293 replies to this topic

[Metal Hobo]

I'm not much of a collector, but there are a couple of comics I think deserve more recognition.
Firstly, Preacher: A compelling mix of horror, western, road movie, comedy, biblical epic, road movie, romance and just about anything else you can think of. Starts off good, gets absolutely incredible by the end. The trade paperbacks are pretty easy to come by, and worth reading even if you loathe most comics. It's that good.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: Part of the wave of underground comix that emerged in the 70s, this has alll the quirkiness with none of the mean-spiritedness or misogyny of Robert Crumb and his fans. Just funny as hell comics about three hippies trying to have fun.

So say something about the comics you like, and please don't swamp my meagre thread with Manga fanboy stuff.

Edited by Metal Hobo, 07 December 2005 - 08:54 PM.

[Dr. Beatnik]

I'm a major Katsuhiro Otomo person, especially when it comes to the Akira graphic novels. I know it says no manga fanboy rants, but its a science fiction story before a manga. If you ever read a single comic series in your life, make it Akira. It's just that amazing. It takes place in a post-WWIII Japan, where the government has been experimenting with psychics for many years. The psychics break out, awakening latent psychic energies in other people. Basically, all hell breaks loose. Tanks roam the streets, rioters loot shops, and kill, corrupt comittee members sell national secrets, and the most powerful psychics build cults around themselves and go at war with eachother.

There are six books in all, with ultra detailed art, and character development that could make any other comic writer turn green with envy.

I also enjoy Domu, another of Otomo's works. It too is about psychics, but instead of affecting a whole country, it all takes place in a single apartment complex. Tenants had been dying mysteriously for years, as accidental deaths, suicides, murders, and no one has any idea why.

Police begin to investigate the deaths, and they end up discovering a remarkable amount of power stored up in the mind of a senile old man. A small girl, with equal, if not stronger powers moves into the complex, starting a war with the evil old man.

Domu only has one book, so if you're not sure if you want to get into an ongoing story, it's a pretty good choice.

[DarkGhost]

A few of my favorites (click on the covers)

[Jiub]

Transmetropolitan and Sandman look pretty interesting. Can you still pick them up at vendors, or are they not published anymore?

[DarkGhost]

I doubt they're still being published, but you can probably still find them somewhere. I downloaded my copies.

[Itrade]

Do webcomics count? I read 11.

Ctrl+Alt+Del, Irregular Webcomic, Perry Bible Fellowship, PartiallyClips, Sinfest, LegoStar Galactica, Casey and Andy, VG Cats, The Noob, Reasoned Cognition, and Explosm (AKA Cynide and Happiness)

So yeah,
Itrade.

[DarkGhost]

No they don't count go away.

[Itrade]

No they don't count go away.

Well I didn't link them at least.

I read Calvin and Hobbes and Spiderman!

Fine, I'll leave then.

So yeah,
Itrade.

[Metal Hobo]

What I've read of Transmetropolitan is pretty good, Vertigo has a good roster.
And Sandman is alright, but it comes across as a big circle-jerk for goths and DC fans. :hmm:

Jhonen Vasquez's comics are good but again, they've been picked up by the comic geeks and mallgoths and been ripped off to death.

[Farlander]

Comics! I was never allowed 'em as a kid (parents thought they were (1) trash and (2) morally corruptible), so I got into comics rather late. Because I spend far too much money on books, I've to watch what comics I buy, so almost all of my stuff fall into the following two categories:

STAR WARS COMICS

I'm not all that big of a SW comics fan, but I'm a starfighter fanatic, and so have almost all of the Star Wars: X-Wing comics (the only one I'm currently missing is Requiem for a Rogue). Michael Stackpole is a great writer, and not without a sense of humour, either. I also have the complete A New Hope comic adaptation (four parts) and the tribute collection, Chewbacca, which is about various characters reminiscing about our favourite SW Wookiee (who was tragically killed in the first wave of the Yuuhzan Vong war).

VERTIGO COMICS

I love Vertigo Comics. Mostly because they're offbeat and most of their stories are unusual (if not downright dark), but also because many of their characters are amoral - which is refreshing after you've read one too many superhero comics. (Oh, and not to mention that there are many crossovers, including those that involve very old comic book characters like Dr. Occult). One of my favourite series is of course the famous Sandman comics (by Neil Gaiman), which revolves around the lord of Dreams and his siblings, also known as The Endless (of which there are seven). Alas, the series is something I neither possess nor have the means to buy at present. I do, however have the following titles:

The Books of Magic (created by Neil Gaiman) - which follows the life of Timothy Hunter, a 12-year-old boy destined to become the greatest mage of the age - that is, if he doesn't get killed by any of the numerous dark powers first. While a great many fantasy novels treat magic as a wondrous power to behold, the kind of magic portrayed in this series is dark, destructive and something you would probably stay away from if you had any kind of sense. Those new to this series might note a certain resemblance between Hunter and Harry Potter; however much a HP fan I may be, I must state this: Tim Hunter came first.

The Names of Magic - this is the miniseries that follows tBoM, and covers Hunter's life from age 14-17. In turn, this series is followed by Hunter: The Age of Magic, which I sadly do not have because they are not in trade paperback form.

Lucifer - This started as a spinoff miniseries from Sandman called The Morningstar option, following Lucifer's decision to abdicate his throne and leave Hell to Dream - to open a piano bar called Lux in Los Angeles. It has since become a series in its own right, whereby Lucifer takes his letter of passage from God and creates a doorway into a universe of his own creation, to which all people who are fed up with God's creation may retreat to (so long as they never create 'religion' or bow down to deities of any sort), and later winds up having to defend his creation from numerous usurpers to his new throne. Oh, and God mysteriously leaves Heaven somewhere along the line.

Human Target - About Christopher Chance, whose line of work involves assuming the lives of people who are targets of assassination to ferret out those who want the people dead. Call him the ultimate anti-assassin. Unfortunately, the stress of adopting so many faces often leaves Chance with identity crises, often leading him to believe he is who he's pretending to be.

Chiaroscuro: The Lives of Leonardo da Vinci - As told from the viewpoint of da Vinci's adopted son and muse, Salai ('Little Devil'). Brilliant piece of work (a mix of history and speculation); unfortunately, also very risqué and thus intended for a mature audience.

------------

I do have two series that do not fall into either category. One is the Road to Perdition comics (surely I need not elaborate?): the original comics by Max Allan Collins, and the three-part miniseries that fills in the holes in between the original. Beautiful noir artwork, especially in the original series by Richard Piers Rayner.

The other one is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Enough said. Mina Harker rules.

@DarkGhost: I do believe Transmetropolitan is still in print - I saw it in the shop not long ago. Ditto Sandman.

Edited by Farlander, 07 December 2005 - 10:07 PM.

[monkeyman]

I used to collect monthly editions of X-men but the stories started to become a bit stagnant to be honest so I stopped.

Age of Apocalypse was the greatest X-men saga and I own them all, except for some of X-mans story

Punisher is my favourite comic though

For mangas, I have all 28 Lone Wolf and Cub mangas, a load of Battle Royale mangas, Bersrk mangas and some Hellsing mangas

Edited by monkeyman, 08 December 2005 - 08:13 AM.

[Crazy Horse]

Even though they're totally obvious and I'm sure everyone likes them, my personal favorites are:

The Watchmen

V for Vendetta

The Tick

[number47v3]

the beano!!!!!!!!



metal hobo, what we should do is take all of itrade's post's and put them on ures.

so yeah,
fuck itrade

Edited by number47v3, 08 December 2005 - 01:41 PM.

[StEx]

Guess what my favourite comics are...

[Anton]

the only comics ive ever read was Simpson comics, they were almost as good as the episodes...almost

[User123]

Comics are for kids IMO, I don't think I've heard a logical explanation from a fan over the age of 19.

[User123]

Well; it's just my opinion.

And you ARE immature for playing with Lego...

...But I think I missed something with that one.

[Grim]

@DarkGhost: Is any of Transmetropolitan availeble on the net? It excites me a lot... I looked for It on google, but If you know any link I'd be grateful.

@DuxDucis: Don't forget lego develops brain and it's sooo nostalgic.

[Kent]

Comics are for kids IMO, I don't think I've heard a logical explanation from a fan over the age of 19.

I don't know if you're just trying to provoke people or something, but either way I'll answer this.

Comic books appeal to kids because in comics a story can be written so that you can follow a story somewhat well without having to be able to read all that well.
This doesn't mean a story has to be written this way, and it doesn't mean that "comics are for kids".
This would imply that the stories told by the medium can't be anything but kids tales... a statement which is patently false. Read the Preacher, or James O'Barr's the Crow, or Sandman, or Sin City and tell me these are stories intended for kids.

Again, while comics certainly lend themselves to telling kids stories, because the images can aide people who aren't that good at reading, that in no way means one can't tell "grown up" stories that are intelligent, with great dialogue and narration, and with a "grown up" subject matter. And it doesn't mean the stories can't be just as good as in movies or in novels.

[Farlander]

Comics are for kids IMO, I don't think I've heard a logical explanation from a fan over the age of 19.

[truncated to save space]

I've more to add. There are some stories out there that are best told in one medium or another, and however good you or an adapter are, you simply can't force the story into a different medium without losing a certain Something. For the same reason there are no decent movie adaptations of Isaac Asimov's book around, certain comics exist as such, not because they're targetted as kids, but that is how the storyteller feels he can tell his story best. It maybe that he doesn't want your imagination to run astray (or your lack of imagination to hamper you); he wants you to see exactly how the battle unfolds, or how the protagonist is lying in bed, unable to sleep because of the day's happenings; or maybe he simply feels that words will impede his story where pictures would better serve his cause. And if you're the sort who can't see how a picture can sometimes tell a greater story - and in greater volume - than written words, then you have no art in your soul and I feel sorry for you.

(I challenge anyone here to attempt to novelise Jardel's Unlikely Heroes in a way that would remain true to the spirit of the comics!).

Besides, a great deal of graphic novels these days aren't simply about superheroes blowing up all the bad guys and rescuing damsels in distress, then hitting the sofa at the end of the day (lord! are there even any nowadays?). Many, if not most, will explore the psychology of the central characters, the motivation for their actions... and rather often, the sexual chemistry between the characters. In almost all of them there is a mature (as in mature-thinking, not sexual) handling of the story. About just as many tend to carry plenty of references to characters or events in history or other works of literature that a child, unless very precocious and well-read, will not pick up. How can one fully enjoy The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, after all, without being acquainted with classical works of literature like Dracula, King Solomon's Mines and Murder in the Rue Morgue (aka stuffy books that kids usually won't touch)? or The Books of Faerie without knowing something of Celtic folklore and the Daoine Sidhe? Remember: graphic novels that are rated M for mature aren't rated so because they contain highly sexual content (although that's the general trend of Vertigo comics), but because it requires a mature audience to fully appreciate the tale being told.

That being said, I resent the insinuation that I'm under 19 years of age.

Edited by Farlander, 10 December 2005 - 09:33 PM.