Comic Books To Get Lost In, and Drinks To Pair With Them
Salty Dog
Sip along with these comic fiction thrillers
While the Coronavirus pandemic has been unequivocally a net negative, a small silver lining has been that many people have found themselves with some extra time in their normally hectic schedules. For some (who aren’t essential workers, and to those on the front lines in all their forms, thank you!) , this has made more room to explore everything from picking up new hobbies or perfecting old ones, finishing home projects, watching more movies and TV, and/or reading.
Personally, I’ve been in a position where I can dabble a little bit in all of the above. One of the things I find myself doing most often, though, is going deep into my collection of comic books and rereading some of my favorite series and graphic novels, plus some I missed the first time around. Naturally, as I read these books, I began to wonder about what kinds of drinks they’d each pair best with (the life of an alcohol writer).
Here are a few of my favorite comic series and the drinks that I think best suit them.
The Wake
The Wake is a 10-issue miniseries by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy, two of the finest creators working in comics today (not only by my estimation, but by fairly common consensus). They each have a slew of astounding works to their names but this series, published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint from 2014-2015, is a standout. The book is a sci-fi horror story where the main protagonist, marine biologist Lee Archer, finds herself deep under the Arctic on an underwater oil rig when everything goes wrong.
For reading along with The Wake, I recommend you mix yourself up a Salty Dog. The drink is a little light, and a little bright, perhaps, for the subject matter, but the salt in the drink gives it a briny bite that makes me think of the sea and certainly suits the book’s setting. A Salty Dog is, traditionally, a very simple cocktail: roughly one part gin, 3 parts grapefruit juice, salted rim. Past that, everyone prepares it differently: some stir, but I prefer shaken to emulsify the citrus and booze. Some substitute vodka; some add a bit of lemon juice. I personally mix a healthy pinch of salt directly into the drink instead of rimming my glass. For more salt-themed drinks, please click here.
The Amazing Spider-Man “Death of Captain Stacy” Arc
This story arc of the original ongoing The Amazing Spider-Man comic by Stan Lee is one of the classic, defining moments in Spider-Man’s storied history. This part of the series centering around the character George Stacy has an intriguing story arc that I won’t spoil if you aren’t familiar. Let’s just say I’m not a big superhero fan, but I enjoyed reading it, and can appreciate the impact this part of the series had on Spider-Man (not to mention the impact Spider-Man had on comics as a whole).
And what drink do you pair with Spider-Man? Well, Peter Parker shoots photos for a newspaper, and that doesn’t make a ton of money—what do you drink when you’re on a serious budget? If you’re like me, nothing exquisite. Being as this series was from 1970, and Spider-Man is a native New Yorker, my first thought was to crack open a Rheingold, local, accessible, inexpensive. But the brewery also closed down 30 years ago. So that leaves you with the lowbrow, low budget beverage of your choice: for me in my struggle days, that was PBR, but maybe it’s time to try one of these affordable grab and go drinks?
The Boys
Garth Ennis has been writing quality comics for almost as long as I’ve been alive and is a major name in the industry. One of his most notable works is The Boys, illustrated by artists Darick Robertson and in later issues, Russ Braun. In The Boys, which ran for 72 issues from 2006 to 2012 (also available in graphic novel compilations), superheroes have become irrevocably corrupted by the power they possess and The Boys, part of the CIA, are in charge of monitoring the supes’ escapades (with often violent results). Last year the television adaptation of The Boys premiered on Amazon, with the second season set to premier in September of this year—making this the perfect time to pick up the books.
And while you do, I suggest you sip on some classic American whiskey. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too lowbrow either. In the book, superheroes are very much representative of celebrity and excess, while The Boys are more representative of the everyperson. To me, that means coming home from a hard day and pouring a glass of whiskey, such as Balcones Blue Corn Bourbon or Jim Beam Single Barrel (accessible, yet also double gold and gold medal winners in the NY International Spirits Competition).
Sweet Tooth
Jeff Lemire is probably my favorite comic writer working today. While he’s gone on to write a ton of super well-done comics (he’s famously prolific), his 40-issue Sweet Tooth was really a defining moment of his career and the title that put him on many radars. The books take place in a post-apocalyptic North America where some people are human-animal hybrids. The narrative centers around the adventures of Gus, a tragically orphaned deer-boy.
photo by Andrew Tobia
While Sweet Tooth has an autumnal feel to it aesthetically, I really associate this drink with hot summer nights. I recommend pairing the book with a good New England IPA. To me, Sweet Tooth is what an NEIPA would be if it became a graphic novel. The story (as the beer) is full-bodied and wholehearted, with a fruity sweetness, but there’s an undeniably bitter undertone to it. There’s two, in particular, that I enjoyed while rereading Sweet Tooth: the Zephyros Hazy IPA by HomeGrown Brewing Company, which took home Gold in the American-Style IPA $10 and Less category in the New York International Beer Competition this year; and Dogfish Head’s American Beauty Hazy Ripple IPA (one of which I’m enjoying as I write this). Two very different, but very delicious, NEIPAs.
Kukuburi
Kukuburi is a webcomic (soon to be printed graphic novel) by Ramón Pérez, running since 2007 (though with a sizable hiatus in the middle), and actually was my introduction into the world of graphic storytelling. The story follows Nadia, a delivery driver, as she stumbles her way into a hidden world populated with the denizens of her childhood imagination, prompting a life and death battle between good and evil.
Kokuburi
It’s a colorful tale with an even more colorful cast, so while I was rereading it recently, I found myself thinking about pink cocktails to match Kukuburi’s color palette and whimsical nature. There are dozens of pink and purple cocktails you can chose from but, ever the gin fan, I went for the Pink Lady. As with most classic cocktails (this one predates Prohibition), there are a number of variations but, at its core, it is gin and applejack (at a 2:1 ratio) with a few dashes of grenadine, shaken with a single egg white for texture. It’s a rich, creamy cocktail that tastes as pink as it looks. For lighter styles of apple jack that are ideal for this drink and as additions to any home bar, try Laird’s Jersey Lightning or Barking Irons 80 proof from upstate NY.
The Walking Dead
I’m a little late to the party with The Walking Dead, both the comic and the television adaptation. While I don’t have much knowledge of the content, I do know that it’s been a hell of a cultural touchstone, and I can’t help but respect it for that.
If there’s one thing I know about the zombie apocalypse, it’s that there’s no cocktail bars or craft breweries. If you’ve got something to drink, its somebody’s DIY moonshine, which is why you should be drinking moonshine while you read The Walking Dead. You don’t have to set up a still in your shed out back, though (which is good, because it’s against federal law), but unaged whiskey in that style (though with a bit of refinement) is available for commercial consumption, which most people still insist on calling “moonshine” (though technically, true moonshine is a spirit, of any origin, that is distilled illegally). Ole Smoky Blue Flame, which won silver in the 2019 NY International Spirits Competition, is a solid choice for your zombie apocalypse home bar.