Post: #1

Miss read a thread on here, got hyped to see what was being recommended.

Watchmen, I have read is one of the best comic books ever. Movie was wicked.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13044763/Watchmen

Post: #2

One of the most entertaining comics I've ever read

Post: #3

Walking Dead Online

Walking Dead.

Go to your local library and pick up Usagi Yojimbo, Batman (the new ones are vicious), and Punisher MAX. The new Spiderman sucks. Stick with the old-school ones.

Post: #4

Still enjoy the old Underground comics. The rest just isn't as magical as when I was a little kid, at that time even the smell of them made me happy.

Post: #5

In no particular order

uncanny x-men, batman, spiderman, spawn, sandman, silver surfer.

bear in mind I haven't read a comic book in over 20 years. Marvel killed off most of their characters and then resurrected them as a stunt to sell more comics and it really turned me off of comics(dc did similar things with superman and batman(though I think he was just crippled and not killed)

Post: #6

(09-26-2013 01:46 AM)master_thespian Wrote:  In no particular order

uncanny x-men, batman, spiderman, spawn, sandman, silver surfer.

bear in mind I haven't read a comic book in over 20 years. Marvel killed off most of their characters and then resurrected them as a stunt to sell more comics and it really turned me off of comics(dc did similar things with superman and batman(though I think he was just crippled and not killed)

I'm definitely a Marvel fan over DC, but I'm still partial to some of their characters like Batman, Green Arrow, etc.

I agree with the above bold, but to some extent that has to be expected.

What is more annoying to me is the incessant crossovers without much planning or clear thematic purpose besides selling more issues.

Or the silliness of certain plots lines just to throw a huge wrench into things, i.e. Cassandra Nova, "No More Mutants" etc.


However one crossover that I thought was handled really well, was the Age of Apocalypse saga.



Basically it's an alternative Marvel universe where Xavier was killed, so Magneto led the X-men in dedication to his memory and dream.

The ramifications of that get pretty interesting and the writers/illustrators had a lot of license to re-design characters and personalities.

It also helps that you don't have to know much continuity or back-story to enjoy it, but if you do, it definitely adds to the surprises.

Post: #7

Sandman by Neil Gaiman is an incredible read, great artwork, life lessons, and a rich world. The comic revolves around the personified lives of the forces that most affect people, death, Destiny, dream, destruction, desire, despair, and delirium. It has a firm mythological background.

The spin off Lucifer is also a thoroughly good read, slightly more based on Christianity, though with some Norse mythology include also. Story revolves around the life and times of Satan, who finds himself inspired during the events of the sandman.

Both these series are pretty long, coming in at ten plus graphic novels.

For shorter or stand alone collections Rising Stars is a great read and is the most realistic telling of the world's reaction to superpowers.

Watchmen is awesome, far superior to the film. I'd recommend this comic even if you've seen the movie.

Post: #8

Sandman by Neil Gaiman is an incredible read, great artwork, life lessons, and a rich world. The comic revolves around the personified lives of the forces that most affect people, death, Destiny, dream, destruction, desire, despair, and delirium. It has a firm mythological background.

The spin off Lucifer is also a thoroughly good read, slightly more based on Christianity, though with some Norse mythology include also. Story revolves around the life and times of Satan, who finds himself inspired during the events of the sandman.

Both these series are pretty long, coming in at ten plus graphic novels.

For shorter or stand alone collections Rising Stars is a great read and is the most realistic telling of the world's reaction to superpowers.

Watchmen is awesome, far superior to the film. I'd recommend this comic even if you've seen the movie.

Post: #9

If graphic novels count, my favorite is definitely the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_League_..._Gentlemen

Great action book, would recommend. Very intelligently written, they even made it a movie with Sean Connery in it.

Post: #10

I love the comic books that Vertigo puts out.

Current favourite:

Fables: Characters from fables (snow white, big bad wolf, etc.) live in real world Manhatten as refugees from a warlord who has conquered the other fable worlds. The first few issues are intro to characters and world building, but the series really picks up soon thereafter.

Others:

http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-nov...ew-edition

Preacher: A former preacher goes on a hunt to find god after he abandons heaven

http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-nov...ew-edition

Transmetropolitan: Series about a investigative reporter in a cyberpunk futuristic city

http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-nov...the-street

Y the Last Man: All men are wiped out by a mysterious disease. The last man on earth goes on a hilarious adventure to cross the world to reunite with his girlfriend in Australia

http://www.vertigocomics.com/graphic-nov...1-unmanned

Hitman: Serious about a hitman with super powers. Really more of a buddy comedy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitman_(DC_Comics)

Post: #11

I am going to comic con this weekend, what should I expect as a non-comic lover? A buddy recommended DMZ, and I just bought an issue, he said its great, haven't read it yet.

Post: #12

Personally I did not like The Watchmen. I don't want to spoil the plot, but I felt like the side-story involving pirates was entirely superfluous, and that the event at the climax was poorly handled -- The entire comic up until that point was, besides the existence of superheroes, pretty firmly grounded in a recognizable reality. Then the climax overturns that and forces us to buy into some of Alan Moore's odd beliefs.

My favorite comic is Berserk, a japanese manga by Kentaro Miura. It's extremely graphic, but the art is amazing and the storyline is quite compelling too.

Post: #13

(09-25-2013 10:31 PM)Architekt Wrote:  One of the most entertaining comics I've ever read

I am also a fan of this comic. My favourite strip is the one about the Amulet of Making People Say You're Awesome In Bed Even Though You're Not.

For comic books my favourite series is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which is set before the video game and includes appearances by some of the characters seen in the game. The main villain in the video game is shown to have weak game in the comic, which may partially explain his descent into the dark side.

Post: #14

Ooooo, I love this thread.

Here is some stuff that blew my mind:



Superman Red Son - what would happen if superman was sent to earth 12 hours earlier? He lands in a small collective farm in the Ukraine and becomes a hero in Stalinist Russia. This 3 part comic is easy to read, brings interesting twists on the heroes we all know and love, and has one of the most insane twist endings of all time. Highly Recommended.




Wanted. Yes, the comic that the movie with Angelina Jolie was based on. The only thing the movie and the comic have in common is the name. This 6 issue miniseries explores what would happen if the world was secretly run by a team of elite super-villains. It's dark, insanely violent, and the main character was directly inspired by Eminem.


Enjoy

Post: #15

Are we throwing in some japanese comics aka manga into the mix?

Post: #16

^ Let's keep it mostly Western for now, Anime/Manga could be a whole thread on it's own

Post: #17

Thats the whole thread so far? I'm glad to see that this is in the knowledge/reading forum. There has been plenty of good additions so far: I usually like to follow comic books by writer, a good writer can usually do great things with any character.

Neil Gaiman and the sandman series: Very good, with mature concepts. These comics led me to read his book American Gods which is a great read if you like the midwest, Americana and old mythology.

Alan Moore and Watchmen (well any of Alan Moore's stuff): I really enjoyed the watchmen comics/novel. I thought the movie was good but not great. I have had to read it a few times to start pulling in new things like the pirates sub story, the letters/articles and other things. Like I only figured out why Moloch is named Moloch a while ago.

Garth Ennis, Punisher Max and Preacher: Preacher is probably my favourite series I've read. How can you not enjoy the adventures of a southern preacher turned against god and his sidekick an irish vampire. Preacher was in the works to be an HBO series at some point. Ennis's run writing Punisher Max during the Ma Gnucci story line is some great sadistic humor. Its all written as one would expect a dry witted irishman to write. Oh there is also a punisher Max where Ennis was asked/forced to do a story with Punisher and Wolverine. Ennis has a large disdain for Wolverine. Punisher shoots wolverine in the face with a shotgun early in the comic and so most of it is wolverine running around as an adamantium skulll with eyeballs.


Joss Whedon, X-men: Yes the buffy the vampire slayer and firefly guy. He wrote for a while on X-men and took the same team dynamics and romantic tensions he's good at and overlaid them on X-men for a while.

If you are just in it for the art, Kabuki was done with some crazy mixed media in a pre photo shop era and Battle Chasers was a short lived comic by Joe Madeuria which has some of the greatest comic book art I've seen.

Post: #18

I've been reading comics since I was a kid. A few recommendations.

The Luna Brothers did a comic called "Girls" - the premise of which is that a small Indiana town is invaded by an alien race that looks like... beautiful naked girls. Think the worst zombie invasion ever. The Girls goal is to mate with the men in the town and kill all the women. VERY interesting gender politics result from this and the book has some really interesting things to say in that area. Worth reading the whole series.

Craig Thompson's work - Habibi and Blankets. Blankets is a coming of age autobiography in a fundamentalist Christian home. Habibi is a epic and very honest love story set in a middle east that is half fantasy arabian nights style and half modern. They're long 600 page graphic novels and you'll never want them to end.

And of course, Joss Wheadon, Grant Morrison, and the current writer Brian Michael Bendis have all had great runs on the X-men.

Post: #19

^
I wanted Blankets to end. The amount of beta in this made me cringe. It was like looking back through MSN chat logs from years ago.

Batman: The Killing Joke is excellent. Written by Alan Moore, I think. Grant Morrison's run on Batman was consistent for the most part, but long winded. I started recent arc, Death of the Family, last year and it looked very promising.

Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis is excellent. Fair warning: Pete can be quite beta, but it's easy to look past. He's hilarious. The artwork is awesome. First 120-ish issues are great. The Requiem arc was a load of piss, and I didn't bother read from the non-Spidey books. Things are slow for a while, but then the new Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, with Miles Morales looks interesting. Gonna wait for some more issues before I jump on it.

I also second Transmetropolitan. I actually started re-reading it recently. Spider Jerusalem is a joy to behold.

Post: #20

Hey, some of the frank millar daredevil run is quality and also alan moore's work (v for vendetta and the watchmen) killing joke is a personal favorite of mine.

Post: #21

One of the most unique comics I've read is The Red Star

Quote:The Red Star is a comic book series by Christian Gossett set in a sci-fi/fantasy world described by Gossett as "Mythic [Soviet] Russia". The "Lands of The Red Star" were inspired by both Russian folklore and military history. The series is thus heavily reminiscent of a post-World War II Soviet Russia mixing technology and sorcery.

The 'United Republics of the Red Star', often simply called the 'State' in the comic, are shown to be coterminous with the historical Soviet Union in a map at the beginning of the first issue. The main enemy of the first novels, Al'Istaan, is a stand-in for historical Afghanistan and occupies a similar area of the map.

Post: #22

(10-11-2013 03:33 PM)Kid Strangelove Wrote:  Ooooo, I love this thread.

Here is some stuff that blew my mind:



Superman Red Son - what would happen if superman was sent to earth 12 hours earlier? He lands in a small collective farm in the Ukraine and becomes a hero in Stalinist Russia. This 3 part comic is easy to read, brings interesting twists on the heroes we all know and love, and has one of the most insane twist endings of all time. Highly Recommended.




Wanted. Yes, the comic that the movie with Angelina Jolie was based on. The only thing the movie and the comic have in common is the name. This 6 issue miniseries explores what would happen if the world was secretly run by a team of elite super-villains. It's dark, insanely violent, and the main character was directly inspired by Eminem.


Enjoy

Super Man Red Sun movie would be epic.

Great Comic book. +1

Post: #23

Quote:One of the most unique comics I've read is The Red Star

^ Nice post, never heard of it, but I like that illustration style and concept already.

Post: #24

(11-07-2013 03:12 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Quote:One of the most unique comics I've read is The Red Star

^ Nice post, never heard of it, but I like that illustration style and concept already.

I definitely recommend checking it out. They ran aground late in the series with money issues I think and the comics stopped coming out. Then they put all of them into trade paperback format so you can buy them like that and read just like a graphic novel.

There's also a movie in the works slated for a 2014 release date. It'll probably suck but I think it's so cool that such a niche comic is blowing up.

Post: #25

Just picked up the AoA collection (on the left) as a new coffee table book, considering getting into the Avengers Vs. X-men series on the right, has anyone read those?

Or is this crossover not worth it from what you've heard?