It wasn't so long ago that reading comic books in public was met with derision, that attending a convention was not something you talked about in polite company, that superhero movies were produced by Roger Corman and never actually released. That all feels like ancient history now, though: geek is chic. It's true, there are loads of t-shirts that say so. Bookshops and libraries are chocka with graphic novels, the biggest show on TV is The Big Bang Theory, and the best summer blockbusters invariably come out of Marvel Studios. It's a good time to wear your nerd badge with pride. ...Most of the time, at least. You should definitely enjoy what you enjoy, unreservedly - no such thing as a guilty pleasure and all that - but there's certainly times when comics books have tested our faith. Comics that make us all look bad, for whatever reason, comics you probably still should be embarrassed about reading in public, or reading at all. Here's ten of the worst...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
