Broken Frontier

Recently on Twitter, Neil Gaiman inadvertently started a meme: comfort books. We’ve all got them—those novels, anthologies and books of poetry we reach for when we just want to curl up with something cozily escapist. Lord of the Rings was one of his answers, and I think it’d probably be one of mine as well.

It’s not surprising that fantasy books of all kinds were big on people’s lists. You can unplug your brain when you read them, secure in the knowledge that the good guys will prevail no matter how dumb they are…and along the way, indulgently dorky swordfights. When I’m depressed, I find myself reaching for the same Mercedes Lackey novels I read when I was twelve. (In fact, if anybody’s got a copy of Arrow’s Fall knocking around and wants to swap for something, let me know.)

Comics are, of course, a rich venue for escapism in their own right. Even the most slice-of-lifey ones are a slightly askew version of reality. But do people have comfort trade paperbacks? I’m curious. For me comics are daily fodder, like news, so I don’t generally read them when I just want printed material plus a mug of tea on a cold day. However, there are a few exceptions.

Crossing Midnight

It kills me that this series left us so soon and to such little acclaim. If you were a Miyazaki fan, Crossing Midnight was like candy. Some critics thought the fantasy elements of this series were too cheek-and-jowl with the grittily realistic parts, but for me, that was part of the story’s charm. (I’ve gotten that exact criticism for my own work, so maybe this is a personality thing.) Beautifully rendered and engaging, this is a great cold-day-blanket-herbal tea (or maybe matcha) set of books.

The Books of Magic

Or as I like to call it, ‘the original boy wizard, bitches’. I think all children (and consequently all adults) have at one point or other fantasized about being plucked from obscurity to serve out some grand heroic narrative. As a result, you don’t so much read a book like this as live vicariously through it.  In addition to the Awesome Vicarious Destiny narrative, BoM is also a great survey of the unseen, a plain old feel good journey through DC mythology from the signature Gaiman perspective.

The Incal

A little trippier and heavier on the intellect, but an equally wonderful fantasy romp, this is the series of GNs for Morrison fans who are all out of Morrison. These books were recommended to me by the wonderful staff at Zanadu, my LCS, after the first few issues of Air had come out. The author shares my love of geometric oddities with strange powers. You don’t really need to think to read this book…the author does most of the thinking for you. Therefore, though vast in philosophical scope, it’s still an entertaining distraction you can pull from the shelf when you need mental comfort food.

Stardust

Who wouldn’t want to get lost in this enchanted forest? No surprises here—this is a classic fairytale that you read while sipping hot cider and listening to that Loreena McKennitt CD you pretend not to own. Admit it. I do.

I’ve told you my comfort trades; what are some of yours?