don't like about the medium. Fortunately, libraries carry graphic novels/trade paperbacks and you can get your hands on A LOT without spending a dime.
