A Comic Scenario

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:03 am

Okay, so, one of your "non-geek" friends comes over and asks you to prove that comic books can be fun and entertaining, even for adults.

He asks you to pick five stories throughout the years to represent. Which five comic/TPB/manga stories would you present him to convince him/her that "see, comics ARE cool?"

Here's mine, in no particular order:

Bone by Jeff Smith

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Monster by Naoki Urasawa

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Marvels by Busiek/Ross

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:26 am

Bone

American Born Chinese

IncogNegro

Sandman

Maus

Post by **Best First** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:10 pm

In no order;

Preacher

Fables

Y The Last Man

Wanted

Planetary

Hmm, no Marvel, interesting - Ultimates 1 & 2 probably comes 6th - could swap it out for Wanted but i think wanted works better even if you know nothing about comics. Also (a bit oddly) that Barry Windsor-Smith Machine Man story because when i read it i knew nothing about Marvel and thought it was ace. I was 8 mind. Nextwave would be a good shout for anyone with a sense of humour. Dark Knight returns misses out again because i think the context of the character matters. Authority vol 1 misses out as the ending is something of a fizzle - maybe just the first 3 chapters. Some of the earlier Hellboy stuff where the backstory didn't play so much of a part.

As much as i love Xmen and Spidey i am struggling to think of a story that would really hook you unless you have familiarity with the characters. Oh, except all of Ultimate Spider-man - which might actually knock Wanted off my list of 5. Yeah, it does, go back to the start of my post and edit that with your minds. For X-Men maybe Clairemonts's final issues when they launched the seperate X-Men title - Jim Lee art and, at the time, what seemed like a great bow from Magneto with some fun cod reflection from Chuck at the end. And Psylocke in her bikini. Still quite involved though - that's the thing with Marvel one of its greatest attributes is also one of its weaknesses.

Bone is an interesting one - i love it but my usual "read this" guy just said he gave up on it as it was too long. Good for the forearms though.

Oh, and Incredible Hercules 136 which i just read on the loo at work and is awesome.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:31 pm

You know, I might actually add "Warrior School/Repeat Performance" to my list (if BF is allowed to do it, so am I).

Even overcoming my TF bias, I think it really holds up against most comic stories in general. You don't have to really know anything at all about the characters. I know I didn't when I first read it, and loved it. Art and story are some of the best. I remember some of my friends, who are into comics but not Transformers, reading it and thinking it was one of the best comic stories they had read.

Jack Cade · Post by **Jack Cade** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:25 pm

Throughout the years? As in, any year?

Akira

Fables

Usagi Yojimbo

Essential Silver Surfer

Original Rogue Trooper

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:16 pm

Watchmen, Y the Last Man, Preacher, the start of JMS' run on Spidey and - if I'm feeling frisky - some TF.

(Assuming they know who the heck Spider-man is and what Transformers are for).

I really need to sit down and give Target 2006 another read. Will it be as good as I remember?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:25 pm

best First wrote: Bone is an interesting one - i love it but my usual "read this" guy just said he gave up on it as it was too long. Good for the forearms though.

I think the later chapters of Bone are really inferior to the first. They're not as funny and they get caught up in a fantasy mythos that is just not that exciting if you've read a lot of other fantasy.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:16 am

bumblemusprime wrote:
best First wrote: Bone is an interesting one - i love it but my usual "read this" guy just said he gave up on it as it was too long. Good for the forearms though.
I think the later chapters of Bone are really inferior to the first. They're not as funny and they get caught up in a fantasy mythos that is just not that exciting if you've read a lot of other fantasy.

But it's strangely fascinating because of that. It's both. I think if you took out either facet of Bone, it wouldn't hold up like it does.

Post by **snarl** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:35 am

I dont really go out and buy comics, but my mate has bought for me, on occasion, Wanted, The Boys, Punisher plus leant me Y: The last man amongst others.

Y is ******* amazing, Wanted is really entertaining, I actually now buy the boys every month instead of transformers. Punisher is a laugh.

Post by **snarl** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:35 pm

Re-reading Wanted, it really is the bollocks.

[composite word including 'f*ck'] Paul McKenna, its the bestest - well, maybe just the most mysanthropic - self help book ever written!