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Wachter posted:My 75-year-old dad borrowed my Punisher MAX HCs and now he's hooked. So now I need to get him something for Christmas that's violent, slick, possibly crime-related. He seemed pretty ambivalent toward Alan Moore, so nothing too cerebral. I was thinking maybe Brubaker's Criminal? Recommendations of any really good crime/war/Western type stuff would be appreciated.
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| # ? Oct 27, 2011 07:34 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 11:54 |
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Wachter posted:My 75-year-old dad borrowed my Punisher MAX HCs and now he's hooked. So now I need to get him something for Christmas that's violent, slick, possibly crime-related. He seemed pretty ambivalent toward Alan Moore, so nothing too cerebral. I was thinking maybe Brubaker's Criminal? Recommendations of any really good crime/war/Western type stuff would be appreciated. I'm gonna reiterate what was said and suggest you stick with Ennis. But nobody writes war stories like Ennis. Definitely get him volume 1 of War Stories. Battlefields and War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle are also worth looking into. For more crime by Ennis, I suggest Back to Brooklyn (cowritten with Jimmy Palmiotti). For an Ennis Western, try Streets of Glory. All of these are extremely violent, but the war stories it's a little less gratuitous. Gaz-L posted:Preacher or some of Ennis' war or western stuff is probably a better call, considering Hitman veers a bit more towards Ennis' more 'fuckin' caped poofs' side than Punisher MAX. Do you know of any Ennis westerns other than Streets of Glory and kind of Preacher? I also love a good western comic. Actually, take this as a recommendation asking, I'd love anyone to recommend me some good western stuff. I've read most of the Jonah Hex stuff and All-Star Western so any nice minis would be appreciated.
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| # ? Oct 27, 2011 08:14 |
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Ennis did a Ghost Rider (max?) mini-series that might barely qualify as a western. I mean there's cowboys in it, but that's definitely not the focus.
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| # ? Oct 27, 2011 08:30 |
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Dr. Hurt posted:Strange Apparitions is the classic Hugo Strange story. But you might enjoy Batman and the Monster Men, which is an update of an extremely old Batman story from the 1940's by Matt Wagner. If you like it there's also a sequel Batman and the Mad Monk which is another older more occult Batman story that was redone by Wagner. Both stories have a great pulpy feel and Wagner's art is excellent. I had a feeling it would all be downhill from Strange Apparitions. I'll get the Monster Men and Mad Monk ones though, they sound right up my alley. Tower of Babel was one of the first trades I bought when I got into comics because it sounded badass, the only other really great Ras story I can think of is his first appearance that they based the TAS two parter on. Has Penguin ever been written like he is in AC? Most of the stuff I've read that's featured him has had him as the owner of the Iceberg Lounge being all legitimate and Batman threatening him for info. I suppose Penguin in NML was pretty much the same as AC Penguin. Kinda seems like most of the stuff I'm interested in I've already read. I'll get Face the Face, those two Batman books and possibly some of Brubaker's Catwoman run(I assume I should start with #1 right) when I get paid though, thanks for the recommendations people.
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| # ? Oct 28, 2011 23:38 |
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thebardyspoon posted:I had a feeling it would all be downhill from Strange Apparitions. I'll get the Monster Men and Mad Monk ones though, they sound right up my alley. Tower of Babel was one of the first trades I bought when I got into comics because it sounded badass, the only other really great Ras story I can think of is his first appearance that they based the TAS two parter on.
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| # ? Oct 28, 2011 23:44 |
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My roomate is finally going to take the plunge and has agreed to read some Batman. I think I have a good starting position, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Keep in mind he only has a generic idea of who batman is outside of me sperging out on batman poo poo once in awhile, and watching TAS with me once in awhile. Batman: Year One The Killing Joke TDKR The Long Halloween Dark Victory A Death in the Family The Man who Laughs Knightfall and work him up to Hush Cataclysm/No Man's Land Under the hood Arkham Asylum Obviously there's a million awesome stories, but I think this is a good starting spot. I don't want to scare him off with too long of a reading list. What obvious titles am I forgetting for getting him a good Batman background?
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 04:35 |
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RembrandtQEinstein posted:My roomate is finally going to take the plunge and has agreed to read some Batman. I think I have a good starting position, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Keep in mind he only has a generic idea of who batman is outside of me sperging out on batman poo poo once in awhile, and watching TAS with me once in awhile. That's...uh...quite a list. As someone who did this recently for my sister I can say that while all those stories are good, I definitely wouldn't qualify them all as essential. Knightfall, Man who Laughs, and Dark Victory are not really must reads but are definitely worth suggesting if he likes what he's read and wants more. And I'd also delay Death in the Family down to right before he reads Under the Hood. As you said you don't want to scare him off, but that's a pretty long and comprehensive reading list.
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 07:02 |
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Cadavers4Algernon posted:That's...uh...quite a list. As someone who did this recently for my sister I can say that while all those stories are good, I definitely wouldn't qualify them all as essential. Knightfall, Man who Laughs, and Dark Victory are not really must reads but are definitely worth suggesting if he likes what he's read and wants more. And I'd also delay Death in the Family down to right before he reads Under the Hood. Good call. I'll put the Man who Laughs and Dark Victory on the "for once he's finished the first stuff" list. He'll be getting this all from the library, so it may take him awhile to even get some of the titles.
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 07:20 |
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Gaz-L posted:Well, technically the first Catwoman trade starts with some back-up strips, but yes, #1 is a good place to start. There's also Darwyn Cooke's Selina's Big Score mini, which is a more traditional heist story that somewhat leads into the Brubaker stuff. If you're looking at starting Catwoman it might be worth holding off until January. DC have solicited a big-rear end Catwoman TPB that includes "Selina's Big Score" Issues 1-9 of the ongoing and a couple of relevant issues from 'Tec aswell. Cover price is $29.99
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 11:11 |
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I just finished reading all/most of the acclaimed Batman TPBs and one-shots and now I'm looking to get into Superman and Green Lantern, and maybe Flash. Suggestions?
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 11:49 |
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RembrandtQEinstein posted:Good call. I'll put the Man who Laughs and Dark Victory on the "for once he's finished the first stuff" list. He'll be getting this all from the library, so it may take him awhile to even get some of the titles. I'd pare it down even more: Just recommend Year One, Dark Knight and Killing Joke, which are the usual entry point for casual fans, and take it from there. Anything more seems a tad excessive for a new reader. Pocket Abortions posted:I just finished reading all/most of the acclaimed Batman TPBs and one-shots and now I'm looking to get into Superman and Green Lantern, and maybe Flash. Suggestions? For Superman, you can't beat All Star Superman; check out Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and Red Son, too. Black Lighter fucked around with this message at Oct 30, 2011 around 16:08 |
| # ? Oct 30, 2011 16:06 |
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Pocket Abortions posted:I just finished reading all/most of the acclaimed Batman TPBs and one-shots and now I'm looking to get into Superman and Green Lantern, and maybe Flash. Suggestions? Green Lantern: Secret Origin, Rebirth, Sinestro Corps War. If you're not against monthlies I'd cover Superman and Flash with Action Comics and The Flash. All Star Superman is the be all/end all of Superman stories. The current Justice League book has all the characters you're interested in, and it's a lot of fun.
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 18:12 |
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Black Lighter posted:I'd pare it down even more: Just recommend Year One, Dark Knight and Killing Joke, which are the usual entry point for casual fans, and take it from there. Anything more seems a tad excessive for a new reader. I didn't care for The Man Who Laughs at all either (and I'm a huge Mahnke and Brubaker fan), but that's just me. redbackground fucked around with this message at Oct 30, 2011 around 22:14 |
| # ? Oct 30, 2011 19:34 |
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Black Lighter posted:I'd pare it down even more: Just recommend Year One, Dark Knight and Killing Joke, which are the usual entry point for casual fans, and take it from there. Anything more seems a tad excessive for a new reader. I'd still keep Long Halloween, for a few reasons: 1) It introduces a huge chunk of Batman's entire cast outside of the sidekicks in bite sized chunks, which is great for people to read and say "I want to read more about this character!" 2) It had a huge influence on both of the more recent movies, which casual fans and new readers will be more familiar with. The Batman portrayed in Long Halloween is much more similar to the Batman portrayed in the movies and cartoons.
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 22:09 |
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redbackground posted:I was going to say that Death in the Family is not really very good at all, and I would never actually recommend it to anyone to read. It's important for what happens, but it's a mess of a story, and pretty stupid to boot. I'm going to suggest it just so he can know who the gently caress Jason Todd is when he eventually reads Under the Hood. I'm going to make sure that The Killing Joke, Year One, The Long Halloween and TDKR are the first 4 he reads in whatever order they show up. I'm glad I wasn't forgetting anything, I guess I just went a bit overboard in my "essential reading"
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| # ? Oct 30, 2011 22:15 |
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I like mature comics with nice, clean art that focus around a single protagonist. You know in Watchmen the scenes with Rorschach on his own, talking to himself and observing the situation in his journal? I love that sort of thing. Another good example is certain scenes in DKR when Batman's by himself and acting like a detective, analysing his opponents etc. I've read most of the recommended Batman comics - Killing Joke, DKR, Long Halloween, Year One, ASHOSE, Hush. I read the first issue of the new series of Batman recently and in the first issue it had Dick Grayson, Damien, etc - I'm not a big fan of these characters, I feel that Batman is at his best when he's a badass lone wolf and robin isn't there or at least isn't very important, and he doesn't have children or a bunch of companions. I read the second issue and it was a lot better, but still.. are there any on-going series like that, where he's mostly on his own? Or graphic novels I've missed? I started reading Punisher MAX recently because it seemingly meets the above requirements, and it's good. However, it kind of gets repetitive seeing the Punisher slaughter waves of generic mobsters and whatnot, and the Punisher is barely even a person; more a walking force of vengeance. I'd prefer a series with a little more room for character development, with some interesting support characters, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks.
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| # ? Oct 31, 2011 04:14 |
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Bloodloss posted:I like mature comics with nice, clean art that focus around a single protagonist. You know in Watchmen the scenes with Rorschach on his own, talking to himself and observing the situation in his journal? I love that sort of thing. Another good example is certain scenes in DKR when Batman's by himself and acting like a detective, analysing his opponents etc. I've read most of the recommended Batman comics - Killing Joke, DKR, Long Halloween, Year One, ASHOSE, Hush. I read the first issue of the new series of Batman recently and in the first issue it had Dick Grayson, Damien, etc - I'm not a big fan of these characters, I feel that Batman is at his best when he's a badass lone wolf and robin isn't there or at least isn't very important, and he doesn't have children or a bunch of companions. I read the second issue and it was a lot better, but still.. are there any on-going series like that, where he's mostly on his own? Or graphic novels I've missed? Well Batman thre Dark Knight and Detective Comics sound more like what your after, but they're not all that great. If you liked Punisher MAX but wanted more of a focus on character you may want ot start reading the Jason Aaron run that started more recently (I'm assuming you're talking about the Ennis books) as those are more about what's going on in Frank's head rather than simply being a slasher flick. Also Snyder's Detective Comics run from right before the reboot is pretty amazing and light on supporting cast and more of a focus on Batman, but it's Dick Grayson as Batman and not Bruce Wayne. But if you can get past that, it's an incredible read and definitely sounds more like what you enjoy than the more recent Batman run. Cadavers4Algernon fucked around with this message at Oct 31, 2011 around 04:41 |
| # ? Oct 31, 2011 04:39 |
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Bloodloss posted:I started reading Punisher MAX recently because it seemingly meets the above requirements, and it's good. However, it kind of gets repetitive seeing the Punisher slaughter waves of generic mobsters and whatnot, and the Punisher is barely even a person; more a walking force of vengeance. I'd prefer a series with a little more room for character development, with some interesting support characters, etc. Any suggestions? VVVVV Man, I was thinking those, but forgot to actually say so. redbackground fucked around with this message at Oct 31, 2011 around 04:45 |
| # ? Oct 31, 2011 04:43 |
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Bloodloss posted:I like mature comics with nice, clean art that focus around a single protagonist. Have you read the Sin City books? Vvvvv or Daredevil vvvvvv Uthor fucked around with this message at Oct 31, 2011 around 05:44 |
| # ? Oct 31, 2011 04:45 |
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Bloodloss posted:I like mature comics with nice, clean art that focus around a single protagonist. You know in Watchmen the scenes with Rorschach on his own, talking to himself and observing the situation in his journal? I love that sort of thing. Another good example is certain scenes in DKR when Batman's by himself and acting like a detective, analysing his opponents etc. I've read most of the recommended Batman comics - Killing Joke, DKR, Long Halloween, Year One, ASHOSE, Hush. I read the first issue of the new series of Batman recently and in the first issue it had Dick Grayson, Damien, etc - I'm not a big fan of these characters, I feel that Batman is at his best when he's a badass lone wolf and robin isn't there or at least isn't very important, and he doesn't have children or a bunch of companions. I read the second issue and it was a lot better, but still.. are there any on-going series like that, where he's mostly on his own? Or graphic novels I've missed? Even better, read Daredevil. The names to know are Frank Miller (start with Born Again, the best DD story ever, or the origin story Man Without Fear), Brian Michael Bendis, and then Ed Brubaker. Exactly what you want. Brubaker's run on Catwoman was excellent as well, and right up your alley.
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| # ? Oct 31, 2011 04:59 |
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Moonknight seems like he might be an interesting guy from his wikipedia entry. Are there any good Moonknight comics?
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| # ? Oct 31, 2011 22:48 |
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SockPuppet posted:Moonknight seems like he might be an interesting guy from his wikipedia entry. Are there any good Moonknight comics?
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 01:12 |
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Thanks for the suggestions. So far I've read Punisher vs the Marvel Universe which was pretty good, had a good amount of that inner monologuing I can't get enough of - shame it was only 4 issues, though. I've also read some The Question stuff, but I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm not a fan of the concept of the newer mini-series where he's an urban shaman, I just find that idea pretty lame. I haven't read much of the '80s series yet, but so far the guy doesn't seem to act much like Rorschach at all, despite being the inspiration for the character. Maybe he develops more later on? I'd kill for Alan Moore to do an entire series where Rorschach goes around kicking rear end and taking names.
Bloodloss fucked around with this message at Nov 1, 2011 around 03:39 |
| # ? Nov 1, 2011 03:36 |
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SockPuppet posted:Moonknight seems like he might be an interesting guy from his wikipedia entry. Are there any good Moonknight comics? The absolute best Moon Knight stuff is the original series by Moench and Sienkiewicz. Everything else pales in comparison. Get Essential Moon Knight volumes 1 and 2 for their run. Don't be put off by the black and white nature of the Essentials books, the art looks awesome in black and white.
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 10:02 |
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Shameless posted:The absolute best Moon Knight stuff is the original series by Moench and Sienkiewicz. Everything else pales in comparison. Seconding this recommendation. Sienkiewicz (pronounced "sin-KEV-itch") is one of my favorite artists of all time. He's so fuckin' good.
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 10:10 |
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Bloodloss posted:Thanks for the suggestions. So far I've read Punisher vs the Marvel Universe which was pretty good, had a good amount of that inner monologuing I can't get enough of - shame it was only 4 issues, though. I've also read some The Question stuff, but I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I'm not a fan of the concept of the newer mini-series where he's an urban shaman, I just find that idea pretty lame. I haven't read much of the '80s series yet, but so far the guy doesn't seem to act much like Rorschach at all, despite being the inspiration for the character. Maybe he develops more later on? I'd kill for Alan Moore to do an entire series where Rorschach goes around kicking rear end and taking names. The Question really only gave Rorschach his gimmick, the trenchcoat, fedora and faceless mask thing. Arguably the original stuff by Steve Ditko is closer to Moore's idea, being that Ditko is big into objectivism, and shows that in his characters, but the 80's series onwards take him in a much more Zen direction. The series is awesome, but if you're looking for that Watchmen vibe, you're not liable to get it. You might be into Daredevil, specifically the Miller and Bendis stuff, because those are pretty gritty and have a lot of noir influence. And DD tends to be much more the focus of the character elements of the story than the Punisher is in his.
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 11:54 |
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Gaz-L posted:The Question really only gave Rorschach his gimmick, the trenchcoat, fedora and faceless mask thing. Arguably the original stuff by Steve Ditko is closer to Moore's idea, being that Ditko is big into objectivism, and shows that in his characters, but the 80's series onwards take him in a much more Zen direction. The series is awesome, but if you're looking for that Watchmen vibe, you're not liable to get it. Pfft. Rorschach and the Question were wannabes. ...![]() http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/297/
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 12:01 |
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Shameless posted:The absolute best Moon Knight stuff is the original series by Moench and Sienkiewicz. Everything else pales in comparison. Thanks, I'll check them out.
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 17:55 |
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I've been in a real Aliens mood recently, and I was wondering, are any of the comics good? I know they had a 80s-90s series, the recent-ish reboot, and the AvP series, but I never tried them out. Also, are there any good Space Opera comics, excluding Star Wars, which I already read.
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| # ? Nov 1, 2011 19:36 |
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Hiro Protagonist posted:I've been in a real Aliens mood recently, and I was wondering, are any of the comics good? I know they had a 80s-90s series, the recent-ish reboot, and the AvP series, but I never tried them out. Also, are there any good Space Opera comics, excluding Star Wars, which I already read. Yes, in general, most Dark Horse Alien and Predator comics from the 90s were pretty good. They're available in nice digest omnibuses easily found on Amazon. For space opera, track down Silver Surfer: The Rebirth of Thanos, which leads into The Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos is one of the best villains in Marvel, and this was his defining story. Or, for a more modern space comic, there's Abnett and Lanning's last few years on the Marvel cosmic characters, beginning with Annihilation and the Nova ongoing, both surprisingly good. Alternatively, Geoff Johns last few years on Green Lantern, beginning with Rebirth.
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| # ? Nov 2, 2011 09:58 |
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I am pretty new to comics in general and don't know much about stuff that isn't DC or Marvel. I am really into high tech space oriented cyberpunk stuff, as well as anything with time travel, planets exploding (including Earth), etc. You know, your usual over the top super awesome scifi stuff that might as well be anime. I am looking for something along those lines, but have no idea where to start, so I am posting on the internet! Thanks!
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| # ? Nov 2, 2011 22:40 |
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Elijya posted:Yes, in general, most Dark Horse Alien and Predator comics from the 90s were pretty good. They're available in nice digest omnibuses easily found on Amazon.
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| # ? Nov 2, 2011 22:53 |
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Ibanez Murderface posted:I am pretty new to comics in general and don't know much about stuff that isn't DC or Marvel. I am really into high tech space oriented cyberpunk stuff, as well as anything with time travel, planets exploding (including Earth), etc. You know, your usual over the top super awesome scifi stuff that might as well be anime. I am looking for something along those lines, but have no idea where to start, so I am posting on the internet! Thanks!
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| # ? Nov 2, 2011 23:14 |
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Bloodloss posted:I'd kill for Alan Moore to do an entire series where Rorschach goes around kicking rear end and taking names. I, uh...don't think you and Mr. Moore are on quite the same page with regard to Rorschach. You may want to look into Criminal, which has as much moral ambiguity in its main characters as Moore put into Rorschach, but seems to take greater pleasure in allowing them to engage in over the top pulp violence. It's not a super hero book, though.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 02:07 |
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DeimosRising posted:I, uh...don't think you and Mr. Moore are on quite the same page with regard to Rorschach. You may want to look into Criminal, which has as much moral ambiguity in its main characters as Moore put into Rorschach, but seems to take greater pleasure in allowing them to engage in over the top pulp violence. It's not a super hero book, though. But if you want a super hero pulp book with the same feel as Criminal you can read Incognito which is written by the same guy and is a super pulpy superhero story about a supervillain in the witness protection program.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 02:24 |
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DeimosRising posted:I, uh...don't think you and Mr. Moore are on quite the same page with regard to Rorschach. You may want to look into Criminal, which has as much moral ambiguity in its main characters as Moore put into Rorschach, but seems to take greater pleasure in allowing them to engage in over the top pulp violence. It's not a super hero book, though. I'm well aware of how Rorschach is portrayed and how much of a messed up individual he is, I just enjoy morally grey and villainous characters, especially when they act in a ruthless and detective-like manner like Rorschach does. The Punisher is kind of like this, but he doesn't feel as 'real' as Rorschach and barely even feels like a person - I need more than just senseless murder of generic mobsters, etc. Thanks for the suggestions. Speaking of which, what good Punisher comics are there where he's not fighting mobsters and whatnot? Maybe one where he's involved with the rest of the universe, working alongside other well-known heroes? I liked what little there was of him in Civil War. Bloodloss fucked around with this message at Nov 3, 2011 around 02:55 |
| # ? Nov 3, 2011 02:30 |
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Bloodloss posted:I'm well aware of how Rorschach is portrayed and how much of a messed up individual he is, I just enjoy morally grey and villainous characters, especially when they act in a ruthless and detective-like manner like Rorschach does. The Punisher is kind of like this, but he doesn't feel as 'real' as Rorschach and barely even feels like a person - I need more than just senseless murder of generic mobsters, etc. Thanks for the suggestions. Matt Fraction had a good run that forced ol' Frank to interact with people more, but iirc it suddenly gets hijacked by terrible art (Chaykin ) and rushed writing near the end, which is a shame.Matt's run begins on Punisher War Journal v2, I think it goes back to straight up Punisher when he leaves. Rick Remender's run on that title is pretty fun, except the first 5 issues is Punisher going "I'm totally going to kill Norman Osborn" and you as the reader are going "No, you're not. You're not even gonna kill one of his Thunderbolts." It really gets pretty dark when he goes to war with the Hood, then that eventually leads into Franken-Castle, which you may or may not like depending on how much tone matters to you vs quality. Punisher: In the Blood is the conclusion to Remender's run and ties up loose ends from Fraction's run as well and is overall pretty sweet. Both those runs are more firmly grounded in the Marvel U (and give him a new Microchip) but it's not like he teams up with the Avengers or anything, the guy stays a lone wolf as much as he can. He does fight supervillains though, and Spider-man guest stars a few times. Matt's run also has the funeral for Stilt-man, one of the best issues of any comic in years.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 03:16 |
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Ibanez Murderface posted:I am pretty new to comics in general and don't know much about stuff that isn't DC or Marvel. I am really into high tech space oriented cyberpunk stuff, as well as anything with time travel, planets exploding (including Earth), etc. You know, your usual over the top super awesome scifi stuff that might as well be anime. I am looking for something along those lines, but have no idea where to start, so I am posting on the internet! Thanks! Read everything by Warren Ellis. Most every comic he's written checks most of your criteria. Off the top of my head, one actually fits everything you mentioned, and that's an under appreciated little miniseries called Ocean. It's definitely worth the $8.80 shipped for the cheapest Amazon used copy. His two most acclaimed series are a 60 issue cyberpunk saga called Transmetropolitan, and the amazing series Planetary which touches on every science fiction motif you can imagine, and is well worth getting in the Absolute format if you can find one you can afford (otherwise it's 4 volumes plus a book of crossovers you should read any time before vol 4). And for something heavily action oriented, he took a generic 90s Image book, Stormwatch, and turned it into the rear end kicking Authority, though he only did the first 2 volumes.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 04:11 |
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I've been reading Casanova recently and I was wondering if there was any comic out there that has the same style of rapid-paced idea-packed stories. I'm not looking for a certain genre, just something more akin to the pure frantic specific world-building Fraction did in very few issues. I've already read Planetary, which is one of the only other comics that have done so much to create a world with so very little.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 05:59 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 11:54 |
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It's mostly the art, but I Umbrella Academy felt a lot like Casanova to me: fast, smart, lots of info getting to you quickly, and, like I said, the art.
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| # ? Nov 3, 2011 06:45 |


















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) and rushed writing near the end, which is a shame.