|
bairfanx posted:Quality, sure, there are loads of things. All Star Superman is the first of many that come to mind as surpassing 52 in quality. But scope is another beast entirely. I don't know that I can think of an ensemble cast type book that compares to 52, especially one that focuses on characters that aren't the Trinity. JLI maybe
|
| # ? Jul 31, 2012 20:44 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2013 06:49 |
|
|
bobkatt013 posted:JLI maybe  I was thinking the same. You've got a consistent writing team, pretty solid art throughout (Adam Hughes does a huge stretch!), a long run (~5 years!), most of it's drat good, and there's a buttload of great character work. There's everything from comedy to action to drama, and stakes from world-wide to the most inconsequential (feeding a cat, for example). Batman's around, but he's there to mostly yell at Beetle.
redbackground fucked around with this message at Jul 31, 2012 around 21:25 |
| # ? Jul 31, 2012 20:56 |
|
|
Plus, then you can read Generation Lost!
|
| # ? Aug 1, 2012 00:09 |
|
|
Which volume of JLI are you referring to?
|
| # ? Aug 1, 2012 14:06 |
|
|
Lofidelity Media posted:Which volume of JLI are you referring to? There are 6 trades out at the moment, but there is still more to collect. Whether DC actually gets around to it, well, you know. redbackground fucked around with this message at Aug 1, 2012 around 14:10 |
| # ? Aug 1, 2012 14:07 |
|
|
Is "Batman: Birth of the Demon" worth my money, or should I go somewhere else for some good Ra's stories?
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 11:00 |
|
|
ufarn posted:Is "Batman: Birth of the Demon" worth my money, or should I go somewhere else for some good Ra's stories? It is very good and has some of the definite Ra stories and works better when you get Tales of the Demon. Most of Batman TAS episodes with Ra come from stories from Tales.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 13:06 |
|
|
bobkatt013 posted:It is very good and has some of the definite Ra stories and works better when you get Tales of the Demon. Most of Batman TAS episodes with Ra come from stories from Tales.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 13:40 |
|
|
ufarn posted:Cheers. Do I read that before or after Birth? Before as Tales contains his first appearance.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 13:42 |
|
|
I'm following the Bendis reading list for the Avengers as posted in the OP, and I'm really enjoying it. However, since the list contains a lot of company-wide events, I realize that I'm missing a lot of supplementary material. Are there any other books for events like House of M, Civil War, or Secret Invasion(besides the main miniseries) that anyone could recommend? HoM Hulk, Wolverine, and Iron Man are all discounted at my local comic shoppe, wondering if any of it is any good.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 14:50 |
|
|
ubiquitous rex posted:I'm following the Bendis reading list for the Avengers as posted in the OP, and I'm really enjoying it. However, since the list contains a lot of company-wide events, I realize that I'm missing a lot of supplementary material. Are there any other books for events like House of M, Civil War, or Secret Invasion(besides the main miniseries) that anyone could recommend? HoM Hulk, Wolverine, and Iron Man are all discounted at my local comic shoppe, wondering if any of it is any good. Civil War and Secret Invasion both had tie-ins in the Avengers books (New Avengers, then Mighty Avengers post-Civil War) running at the time and are worth reading. Amazing Spider-Man had some pretty important tie-ins with Civil War, but not entirely must-read. The year or so running up to Secret Invasion in the Avengers books was worth reading. There was also a Black Panther story during Secret Invasion written by Jason Aaron that was really good if you can find it. It was only two issues, if I recall correctly.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 14:57 |
|
|
Endless Mike posted:House of M was pretty much its own thing. There was a bunch of HoM books running concurrently, but most are forgettable, at best. (So much so that I can't actually tell you which to bother with. I *think* Hulk was well regarded, maybe?) The HOM Spider-man story is pretty good and the tie ins in New and Mighty Avengers are pretty important for Secret Invasion
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 15:20 |
|
|
I've really been enjoying Saga so far - fantastic storytelling with great artwork by Fiona Staples. It's a very bizarre story that is grounded with very complex human characters. Other than Brian K Vaughan's other work, what's something worth recommending along those lines? I've now got my hands full with crime and noir titles - looking to dabble into non-superhero comics that's a bit more out there. Al-azad in the Indie Comic thread recommended American Flagg that looks intriguing.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 17:43 |
|
|
friendo55 posted:I've really been enjoying Saga so far - fantastic storytelling with great artwork by Fiona Staples. It's a very bizarre story that is grounded with very complex human characters. American Flagg is a classic, but I could have sworn that the original pages were lost or destroyed or buried in lawyers, which meant they couldn't print a proper anthology edition.
|
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 18:03 |
|
|
friendo55 posted:I've really been enjoying Saga so far - fantastic storytelling with great artwork by Fiona Staples. It's a very bizarre story that is grounded with very complex human characters. Saga is really it's own thing and I can't think of anything quite like it. I can recommend some good science fiction, bizarre, and humanist stories. Maxwell Strangewell. It doesn't have the artistic prowess of Saga but it's a long original graphic novel told in a cinematic style that's setup like a 50s pulp science fiction story. Omega: The Unknown. Although it's based on a superhero story this is about as far from traditional superhero material as you can get. I'm not spoiling anything by saying the guy with the cape is basically removed from the picture almost immediately but even as the only traditional "super" hero in the story he still plays an important role to the theme. Hard Boiled. Frank Miller and Geof Darrow create the most expensive summer blockbuster in comic book form. There's a basic story here but it's 100% ridiculous action scenes drawn in excrutiating detail by Darrow. Project Telstar. This is an anthology focused on robots. Normally anthologies will have a handful of good stories with the rest largely being forgettable but even the weakest of Telstar's stories is memorable. When the Wind Blows. Raymond Briggs writes a horrifying story about a clueless middle-aged couple living in the English countryside moments before nuclear destruction. It draws upon the fears of the time and the lies the government spread to keep the public from panicking. You want some complex human characters in a story that's darkly comedic and tragic? Right here, buddy. The Originals. Takes place in the near future in England facing a resurgence of 60s mod culture and youth related crime. It draws upon youth gang stories like A Clockwork Orange and The Outsiders. It's a formulaic story but the characters take center stage and I didn't know whether to hate or admire the protagonist at the end. prefect posted:American Flagg is a classic, but I could have sworn that the original pages were lost or destroyed or buried in lawyers, which meant they couldn't print a proper anthology edition. The first two volumes are commonly available and they're the best. The rest of the series became increasingly absurd as Chaykin's involvement with the project lessened. The rest of the comic is still good but I classify it along the lines of Cerebus: read the early stuff and continue with caution. al-azad fucked around with this message at Aug 2, 2012 around 18:44 |
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 18:42 |
|
|
Yeah, I don't know what else I can compare Saga to, but I'd recommend: Prophet - The new reincarnation is very bizarre sci-fi. I'm not yet sure where the story is going (there have been a bunch of seemingly related one-shots of late), but it's fantastically drawn and does a lot with mood with using much dialog. Start with issue #21. Casanova - It's like a spy story, involving alternate realities, time travel, and a concentrated injection of pop culture. It's hard to describe and very dense, but every issue leaves me blown away. Rice Boy - This is a bit out of left field, but the robot dude in Saga looks a lot like T.O.E. in this story. It's a kind of surreal fantasy story following a little "boy" as he tries to fulfill a destiny. It's way more concerned about world building and creature design than telling an original story, but well worth the read. Following Rice Boy was Order of Tales, a more traditional story (influenced by Lord of the Rings) and the current Vattu. Rice Boy started as a webcomic, which you can read (or buy the collection of) here along with all of the other stuff: http://www.rice-boy.com/ Dicebox - This is very, very much grounded in characters, following two migrant workers around the galaxy as they look for work and try to survive, but there are layers and mysteries that get explored along the way. It's a slow build and, at the current rate, will probably take a decade or two to finish, but i get excited at every page that comes out. Not a lot of action, though, if that's what you're looking for. http://www.dicebox.net/ Uthor fucked around with this message at Aug 2, 2012 around 19:42 |
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 19:37 |
|
|
Uthor posted:Yeah, I don't know what else I can compare Saga to, but I'd recommend: I don't really disagree with recommending Casanova, but a lot of the time I don't see density, I see a lack of focus. The Zephyr plot in the last volume had something to say, but much of the time I think any statement, characterisation or theme Fraction and Ba/Moon are trying to make gets lost in the noise of 'poo poo we think looks/sounds cool'. Gaz-L fucked around with this message at Aug 3, 2012 around 00:01 |
| # ? Aug 2, 2012 23:59 |
|
|
Yeah, there's a lot of noise, but I love the noise. I just think back to just the first issue that has two break ins/kidnappings, a robbery of a casino, battles with enemy agents, a literal battle of minds, swapped identities, and a jump into an alternate reality where everything is opposite. The first volume is crammed with so many ideas, it blows my mind.
|
| # ? Aug 3, 2012 00:18 |
|
|
Uthor posted:Yeah, I don't know what else I can compare Saga to, but I'd recommend: I've heard others talk about Casanova and yea it seems like a ton of great ideas but maybe too much at once? I'll keep that bookmarked for down the road. I haven't even thought of venturing into online webcomics - Dicebox looks great! I enjoy the slow build & characters that aren't flat and one-dimensional. Oh, al-azad, Maxwell Strangewell and Hard Boiled both caught my eye as well. Thanks a ton for all that! There really is so much good work out there that I just don't understand how you could only want to read Batman, Superman, etc. I've got friends who just stick to one genre or character and that's it. It all seems very formulaic and repetitive, but I guess I could be wrong. friendo55 fucked around with this message at Aug 3, 2012 around 06:06 |
| # ? Aug 3, 2012 06:03 |
|
|
Can anyone recommend Rising Stars? Looks interesting and it's currently on sale at comixology.
|
| # ? Aug 4, 2012 13:28 |
|
|
Cerepol posted:Can anyone recommend Rising Stars? Looks interesting and it's currently on sale at comixology. First two volumes are good, although the second one ends on a down note, and I have been told that later volumes are increasingly depressing.
|
| # ? Aug 4, 2012 14:07 |
|
|
bairfanx posted:Quality, sure, there are loads of things. All Star Superman is the first of many that come to mind as surpassing 52 in quality. But scope is another beast entirely. I don't know that I can think of an ensemble cast type book that compares to 52, let alone one that focuses on characters that aren't the Trinity. Seven Soldiers of Victory comes to mind.
|
| # ? Aug 4, 2012 23:44 |
|
|
Wasn't Crisis on Infinite Earths pretty big? That was the first time where something like this ever happened right? Some really big thing killing everybody for real.
|
| # ? Aug 5, 2012 02:22 |
|
|
I'm going through the Essential X-Factor Volume 1 and I'm thinking about picking up some more stuff. I read Age of Apocalypse as a kid, how does it rate in hindsight? Is it worth the re-read? What Alan Moore should I pick up for his superhero based stuff? (Like Watchmen which I've read.) edit: I posted a million questions when I really only have time to read two.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 03:33 |
|
|
LordPants posted:I'm going through the Essential X-Factor Volume 1 and I'm thinking about picking up some more stuff. I read Age of Apocalypse as a kid, how does it rate in hindsight? Is it worth the re-read? If you like Moore's superhero stuff specifically, Top Ten and Supreme are both awesome. Top Ten is a police procedural, set in the futuristic city of Neopolis, where the police -- and every other person in the city -- have super powers, and Supreme is a loving tribute to the Silver Age Superman. Moore wrote several DC stories in the '80s, including two legendary Superman stories, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" (usually considered the last Silver Age Superman story) and "For the Man Who Has Everything," which was adapted into a great episode of Justice League Unlimited. He also wrote Batman: The Killing Joke, which most people love but I hated. Of course V For Vendetta and Swamp Thing are tremendous as well, but not superheroey, despite V's mask and "secret identity" and Swamp Thing being set in the pre-Vertigo DC Universe.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 04:05 |
|
|
LordPants posted:I'm going through the Essential X-Factor Volume 1 and I'm thinking about picking up some more stuff. I read Age of Apocalypse as a kid, how does it rate in hindsight? Is it worth the re-read?
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 11:29 |
|
|
DC also put out a collection of Moore's stories, so all his best superhero stuff is in one spot ( it does include Whatever Happened and Killing Joke)
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:00 |
|
|
Opopanax posted:DC also put out a collection of Moore's stories, so all his best superhero stuff is in one spot ( it does include Whatever Happened and Killing Joke) Isn't this out of print?
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:07 |
|
|
Endless Mike posted:Isn't this out of print? They released a new hardcover version a few weeks/months ago that's still in print and includes a bit more stuff than the original.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:10 |
|
|
Apparently that one doesn't have Killing Joke. I wasn't aware it was out of print. Maybe you can get lucky on eBay or something, it's a great collection.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:20 |
|
|
I've got a couple questions for you guys, so here comes a ton of  . Growing up with the 90s Batman Animated Series, he was always my favorite so I have a bunch of Batman stuff already and I don't think I need advice on him. However, I did read the novelization of No Man's Land, and I'm curious if there are other novelizations or standalone novels about Batman that are worth reading. Gotham as a whole interests me so I'm interested in recommendations for trades that maybe aren't Bruce Wayne centered, like maybe other Bat-family members, or villain centered ones or something. Maybe Huntress or Nightwing(regardless of whether he's in Gotham or Bludhaven, I'm interested in his stories). I've also picked up Green Arrow: Quiver on a whim. I haven't read it yet but he's interesting to me and I'm wondering whether I made a good choice since it looks like that was the start of a fairly long arc? I was gonna ask about some Marvel properties too, but this is already a lot of words so maybe another time. TL;DR: Are there any good Batman novelizations, and are there essential Bat-Family/Gotham trades that don't revolve around Bruce Wayne. Also Green Arrow??
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 16:43 |
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:I've also picked up Green Arrow: Quiver on a whim. I haven't read it yet but he's interesting to me and I'm wondering whether I made a good choice since it looks like that was the start of a fairly long arc? I thought Quiver was really great. It might be a bit confusing going in cold, but basically what you need to know is that Ollie is dead and it's about how he comes back to life. Also Hal Jordan is the Specter, spirit of vengeance. The two stories following that ("Sounds of Violence" and "Archer's Quest") are both pretty excellent too, with Archer's Quest being my personal favorite of the three. I'm not sure about other Green Arrow stories besides those, but I've heard good things about his teamup with Green Lantern and Green Arrow Year One.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:07 |
|
|
gogisha posted:I thought Quiver was really great. It might be a bit confusing going in cold, but basically what you need to know is that Ollie is dead and it's about how he comes back to life. Also Hal Jordan is the Specter, spirit of vengeance. The two stories following that ("Sounds of Violence" and "Archer's Quest") are both pretty excellent too, with Archer's Quest being my personal favorite of the three. I'm not sure about other Green Arrow stories besides those, but I've heard good things about his teamup with Green Lantern and Green Arrow Year One. The Green Arrow/Green Lantern team up is very good but a product of the time. It is also the story where Speddy starts to like smack, and I believe the start of Green Arrow being a huge liberal. It also has Hal being called a racist.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:09 |
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:I've got a couple questions for you guys, so here comes a ton of Gotham Central, the Chuck Dixon run on Nightwing is fun, Ed Brubaker's Catwoman is great, and Huntress/Question: Cry for Blood is just awesome. (That last one might actually have the Batman name on it, but he's barely in the comic itself.)
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:20 |
|
|
bobkatt013 posted:The Green Arrow/Green Lantern team up is very good but a product of the time. It is also the story where Speddy starts to like smack, and I believe the start of Green Arrow being a huge liberal. It also has Hal being called a racist. 
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 17:29 |
|
|
Gaz-L posted:Gotham Central, the Chuck Dixon run on Nightwing is fun, Ed Brubaker's Catwoman is great, and Huntress/Question: Cry for Blood is just awesome. (That last one might actually have the Batman name on it, but he's barely in the comic itself.) Cool, I've got some things to add to my Amazon wishlist now. Though Amazon seems to only carry the Nightwing stuff through third party sellers which is lame. Is DC re-releasing everything or something? I know I bought the Volume 1's for the No Man's Land and Knightfall collections a while ago and when I tried to buy more recently I couldn't because they're being rereleased.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 18:14 |
|
|
You'd have to do some back-issue hunting (or just use CCL/Midtown/MCS), but I think you would enjoy the run of The Batman Chronicles (23 issues), which usually contained 3-4 stories that often focused on the secondary/tertiary characters/villians. There's one (I think it's in #5) by John Ostrander & Kim Yale that shows how Babs came back from depression after being shot and took up the Oracle identify, and is pretty awesome. Epi Lepi posted:Cool, I've got some things to add to my Amazon wishlist now. Though Amazon seems to only carry the Nightwing stuff through third party sellers which is lame. Is DC re-releasing everything or something? redbackground fucked around with this message at Aug 6, 2012 around 18:23 |
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 18:17 |
|
|
Epi Lepi posted:Cool, I've got some things to add to my Amazon wishlist now. Though Amazon seems to only carry the Nightwing stuff through third party sellers which is lame. Is DC re-releasing everything or something? I know I bought the Volume 1's for the No Man's Land and Knightfall collections a while ago and when I tried to buy more recently I couldn't because they're being rereleased. DC's trade program is run by retarded monkeys. You never know what they are going to release or what they will allow to become OOP.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 18:19 |
|
|
bobkatt013 posted:DC's trade program is run by retarded monkeys. You never know what they are going to release or what they will allow to become OOP. Exception: Watchmen will never, ever go out of print, because if it does, the rights return to Moore and Gibbons.
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 18:25 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 26, 2013 06:49 |
|
|
Opopanax posted:DC also put out a collection of Moore's stories, so all his best superhero stuff is in one spot ( it does include Whatever Happened and Killing Joke) I'm reading it now and it's pretty good. It introduces a few elements and characters to the Green Lantern mythos and has some pretty interesting stories about characters I knew nothing about prior to picking it up. As has been noted, DC's trade program is run by retarded apes so the collection does not contain the Killing Joke, despite being solicited as including it. Hell, even the cover artwork incorporates the iconic Joker-camera image into it. Also, there is a not-so-handy table of contents included. Not-so-handy because it tells you what pages you can find all of the stories on despite the fact that the pages are not numbered. The updated volume contains the Wildstorm stuff Moore wrote too (Voodoo, Deathblow, etc).
|
| # ? Aug 6, 2012 19:45 |
|
