Get the tissues and chicken noodle soup, it’s time for So You Want to Read Comics.  This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre.  This week we’re taking a look at comics for the cold season.

According to WebMD, in the US alone there are a staggering, 1 billion colds suffered annually.  Some typical symptoms include a scratchy throat, runny noses, and sneezing, which lasts for between 1 to 2 weeks.  Even though the name suggests that there is a single cause for the cold, there are actually over 200 different viral strains that have been attributed to being the source of the common cold. A majority of these infections come between September and March, which leads to many believing that the dropping temperature can cause an infection, but it’s believed that it’s the change in humidity that encourages infection.  The common cold is so prevalent in society that the scenario is often used on television as a way to quickly set up scenarios, tension, or to explain absences, without needing a lot of explanation since the experience of having a cold is so well-known.

Believe it or not, even superheroes are susceptible to getting sick, here are a couple of examples of moments when comics feature their characters getting sick.

SPIDER-MAN (2014-2015) ANNUAL #1

Writer: Jai Nitz
Artist: Ron Salas
Publisher: Marvel Comics

There’s no denying it, when you’re sick, you’re just not yourself.  Either it’s the symptoms, or the effort put into hiding the symptoms, whatever the reason, we’ve all been in spots where you’re just unable to be your normal self in the face of illness.  Same thing can be said for Spider-Man.  Even if your only familiar with Spider-Man through the movies or cartoons, one of the most well-known aspects of Spidey is his talent for being talkative and making quips in the middle of fighting crime.  But, in one of the three stories featured in this issue “The Quiet Room” a group of villains get to experience a silent Spider-Man and it’s a terrifying experience.  While the punches and kicks are bad enough, what really throws these villains off is the lack of talking by Peter Parker.  By the end though, it’s revealed that it might just be a nasty bug that’s at the source of Spidey’s silence.  In addition to this story, you get two others that are both fun in their own right.  Nothing in this issue really requires any sort of extra knowledge so you can be confident that you’ll be able to enjoy this issue even if you’re trying to recover from your own cold and this is your first comic book ever.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL #11

Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artist: Rich Buckler
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Even before recent events have made us all very conscious of spreading and catching disease, the idea of getting all your friends sick with your cold or flu was a pretty rough thing to experience.  Now just imagine that you’re a giant destructive, green monster, fueled by rage and somehow your buddies are starting to show similar symptoms.  That’s what starts happening here in The Incredible Hulk Annual #11 in a story called The Day the Earth Turned Green.  Thanks to some machinations by longtime Hulk nemesis The Leader, The Avengers and other residents of New York City start turning green.  Much like the actual common cold, the heroes struggle to figure out the real cause of their illness.  One by one the heroes start to fall to the disease.  While, I’ll admit that the disease in this issue is a bit more serious than the typical common cold, there are some interesting parallels, like the mysterious nature of the disease (at least to everyone except The Leader), also the way that water and humidity play a role in its spread, to the way that way that The Avengers catch the disease one by one will be familiar to anyone who’s worked in a place that’s been hit by a nasty sickness.  There are a couple of lesser-known characters in this story, but honestly their backstories don’t really have an impact here, so you’re good to go even if you don’t recognize everyone in this comic.

Did you have any home remedies for the cold while growing up?  What did you think of these recommendations?  Let us know in the comments section below.

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