I have a very very dear friend in addiction recovery who struggles with reading. Knowing that there’s a high chance of boredom in rehab, I thought about sending some comics in a care package rather than books. My first thought was to send story lines like Batman on venom or things like that, but I don’t want to trigger him. I also want to steer away from the super hero genre of comics.
I’m looking for recommendations that have no drugs or alcohol and are not necessarily about super heros. I’d like a fun, romp around type story and one that’s maybe a little heftier. My first thought was Sandman, but I think it’s themes are just a bit too heavy, plus I couldn’t remember if there was drug usage or not.
Thank you so much for your recommendations <3 With any luck I’ll have the first care package out by the end of the week
Planetary would do nicely. It debuted here this week, so if you’re not familiar with it you can sneak a peek and see if it’s right for your friend (best wishes to them BTW). There are two volumes in its current trade run.
Planetary has moments of levity followed by great action and is intriguing in every which way.
I hope that’s of some help. Again, best wishes to your friend
That’s a tough one, all I really know are super heroes but I did go through a similar experience with alcohol and comics helped immensely. I would suggest screening for drugs and alcohol but sending him a variety until you know what he likes.
Yikes. As far as super heroes might go, how about JLA/TITANS THE TECHNIS IMPERATIVE. It’s about the Titans thinking saving their friend Cyborg is equally important to saving the world. How about media based comics like Star Trek, Star Wars, and Buffy? This is not an easy question!
Trying to steer away from superheroes is tough because alcohol and/or drug use is central to alot of mature comics. I second the recommendation for licensed comics based on movies/TV. Most shows these days have a comic based on them somewhere along the line. Another thing you might want to consider are adventure, war, western and sci-fi comics from the fifties and sixties. They might be dated but since the comics code prohibited depictions of drug use they should be pretty good escapism.
When I was at a really dark time in my own life, a huge stack of Hulk comics got me through it. Reading through the character is a great outlet for deep rage and pain. Even if he’s not a Marvel guy, I’d recommend Hulk.
I would strongly recommend the flintstones comic from dc. It’s not superheroes and has excellent political and economic commentary. Really good story. I would also recommend the league of extraordinary gentlemen. I remember when i was 15 that book was so intriguing it got me to read the books the characters are from (invisible man, Dorian grey, 20000 leagues, ect).
Star Wars comics are always a good pick too if your friend like SW. Marvel’s first Darth Vader series is amazing, and I hear the second one is really good too.
Spiderman. Any spiderman. Heres a guy that screwed up and has spent his life seeking to atone for it. In everything he does, he uses that mistake to make the world better. Spiderman.
If the superhero books of now are keeping you away, try the ones from the mid 80s when they truly were superhero books. Im gonna sound dirt old, but in 1987 i knew exactly who the good guys and the bad guys were and why.
I just know my friend doesn’t like superheros, so I don’t want to send him a bunch of reading material he won’t like lol
I thought about Saga, but I don’t want to rope him into a story line and have him get to “that” part.
The Star Wars recommendation is great, and I’ll check out the whole run on Planetary to see if that’s something that would catch his eye.
Thanks everyone so much for the ideas and the well wishes
The Walking Dead is a great recommendation! I wasn’t sure if it had drug/alcohol usage, but a quick Google search only turned up usage in the prequel Fear the Walking Dead, so that looks promising.
Again, I can’t thank everyone enough for their recommendations. And I will check out some of the superhero recommendations and ask (once he receives phone privileges, which will be very soon) if any of them interest him. This is a tough thing to deal with, and you are all being absolute peaches about it. You guys rock.
