Comic books!

[Sixto]

Yeeeeeeah, comic books! I recently started reading them again after Darkesword recommended Superman: Red Son, Superman: Last Son, and KotoR Volume 1. Since then I've also read Superman: Earth One, Batman: Long Halloween, started reading the rest of KotoR, The Walking Dead and All-Star Superman, and thanks to kittykar's ridiculously awesome Christmas gift, I've also started reading Preacher and Pilgrim TPBs. I really enjoy reading the Batman and Superman stories a whole lot and am looking for more of those along with any other books with good characters, art, and stories. What are you guys reading? What do you guys recommend? While I prefer reading TPBs, I wouldn't mind looking into newer single issue comics if it's something I'd really enjoy. So have at it, guys! Share your favorites and shoot me your suggestions! (Extra points if you post a pic of your giant collection!)

[Zero Rei Maru]

Seems like sixto has been focusing on the DC side of comics, which is all well and good. But there are other companies and imprints out there, such as Marvel, and Vertigo. Vertigo, by the way, is usually described as "DC Comics, but for adults." Many of the well known, highly acclaimed comics, such as Transmetropolitan (future Hunter S. Thompson fighting against corruption and evil and being a huge douchebag the whole time), Preacher (a preacher's quest for god. So he can kill Him.) and Sandman (The epic story of the King of Dreams, Morpheus. Deals with a lot of mythology, the nature of stories and the like.) as well as a host of other just-as-good-but-not-as-well-known comics such as Hellblazer.

Again, Sixto seems to be focusing on the DC Comics side, so i'll cover some of the great Marvel comics, regular marvel continuity as well as the Ultimate Universe.

For the regular marvel universe, hereafter called 616 marvel, there's Captain America Volume 5 by Ed Brubaker, which is the current one. It covers Cap's discovery that his old WW2 sidekick, Bucky is alive and being used as a brainwashed assassin for old soviet remnants, and goes on from there. It's a spy thriller in comic form, definitely one you wouldn't want to miss.

If you're more interested into good pulpy fun, there's Matt Fraction's Immortal Iron Fist, which is like a kung-fu action movie in comic form. Has fighting tournaments, has old 1930 style pulp stories, and it even has KUNG-FU TREACHERY!

Over in the Ultimate Universe, there's Brian Bendis' Ultimate Spiderman, which is a retelling of Spiderman stories for a more current generation. Its got great dialogue, great villains, and less teenage angst than you can shake a stick at.

Before I go, I'll leave you newbies, and those who are old hat at the whole comic thing, one last piece of advice, that should be followed.

Avoid Jeph Loeb comics other than his Colors series (Hulk: grey, Daredevil: Yellow, Spiderman: blue, etc) and his old Batman stuff (The Long Halloween, etc).

AVOID HIM, LEST YOU READ A COMIC WHERE THE RED HULK BEATS UP A CHARACTER OF COSMIC POWER THAT STANDS BESIDE GALACTUS THE DEVOURER OF WORLDS IN POWER LEVELS!

[Brushfire]

Power Girl Volumes 1 and 2.

Blackest Night.

House of M.

Empowered Volumes 1 - 6.

Teen Titans Vol 1 - around 7 or 8. After that the writing gets all poopy.

Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps.

Power Girl Volumes 1 and 2.

All of those are great reads. Expensive though as my comics budget is now around 200 bux a month.

[Swanky]

Considering myself a batmaniac, maybe due to the large influences the series had throughout the course of time. Stories include

- The Killing Joke (Alan Moore)

- Return of the Dark Knight (F. Miller)

- Death in the Family (Starlin / Aparo)

- Hush (Loeb / Lee)(not recommended unless you are very familiar with Batman)

- Plague arcs (various artists)

- Cataclysm and No-Mans-Land story arcs (especially the latter are noteworthy)

On a different note, if you like something totally different, freaked out opposite of superman, you may want to try Lobo (Portrait of a Bastiche, for example).

Of if you like history and theories and Jack the Ripper, Alan Moore's and Eddie Campbell's "From Hell" is something you want to dig into. This graphic novel is huge, informative, realistic and partially also very disturbing.

As far as Japanese comics go, I'm recently reading One Piece which has grown over time, or one-shots such as Line and Gun Blaze West.

[WaywardSon]

100 Bullets kicks ass. Also, French, Belgian and Dutch comics are quite good, if you can get your hands on them. To name a few: The Scorpion, XIII, Blake and Mortimer, De Cape et de Crocs / Cloak and fangs.

And one of my childhood favourites (had a few copies somewhere, but they seem to be lost :\), a British comic called Steel Claw.

[Nase]

haha, the good ol american superhero comic.

nothing against it, it's good to see the genre evolve and carry on, but seriously man, there's SO MUCH OTHER STUFF TO BE FOUND. i'm not even talking about manga or graphic novels shmovels specifically.

if you really like comics, you owe it to yourself to check out more french comics.

you probably know of Tintin and Asterix and all that old classic adventure crap, but trust me, it didn't stop there.

as far as newer stuff goes, I can heartily recommend pretty much anything by Lewis Trondheim, Joann Sfar, and Christophe Blain. These guys have collabed a lot over the years but also have a lot of solo publications under their belt.

Trondheim started the 'Dungeon' saga, which is sort of one giant Dungeons&Dragons meta-spoof; it's immensely funny yet immensely epic.

basically, it explores the 'Dungeon Keeper' premise, except that the dungeon masters are actually pretty normal people who have to get acquainted with the logistics of maintaining a dungeon. the storyline spans over several centuries.

Sfar in particular has a tendency to reinvent himself with every project he does. of all three artists he's probably the most experimental one; he still manages to construct very satisfying story arcs and all that.

Blain seems more in touch with the classic adventure comic, but without all the annoying mannerisms of the Tintin era. check out 'Isaak the Pirate' if you can, it's an awesome read.

Anyone ever heard of the Heavy Metal magazine? it's pretty shit nowadays, but in the 70's/80's it helped redefine what comics are and what they can be.

Moebius (Jean Giraud) was at the heart of this development. no matter if you like his psychedelic and somewhat esoteric/new age-y style, it's hard to name a single individual that might have had a comparable influence on comic artists in the last couple decades. he actually was a driving force of inspiration for quite a few mangaka, which is worth noting because usually mangaka are inspired by...other mangaka.

Anyway, he's still putting out stuff today, albeit at a slower rate.

Richard Corben is another name that comes to mind, started out with classic american horror comics, lots of titties and gore and all that, then went on to publish longer stories in Heavy Metal.

his style is so intense and unique, i simply can't get enough of it (the tits are nice too).

It's possible that you've seen some of his work even when you've only read Marvel/DC your whole life. I remember him doing a pretty awesome Punisher episode, as well as a TMNT comic, among other things, lol.

those were just a couple names, the list goes on and on.

anyway, if you're perfectly happy with what the big traditional american comic publishers offer, then that's fine.

just be aware that they're not known for taking risks and making their workforce happy.

the american comic has been declared dead over and over, and while i doubt that that'll ever really happen, it's a testament to the problems the medium faces, by no means exclusively but especially in the USA.

btw, if you want some meta literature on the long and arduous road of the evolution of comics as an artistic medium and all that, Scott McCloud's stuff is a pretty good read.

[Brushfire]

Oh I forgot

Y The Last Man

[Damashii!!]

Vertigo, by the way, is usually described as "DC Comics, but for adults."

Before I go, I'll leave you newbies, and those who are old hat at the whole comic thing, one last piece of advice, that should be followed.

Avoid Jeph Loeb comics other than his Colors series (Hulk: grey, Daredevil: Yellow, Spiderman: blue, etc) and his old Batman stuff (The Long Halloween, etc).

AVOID HIM, LEST YOU READ A COMIC WHERE THE RED HULK BEATS UP A CHARACTER OF COSMIC POWER THAT STANDS BESIDE GALACTUS THE DEVOURER OF WORLDS IN POWER LEVELS!

True, vertigo has some very awesome stuff especially for people like myself who thought that DC was just cheesy overpowered superhero stuff. I was thoroughly hooked on "The Sandman" when I first started reading it.

Considering myself a batmaniac, maybe due to the large influences the series had throughout the course of time.

"A Death in the Family." definitely the reason why Batman is probably the most bamf franchise in DC, next to the "Blackest Night" arc of course.

Does anybody know of any good Webcomics? I actually prefer saving up money to go to a local store or the library to read tangible comics because it seems like most webcomics (besides the obviously comedic ones) are really cheesy and lame. The only "webcomics" that I have any "respect" for are basically manga scans and/or any BPRD scans that I can find online.

[DarkeSword]

Let's keep it about comic books here, not webcomics.

If you're a periodical reader like me, comixology is the best place to go to keep track of what's coming out every week. I'm hitting my LCS today to grab some books. Here's today's pull-list.

http://www.comixology.com/user/DarkeSword/pulllist/

[Zero Rei Maru]

Considering myself a batmaniac, maybe due to the large influences the series had throughout the course of time. Stories include

- The Killing Joke (Alan Moore)

- Return of the Dark Knight (F. Miller)

- Death in the Family (Starlin / Aparo)

- Hush (Loeb / Lee)(not recommended unless you are very familiar with Batman)

- Plague arcs (various artists)

- Cataclysm and No-Mans-Land story arcs (especially the latter are noteworthy)

On a different note, if you like something totally different, freaked out opposite of superman, you may want to try Lobo (Portrait of a Bastiche, for example).

Of if you like history and theories and Jack the Ripper, Alan Moore's and Eddie Campbell's "From Hell" is something you want to dig into. This graphic novel is huge, informative, realistic and partially also very disturbing.

As far as Japanese comics go, I'm recently reading One Piece which has grown over time, or one-shots such as Line and Gun Blaze West.

As a fellow Bat-Mite, I'm always up to gushing about batman. How are you liking Grant Morrison's Batman epic he's been doing for the last few years? I liked it up until Final Crisis, which is when things started to get balls wild, and i started to love it.

(also call them comics cause when you call something a graphic novel you sound like you're ashamed to read comics and you should never do that)

[DragnBreth]

Haven't really sat down and read a comic book in a long time, but my favorites have always been the classics: Uncanny X-Men, The Amazing Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Wolverine, Thor, The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk... etc.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Seems no one has mentioned the brand new fresh comic series by Boom Studios:

The Traveler

Soldier Zero

Starborn

All great reads and since they just started, it's easy for a newbie comic book reader to just pick them up and get started.

[DarkeSword]

Yeah those books are good; it's a brand new superhero universe created by Stan Lee. Very good.

Also from Boom Studios is Irredeemable, which I cannot recommend enough.

[Sixto]

Haven't really sat down and read a comic book in a long time, but my favorites have always been the classics: Uncanny X-Men, The Amazing Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Wolverine, Thor, The Avengers, The Incredible Hulk... etc.

My wishlist is overflowing! So many books! Are there any specific collections from X-Men or Wolverine I should look into? I remember being a fan of the X-Men (mostly Wolverine) as a kid but I'm not sure why as I don't recall ever reading any of those comics.

[ShadowBlade]

I love topcow productions comics! The Darkness is awesome. I'm STILL waiting for "The Witchblade Compendium Vol.1" to ship......it's been a month. I haven't read Witchblade yet but Sara Pezzini is a hot comic girl and if the writing is as good as it was in the Darkness. I'm stoked.

Marvel is awesome of course. Hate DC though.

[Swanky]

As a fellow Bat-Mite, I'm always up to gushing about batman. How are you liking Grant Morrison's Batman epic he's been doing for the last few years? I liked it up until Final Crisis, which is when things started to get balls wild, and i started to love it.

(also call them comics cause when you call something a graphic novel you sound like you're ashamed to read comics and you should never do that)

Interestingly enough, I've never read any long story of his until now, also skipped the Crisis and Blackest Night arcs, the latter to be read next year. For now I want to read the Knightfall books (got them for Christmas), as well as Miller's Year One.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Also from Boom Studios is Irredeemable, which I cannot recommend enough.

I read that as

"Also from Boom Studios is Irredeemable, which I cannot redeem enough."

[Damashii!!]

BONE anyone? I liked it up until Thorn became the vessel/possessed queen thingy. but the Red Dragon was always an interesting part of the story.

and Akiko was my drive for a while. It had interesting/like-able characters.

[Ninja-san]

I really love Norhtlanders from Vertigo. The cover art is what caught my attention but overall good viking stories.

[Zup]

Vertigo's Fables.

Also: Jack of Fables.

(I also love anything by Geoff Johns. Seriously. The guy is like a writing machine. And Kurt Busiek is one amazing writer as well. If you want to see superhero stories with literary depth, I highly recommend the Astro City series.)

[Overflow]

Hey, here's an old thread, but it means I don't have to start a new one

After enjoying the new Captain America movie, the Avengers, and playing the (surprisingly good) Captain America: Super Soldier for PS3, I've become interested in checking out some of the Captain America comic books, but I have no idea where to begin. Any advice?

[DarkeSword]

Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America is considered top-tier, character defining stuff.

Here's the omnibus of the first 25 issues in one book.

[Overflow]

So basically Captain America Vol. 5 (issues #1-#50) are the ones to get, including stories like Winter Soldier, Red Menace and Death of Captain America? Thanks!

FYI I'm planning on doing this all digitally on my ipad. Thankfully they had the first issue of Ultimates Captain America for free so that was nice, and the $2 price point per comic seems reasonable.

[Murmeli Walan]

Despite whatever preconceived notion or reputation you might have heard about it, video game fans should check out Ian Flynn's run on Sonic the Hedgehog, starting with issue #160. He's really done a great job in shaping the comic into a very entertaining action packed all-ages book with light dramatic moments and excellent dialog. He even manages to make awful Sega characters like Shadow and Silver the Hedgehog into likable characters. Speaking of Archie, their recent Mega Man comic is also worth a look. While still following the art style, plot, and characterization of Mega Man, the book expands on ideas and ethnics of robotics while still remaining light-hearted. For example, in this month's issue (#13), Dr. Light and another character engage in a five-page debate on whether or not emotional attachment should be allowed towards advanced intelligence and the concept of a machine having a soul. It's well written, with neither Dr. Light nor the other professor in the debate being seen as having a wrong opinion. The question is left up to the reader to decide who they think is right. That's pretty deep stuff for a video game tie-in kids' comic.

People who follow me on Twitter know that I really enjoy comics, and I often post photos of bizarre comics that I find at flea markets and conventions. My collection isn't massive, and it's also very strange, but if there's interest, I'll post some pics here, too.

[DarkeSword]

So basically Captain America Vol. 5 (issues #1-#50) are the ones to get, including stories like Winter Soldier, Red Menace and Death of Captain America? Thanks!

FYI I'm planning on doing this all digitally on my ipad. Thankfully they had the first issue of Ultimates Captain America for free so that was nice, and the $2 price point per comic seems reasonable.

Ultimate Captain America takes place in a completely different continuity, FYI. Captain America there is a bit different; harder, kind of a jackass sometimes, but still a good heart.

Also I've never actually READ Brubaker's Captain America series, so I'm just recommending what everyone else says is really good. The entirety of my Marvel reading is confined to the Ultimate line, which I enjoy immensely.