List your comic book blind spots. These are those famous comics or comic book runs that you are embarrassed you haven't read. Then, pick one from your list, read it, and report back your thoughts. Did it leave up to the hype? Was it good? Give Imwan your review.

So, my five blind spots.

1. Kirby-Lee Fantastic Four. Never read it, and I even have FF Essential Vol. 1!
2. Cerebus. Would like to, but Simm kind of turns me off and I don't know where to start.
3. Maus. Never felt the need.
4. Constantine. Never even thought about reading it. But, I should.
5. The Spirit. Not only have I not read, but I don't know why I should read it.

Also, if you want to give people advice as to which of their blind spot comics they should read, have at it. That would be fun too.

I feel the same way about Cerebus. And the Spirit. Blasphemy, I know, but the art and writing that I have seen doesn't appeal to me. Usually I prefer the more raw Kirby style than a well crafted, in perspective figure. Especially for a comic, where a lot of the story is in the pictures and the emotion/energy contained within.

I have read, and own, Maus.

I'll put a case out here for you -- The Spirit was read by an estimated 7 million people every week. Those numbers beat just anything from the newsstand comics world, even allowing for multiple readings and the most successful books. It is much more closely tied to the zeitgeist of its time than superhero comics of its time were, because it was for a newspaper audience with many adults. They forced him to make it a "masked hero," but over time it becomes very much a commentary, a social depiction that Eisner wanted to do. And Eisner was the epicenter of the founding of comics. So it gives you a peek into the "soup" that comics creators we love grew up in, and what they were emulating.

Having said that, I don't like it as much as I like other newspaper strips of its time, at least not yet.

Eisner really hit his stride post WWII. Plus, he was my professor at SVA for three years and was a great man. So, you're only a couple of degrees away from him.

Cerebus was amazing from the second TPB up until the point the collections started getting thinner. That's when Sim went batshit crazy. Maybe quit after Melmoth?

I've read and enjoyed most of this stuff. Well, Hellblazer instead of Constantine, and I haven't read everything from Cerebus and Spirit, but I think all of this is good stuff.

Brilliant. One of my all-time favorite pages by anybody.

I've never read any manga.Shame on me.

For Cerebus read High Society, and Church and State Vol 1 & 2.

My comic book blind spot is mostly late-'80s/early-'90s super-hero stuff, especially Image.

Yup.

I have never read Sandman.

Try this one. It is a political/organized crime drama, and it is awesome: http://www.mangareader.net/sanctuary/1

I've read a couple of volumes of Spirit reprints, but they were earlier material. I've never read much of the later work that's so highly praised.

I've never read most of Steve Gerber's work on "Man Thing," "Howard the Duck," etc. I've seldom liked what I have read.

I've occasionally read "Doonesbury" strips when they ran in the paper, but you couldn't pay me to read a collection of them. The same goes for any other politically-oriented comic strip.

Though I know most of the classic 1930s and 1940s newspaper strips by reputation, I've seen only occasional examples of most of them.

Much as I love Carl Barks' Duck comics, I've never read many of the classic Mickey Mouse stories that others were doing around the same time.

Regarding Hellblazer, I am a big fan of Steve Dillon's art so I picked up all the trades with his art and Garth Ennis writing. That's all I've felt I've needed and it covers one of the big lines. Got quite a good view of Constantine from that. Funny, tragic, violent...good stuff.

I never really got this line. Is it supposed to be deep?

I stopped reading Sandman after Vol. 4. Just wasn't clicking for me. It's sort of a poor man's 1602.

Regarding The Spirit, I read the first hardcover collection, and while the art was really something, the stories were tedious to read, like most overly dense Golden Age material. There is also (simpler times!) a ton of racism that's hard to get past.

By the way, I should disclose so as not to mislead: I've read very little Spirit. It would make my "blind spots" but I've sampled a few stories and I have all the volumes lined up to read. It doesn't really fit on my list for that reason. Just like Carl Barks Donald Duck would go on there, but I'm remedying that with the Fantagraphics editions.

I've tried many times to read The Spirit. And my Dad loved it, as did one of best friends.
And while I admire the artwork, the amazing artwork and layout design, I… just am not all
that interested in it. I do own the TV Movie with Sam Jones. (I don't think I've watched it
since 1987, though).

I read a little Sandman, bought the first twenty issues or so. Neil Gaiman just doesn't work
all that well for me, I guess. Disliked his Miracle Man story. But I did enjoy his novel,
American Gods. But… if it hadn't featured prominently featured Norse Gods, I don't know.
Sandman is probably great.

I enjoyed the first twenty issues or so of Cerebus. I like parody quite a bit. I lost interest
when it started to take itself more seriously. It's probably great stuff. In fact, I saw a few
pages the other day featuring a Ditko-inspired Cerebus named Mr. C minus. Enjoyed that
quite a bit. There's probably tons of enjoyment like that that I am missing out on.

Never cared much for Constantine. When he would appear in Swamp Thing, I always wanted
someone to jus slap him. I've never gone near any of his solo books.

Haven't read a lot of things that I know people around here like, like Robinson's Starman,
books like Preacher, Morrison's X-Men, Usagi Yojimbo, etc. And I bought a hundred-issue
collection of Astro City years ago, and I still haven't read one issue to completion. I will get
to those someday, and I know I will enjoy them. But, for now, I know I'm missing out on lots
of things. But there's so much, and I like what I have been reading.