I like comics, How 'bout you?

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:04 pm

So I've gotten into comics, which I haven't really paid attention to since I was like 14 (1994).

So, seeing as how lots of people on here like comics, I thought I'd get some suggestions as to what I should read. Talking in TPBs/Graphic Novels ONLY. Here are some things I've read so far in the last couple months, or what I'm currently reading:

Y: The Last Man
All Martha Washington (I'm a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic or dystopic)
The Ultimates
Ultimate X-Men
Superman : Red Son
Dark Night Returns (Was DK Strikes Back any good?)
Walking Dead
Wolverine: Origin
Wolverine: The Brotherhood
1602 and The New World
Ex Machina
Kingdom Come
Marvels
Preacher

What's the deal with Earth X? Is it as good as Kingdom Come? What about Universe or Paradise X?
I'm also reading Infinite Crisis, Planet Hulk, and the Road to Civil War stuff, in addition to TF. All of which rock.

And yes, I know. Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sin City. They're on the list. What about 100 Bullets? Anyone like that?

Ozz · Post by **Ozz** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:19 pm

Stuff I loved and I'm pretty sure should be available in TPB form:

Warren Ellis' StormWatch and The Authority
Warren Ellis' Ocean
Peter David's Captain Marvel
Warren Ellis' Planetary
Mark Millar's Wanted
Mike Mignola's Hellboy and B.P.R.D.
Alan Moore's Captain Britain
Peter David's SpyBoy
Straczynski's Rising Stars and Supreme Power
James Robinson's Starman
Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways
Ed Brubaker's Sleeper and The Authority

Different X-Men and related stuff, if you like them then there's some TPBs, too: Grant Morisson's New X-Men, Peter Milligan's X-Men, Peter David's Madrox: Multiple Choices and Classic X-Factor, Chris Claremont's Excalibur Classic, Joss Whedon Astonishing X-Men...

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:36 pm

Neil Gaiman's Sandman is pretty essential.
Bendis' Daredevil is almost all available in trades.

Post by **Denyer** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:28 pm

Shanti418 wrote:Was DK Strikes Back any good?

I've read one part so far. It's... different. Kind of like drugs on a page, or maybe I was just a bit flu-y.

Post by **Best First** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 9:34 am

DK strikes back was an ugly mess.

Earth X is not as good as Kingdom Come, but its still pretty good, however Universe and Paradise X just go a bit yampy and disapear up their own arse i'm afraid.

All of the above IMO.

i got a load of comics yesterday and was a bit dissapointed by this months batch.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 9:40 am

Shanti418 wrote: What's the deal with Earth X? Is it as good as Kingdom Come? What about Universe or Paradise X?

No, it's not as good as Kingdom Come..or at least not as good in the same way. But it is very good and is a similar kind of project.
It's generally considered that the quality of the series degrades as it goes on, from Earth to Universe to Paradise, but I'm not sure I'd totally agree with that.
It's all much of a muchness, really. The art becomes pretty standard fare, and there are the odd storytelling beats that don't work. If you're looking for a big weird cosmic-level story that includes about everything to do with the Marvel U, it's the one. But it does exactly what it says on the tin. All the other trades you listed are better.
Arno Stark is in it tho.

edit: didn't see the above post.

Denyer, I think your first impression of DKII was correct, reading it is like being on drugs, and not good gear at that.

For comics that are like good drugs, I'd go for

Grant Morrison's Flex Mentallo and Doom Patrol.

Ozz's list is golden.

To add to it...

We3
Seaguy
Invisibles
Animal Man
From Hell
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Invincible
Transmetropolitan
Alias
Punisher MAX
Tank Girl
Hitman

I've been making the switch to Hardcovers recently. They're great.
Oh, I mentioned the Alias Omnibus here before - if you want it, go order it as soon as. It's only getting one print run. All 28 issues, the Jessica Jones What If and 50 pages of extras.

Post by **Best First** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:15 am

hmm, i should get that...

and then i can sell my originals.

i am serioulsy considering making the move from comics to TPBs - books are so much easier to store...

am i a bad geek?

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:19 pm

I've been a bad geek for years, then.

sprunkner · Post by **sprunkner** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 3:59 pm

I'm considering the abandonment of Spidey after "The Other," considering I have to deal with Pat sodding Lee, and the writing seems to have all taken a downturn. Mike Wieringo's art is about the only bright spot in the books.

Me list:

New Avengers
Ultimates
Anything Transformers
Astonishing X-Men

Never been a DC guy. Oh, yeah, and I finally read Maus a while ago. I cried.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:43 am

we have Ron Garney as well now. his art is lovely.

personally i found 'the other' to be a bit of a streached out wash out.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:19 am

Yeah, The Other was pants, but ASM 529, the Road To Civil War one, was pretty good.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:44 am

Shanti418 wrote:Yeah, The Other was pants, but ASM 529, the Road To Civil War one, was pretty good.

I didn't think The Other was terrible, just not terribly good. I would have enjoyed it much more had it just taken up six months of Amazing Spider-Man instead of four months of every Spider-Man title.

ASM 529 was great! Come to think of it, Wednesday might have been the best comic book week I've seen in a very long time.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:06 pm

Ultimate spidey is still ace as well.

"Oh, and... sorry about your face"

hee.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:11 pm

Yeah, like I said, I'm already reading Ultimates and Ult. X-Men, but I've had some trepidation about venturing into Ult. Spidey simply because I hold the original canon more near and dear to my heart than X-Men or Avengers.
With that being said, though, I'm sure I'll probably start reading it. It's just not a high priority in my wallet right now.

I'm pretty excited for the new Infinite Crisis and Marvel Zombies coming out this week, though.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:29 pm

Ultimate Spidey is pretty much nothing but a compliment to the original spidey cannon IMO - i rate it higher than ultimate X-Men certainly.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:20 pm

Ultimate Spidey is much better than Ultimate X-Men, and is def the closest current Spidey book in feel to the classic material. Very fun comic and pretty much all out in TPB...
Although saying that, the first arc is probably the weakest.

Sorry, the Other was utter pants. Had some fun moments in it and featured important plotting elements for the Spidey titles as a whole, but that didn't stop it from being a really drawn-out illogical retread full of blatant nonsense.
Most boring and needless character refresh in a looooooong while.
Although I didn't read the Pat Lee issues, but I'm not thinking I missed anything.

Isn't Marvel Zombies ace?

Not getting Infinite DeathRape.

Did you guys get Web of Romance? The valentines Spidey comic? It was tony the tiger grrrrrate.

Nothing bad with switching totally to trades in the slightest, btw. Go for it if it makes more sense for you.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:26 pm

KingMob wrote:
Not getting Infinite DeathRape.

I say this as comic book fan and a long time Marvel Zombie. You're missing out.

Post by **Best First** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:26 pm

see, after writing that i realised that there are certain titles i couldn't wait for the trades, the most obvious being:

Y The Last Man
Ultimate Spidey
New Avengers
Ultimates
Astonishing X-Men

although with those last 2 it often feels like i am waiting for the trades...

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:50 pm

Best First wrote:see, after writing that i realised that there are certain titles i couldn't wait for the trades, the most obvious being:

Y The Last Man
Ultimate Spidey
New Avengers
Ultimates
Astonishing X-Men

although with those last 2 it often feels like i am waiting for the trades...

You could simply download the issues as they come out then purchase the trade when it becomes available.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:15 am

Professor Smooth wrote:
KingMob wrote: Not getting Infinite DeathRape.
I say this as comic book fan and a long time Marvel Zombie. You're missing out.

I honestly have next to no interest. I look at scans people put online out of minor curiosity and so I can have some awareness of what a workmate of mine is on about when he's enthusing about some new moment of depravity. That's it. I get All-Star Supes and the 7 Soldiers stuff, but the main DCU books have been a massive turn-off for me for...years.
Their concepts and storylines just do nothing for me.
I just recently got around to flicking through the Omac Project trade. That went back on the shelf in a hurry.

You could simply download the issues as they come out then purchase the trade when it becomes available.

This is something more and more people are doing, and it seems sensible to me. Did you take the Marvel survey about this?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:18 am

KingMob wrote:
You could simply download the issues as they come out then purchase the trade when it becomes available.
This is something more and more people are doing, and it seems sensible to me. Did you take the Marvel survey about this?

I did not take that survey. I might do so now, though.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:58 am

legitimate downloads or cheeky downloads?

i don't like doing anything that could negatively impact the comic industry.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:07 am

Best First wrote:legitimate downloads or cheeky downloads?

i don't like doing anything that could negatively impact the comic industry.

Cheeky ones. Though Marvel are currently exploring options to see if they can 'iTunise' their back-library and make it a legitimate resource.
There's a survey going about at the moment asking people about it.
Various models are mooted, like a flat rate for a single issue download, or a subscription to get access to a big online library.

When someone has recommended something, I've downloaded single issues to see what the fuss is about. Very occasionally it's a bust, but most of the time it results in me going to the store and dropping 50 quid on TPBs.
Without that ability to 'try before buy', my expenditure on trades in the last year would be far, far less and my decisions to pick up ongoings in serial form would also have been significantly lower.
It's actually moved me into spending more on comics, not less.

But that's just a personal thing, I'm sure there are guys out there who happily download the new comics every single week and never buy a flipping thing.

Obfleur · Post by **Obfleur** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:03 am

Hey guys, I need your awesome comic powers.

I am very interested in buying one Spider-man, and one X-men album/watchamacallit (instead of buying four/five/six/etc separate comics, you get all of them in one big fat book

).

Can someone recommend me something?

Post by **Best First** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:18 am

i'd either go with the essential trades, which are amsing value or money, or start with the ultimate universe, as its very linear so you don't find yourself having to buy multiple titles.

the essential stuff starst from teh very begining and is b & w, some of it shows its age but there is some really classic stuff in there.

Ultimate Spider-man and x-men are both awesome, although i think X may be starting to lose its way a bit these days (basiclly every time Brian K Vaughn or Judd Winkick leave a book i cry) but the first 40 issues or so are well worth it - especially the collosus and magneto bit - which you will understand if you ever read it.

Both of these series are readily available in Trade Paper Backs.

Mob - cheers for the sage advice, what you are saying makes a lot of sense - the thing i find hardest these days is actually knowing what the good stuff is - nowi get my stuff shipped i miss out on teh shop floor chat.

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 1:12 pm

Best First wrote:legitimate downloads or cheeky downloads?industry.

DC/Vertigo/Wildstorm have quite a few of the former, which tend to be first issues. Gives an idea of what to find a retailer for and flick through. Don't have any qualms about using the other to work out which trades/issues I'll keep an eye out for, though... most comics/books aren't worth re-reading or even following as a series, and stores don't really appreciate customers looking through a large assortment of issues. In some ways they're shooting themselves in both feet with a howitzer, but they do have a legitimate concern for the condition of stock.

More legit previews would be an extremely sensible move by the industry, and I can see monthly titles moving over to digital subs eventually -- something comics stores won't take happily.

KingMob · Post by **KingMob** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 1:15 pm

Agree with the Essential and Ultimate recommendations.
For something a bit newer and tied to the current mainstream, I suppose you couldn't really go wrong with the first Joss Whenon trade, Astonishing X-Men: Gifted.
Modern non-Ultimate Spidey is harder. All the current stuff was really started by JMS, so I guess that would be a logical thing to pick up on. His first trade is called Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home, IIRC.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 1:23 pm

yeah the earlier JMS stuff is awesome.

His more ecent stuff is ok but seems to have stuttered a bit.

Ozz · Post by **Ozz** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:08 pm

Obfleur wrote:Can someone recommend me something?

When it comes to X-Men, either Astonishing X-Men, like other guys already said (you can find first issue here) or Peter Milligan's X-Men, from current stuff. Trade paperbacks that collect Milligan's run are entitled Golgotha, Bizarre Love Triangle, Wild Kingdom (or X-Men/Black Panther) and House Arrest. The last one might not be out yet. I recommend first two especially. After those it went bit downhill.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:05 pm

Re: Y: The Last Man - I'm a trade guy on those. Only up to #36//Book 6. Now that I see it's about to be on #43, I keep on searching the net and bugging my local comic guy about when Book 7 is coming out, but none of them know. My local guy actually said that the recent issues have been more one shots and backstory, as opposed to an arc, so they might take their time putting out a trade. Can you shed any light for me, BF? This book rocks!

Re: Online Comics/Old Comics - I checked out the Marvel thing: pretty cool. I have to say, I like having the comic sitting in my hands better, but if they give you a price cut on the back issues better than TPBs, than I might be tempted. Have you guys seen the FF/X-Men DVD ROMs that have like 32 years of comics in them, plus annauls? I think they have a Spider-Man too. And they're only $40.

Re: Infinite DeathRape - I'm a Marvel Zombie. I've never bought an issue of Batman, Wonder Woman, or Superman (well, okay, I got Death of Superman TPB for Christmas one year, but I didn't ask for it), save for a couple trades. I think a lot of the heroes in DCU are ridiculous, and the whole concept of Green Lantern to be preposterous. At the same time, one thing I did read when I was a kid was the original Crisis, and it was sweet. And this one is sweet as well. Because it's not about DCU, it's about archetypes. In IC, it's basically about black/white/50s/idealism versus gray/90s/realism. And that's something that I find to be pretty cool. The whole idea of the old characters being different from the new characters is really cool, and Superboy Prime and his origin are totally kick ass things to have in a story.

TransFans.co.uk

I like comics, How 'bout you?

Re: I like comics, How 'bout you?