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I'd love to have some conversations going about titles that aren't webcomics and aren't Marvel/DC. After getting all jazzed up for the New 52 my next big thing has been moving into finding hidden gems in the titles published by anyone but DC and Marvel. I'm not an industry insider, I don't really pay attention to which authors and artists hold more weight than others. If someone wants to recreate this thread with a better OP have at it. With that being said I think one of the cool things about reading a lesser-known title is trying to get others involved so I think it would be cool if people would write-up about a title they're reading and I'll add it to the OP. code:Moriarity - The premise is that after killing Sherlock Holmes Professor Moriarity's life fell into the mundane. He took on a separate identity, but then is gradually drawn into a mystery with the shadow of Holmes lingering in the back of his mind. The Darkness - Jackie Estacado, a former hitman and mafia don, is the latest bearer of The Darkness, an ancient power that allows its bearer to create constructs and summon otherwordly demons limited only by his imagination. Green Hornet:Year One/Kato: Origins - A revamp of one of the first masked crimefighting teams in comic books - done with real style and panache, plus a good amount of period flavor. Usagi Yojimbo - A rabbit samurai wanders feudal Japan and works simultaneously as a bodyguard and a bad rear end. Irredeemable - The Plutonian, a Superman archetype, has completely snapped and destroyed his version of Metropolis in a fit of anger. The world is making GBS threads itself because there's really nobody out there to stop him. His former hero comrades are constantly on the run while trying to come up with ways to stop him while he makes an effort to pick them off. The government's plans to counter him are more self-destructive than anything and any time something is brought in that can stand up to Plutonian, there are major repercussions. Also of note is how Plutonian's arch-nemesis, the super genius Modeus, shows up every now and again to work things to his advantage, whatever that may be. All the while, Plutonian treats the world like his own personal sandbox, like a slightly less sadistic version of Kid Miracleman. Incorruptible - Taking place in the same world as Irredeemable, Incorruptible stars Max Damage, one of Plutonian's biggest rogues. His power is that he becomes increasingly strong and invulnerable the longer he stays awake. His weaknesses are that he's vulnerable when he wakes up, vulnerable to sleeping gas and being awake for too long causes him to get incredibly loopy. Having seen Plutonian's rampage firsthand, he realizes that somebody out there needs to step up. He pulls a complete 180, going completely straight to the point that he won't have sex with his underage sidekick Jailbait and refuses to use stolen money for his war on crime. He hooks up with a recovering alcoholic police chief and Plutonian's Lois Lane counterpart in an attempt to bring order to his city. Beasts of Burden - It's basically Hellboy but with pet dogs and cats. Supernatural horror, but at a smaller, more personal scale. Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser - Wise barbarian Fafhrd and silver tongued rogue Gray Mouser put the first spin on the Sword & Sorcery genre in one of Mike Mignola's most well-respected non-Hellboy endeavors. The Sixth Gun - Based in post civil war America, the mysterious Drake Sinclair must stop an evil undead occultist confederate general from being resurrected by the power of his 6 unholy weapons. Revolvers, each with their own power (one shoots with the force of a canon, one can summon the spirits of anyone it has killed, etc.) can only be held by whoever killed it's last owner, and innocent farm girl Becky Montcrief inherited one unwillingly drawing her into the supernatural bid for power. It has cowboys, apocalyptic prophecies, voodoo, creatures of myth and legend and written by Cullen Bunn manages to never feel hoakey (even when they fight a mummy on a train!) Who Is Jake Ellis? - Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) meets The Bourne Identity - Jon Moore is a mercenary on the run from pretty much every government. There's only two people in the world he can rely on: himself, and the mysterious omniscient man that only he can see. Bulletproof Coffin - A man hired to rummage through the homes of the recently deceased comes across artifacts from some of his favorite comics and a David Lynch superhero/EC comic series ensues. Essex County - The intertwining lives and personalities of the residents of Essex County, Ontario are followed throughout the years. Essex County is a fictionalized version of author/artist Jeff Lemire's hometown and the comic is a love letter to the region and it's hearty folk. Chew - Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning that he can get memories/impressions/background of anything he eats. In this world, the FDA has increased legal and enforcement power, and chicken has been outlawed after a bird flu outbreak. The reason for the ban, however, may not be that cut-and-dry. The Mis-Adventures of Adam West - Actor Adam West is in a slump. He gets offered roles in movies, but turns most of them down against his agent's wishes because he doesn't agree with the actions of the hero characters and their lack of morality. A fan sends him a mysterious amulet and soon he finds himself decades younger as a spy in the world of one of those scripts. With nobody believing that he's only an actor, he proceeds to act out the story, only on his terms. Like some kind of Quantum Leap story, he moves from world to world after setting things right. Invincible - Mark Grayson is the son of Omniman, a superman-like dude with a mustache. His powers finally kick in and he gets into the superhero business. He quickly discovers that his father is actually a bad guy setting up for an eventual invasion by his people, the Viltrumites. Invincible makes a lot of friends and a lot of enemies over the years with a lot of setup made for the Viltrumite War, which itself finally ended about a year ago. Now he's dealing with the morality of the superhero lifestyle, wondering if most villains aren't truly evil but need to be heard and understood to better everything. The Goon - The Goon, flanked by his little buddy Franky, is a mob goon claiming to be working for a guy named Labrazio... only in reality, he killed Labrazio in a fit of anger decades ago. He's truly been running things, but he's ultimately a really good guy, constantly protecting the people in his neighborhood from all sorts of macabre threats. His main villain is a nameless sorcerer (he's really Rumpelstiltskin ) who conjures up armies of the undead. Goon has a mentor of sorts in Buzzard, an old gunslinger who thanks to the nameless zombie priest is an anti-zombie and cannot die no matter what he does. iZOMBIE - Gwen Dylan is a zombie, but if she can manage to eat brains on a regular basis she won't go shambly or decompose. The catch of course is that when she eats a brain she gets a little bit of their spirit and if there's unfinished business she has to help finish it or she'll never get rid of the voices. It's kind of a girlie soap opera that just gets ridiculously wacky the more were-terriers, paintball vampires, debonair mummies, and ghoulish government agencies are introduced into what should have been a simple plot. BPRD - Spinning out of the events of Hellboy: Conqueror Worm, BPRD follows the events of the extraordinary and normal workers of the Beuro of Paranormal Research and Defense. The series follows Abe Sapien (fish man), Liz Sherman (pyrokinetic), Roger (humunculus), Johann Krauss (a spirit in a special suit) and Kate Corrigan take on the things that go bump in the night. Over the course of the title they've taken on plagues of Frogs, subteranian human, steampunk Victorians, Lovecraftian nightmares, inter-dimensional Dukes, Wendigos, Cultists and a multitude of men with delusions of grandeur. Orc Stain - Well there's an orc and he's really good at breaking things and there's a swamp which who poisons people and they have to stop some other orcs and you know what trying to describe the story is stupid. It's an adventure book. Nonplayer - In the near-ish future a girl with a dead end job who still lives with her mom gets drawn into a deep web of conspiracy concerning the online video game she spends all her free time playing fnordcircle fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Feb 9, 2012 |
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Jan 30, 2012 21:59
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So Moriarty becomes a good guy after killing Holmes, am I understanding this right?
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Jan 30, 2012 23:41
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Maybe having the creative team would be cool, too, so if there is a name people like on a book they'd know. The Darkness Top Cow (Image) Writer: Phil Hester Artist: Romano Molenaar "Jackie Estacado, a former hitman and mafia don, is the latest bearer of The Darkness, an ancient power that allows its bearer to create constructs and summon otherwordly demons limited only by his imagination." It is my life's goal to have people to talk about this book with. It's like if Green Lantern was a shitbag. Phil Hester relaunched this book in 2007 and has been writing it since. It has returned to it's original numbering with issue 11 of the relaunch, now issue 75. 98 came out last week, and I believe Hester is actually leaving with issue 100. What I love is that since the re-launch it's an official mature readers title which totally makes sense because what use is a hitman who can't swear? This book is about blood and guts and bad men and woman, their loyalties, and what is the measure of a man. It's also about Jackie ruthlessly murdering the crap out of anything that messes with him. More bad rear end than anything else I read except maybe Punisher MAX. A good place to pick up is at the begining, because Top Cow puts out decent trades these days (except maybe the bindings. I think some of my Marz era Witchblades the glue doesn't really stick. I don't know if this is a problem with the Darkness because I read it in floppies.) Also issue 96 started this new and last story, which actually does not need that much prior information needed to dive in. Also awesome is a RECAP page, which is, I think, still rather rare. Read the Darkness, please? I wish I had anyone to talk to about it. (David Hine is I think the new writer, who is also pretty great, so issue 101 might be a good place, too.)
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Jan 31, 2012 02:09
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Title: Green Hornet:Year One/Kato: Origins Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Brief description: A revamp of one of the first masked crimefighting teams in comic books - done with real style and panache, plus a good amount of period flavor. Why I like it: I'm a Matt Wagner fan in general, but with Green Hornet: Year One you can tell he really did his research and tried to do right by the character. He captures 1930s gangland Chicago in all it noirish glory and doesn't pull any punches. The companion book is titled Kato:Origins and should also be read - it's an all-around good book covering Kato's solo adventures in 1940s America. Not only is it enjoyable but it's written from an unusual perspective - that of an Asian American during WWII, a time when anti-Asian racism was common and an Asian man was often looked at as a "dirty Jap." Issue that is a good jumping on point: I guess at the beginning. For GH:Y1 you can get the first trade for dirt cheap on Amazon, and the same is true for the first Kato: Origins trade. I honestly feel like this series is criminally overlooked, but I'm a sucker for noir-y crime stories and WWII-era stuff so I might be biased. Maybe you aren't but hey, for those prices you might as well give it a shot, right? picosecond fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jan 31, 2012 |
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Jan 31, 2012 03:09
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Cool idea, hadn't heard of that Moriarty comic, I think I'll check it out Anyways I got a recommendation Title:: Usagi Yojimbo Publisher: Dark Horse Brief description: A rabbit samurai wanders feudal Japan and works simultaneously as a bodyguard and a bad rear end. Why I like it: Apart from being historically accurate, stylistic without being hard to follow, entertaining with enough humour and action to keep you reading even after 200+ issues (some were published by other companies), it is also pretty drat cool. The stories are often self contained and when they aren't they're easy enough to get into and at the same time can tell really detailed and epic (in the true sense of the word) tales. The best example is the grasscutter arc, which I believe is based on real legends. Issue that is a good jumping on point: Issue 141 came out a couple of months ago and was intended as a starting point, but the most recent issue is just as easy to read without back story. Fair warning, this comic has animal people in it. If you can't get over that, you're not going to like it.
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Jan 31, 2012 03:17
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^burtle posted:So Moriarty becomes a good guy after killing Holmes, am I understanding this right? Right now he's somewhat amoral. The storyline definitely seems to be heading in a direction where Moriarity does good because he doesn't like the alternative. I'm not sure if they are going to make us question who has really been the good guy all along, which would be cliche in and of itself, or if they are going to keep going along this sort of route where Moriarity is pitted against people who are more evil than he is to the point that he has to defeat them to save the world which we've all seen before. For now I'm just enjoying what feels like a diamond in the rough.
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Jan 31, 2012 05:36
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Title:: Irredeemable Publisher: BOOM! Studios Brief description: The Plutonian, a Superman archetype, has completely snapped and destroyed his version of Metropolis in a fit of anger. The world is making GBS threads itself because there's really nobody out there to stop him. His former hero comrades are constantly on the run while trying to come up with ways to stop him while he makes an effort to pick them off. The government's plans to counter him are more self-destructive than anything and any time something is brought in that can stand up to Plutonian, there are major repercussions. Also of note is how Plutonian's arch-nemesis, the super genius Modeus, shows up every now and again to work things to his advantage, whatever that may be. All the while, Plutonian treats the world like his own personal sandbox, like a slightly less sadistic version of Kid Miracleman. Why I like it: It's Mark Waid and he's usually pretty good, especially with his world building. I will admit that after the first year, the series dips really badly. Plutonian himself is very interesting, especially with the many, many things we see that have worked together into making him snap. Unfortunately, quite a few issues spin their wheels with too many characters for the series to handle. Luckily, Waid seems to have scaled down on that as we're back to reading about a Superman who you pity and understand one moment only to fear and hate seconds later. Issue that is a good jumping on point: You might as well start from the beginning, as that's where the better stuff is. Title:: Incorruptible Publisher: BOOM! Studios Brief description: Taking place in the same world as Irredeemable, Incorruptible stars Max Damage, one of Plutonian's biggest rogues. His power is that he becomes increasingly strong and invulnerable the longer he stays awake. His weaknesses are that he's vulnerable when he wakes up, vulnerable to sleeping gas and being awake for too long causes him to get incredibly loopy. Having seen Plutonian's rampage firsthand, he realizes that somebody out there needs to step up. He pulls a complete 180, going completely straight to the point that he won't have sex with his underage sidekick Jailbait and refuses to use stolen money for his war on crime. He hooks up with a recovering alcoholic police chief and Plutonian's Lois Lane counterpart in an attempt to bring order to his city. Why I like it: This is easily the better of the two books, mainly because there's a hopeful feel to it and the stories stay interesting. Max's supporting cast is far more likeable compared to the goofs trying to stop Plutonian and Max himself is likeable in his own dumbass attempts to be a hero. He's able to do the right thing, but doesn't understand why it's the right thing. He acts like he read a manual on what's good and evil and took it as gospel while never thinking any deeper. The best thing to come out of it is easily the issue (fairly late in, shockingly) where Max and Plutonian finally throwdown. Issue that is a good jumping on point: The last three or four issues would be a good jumping on point. The last couple issues have shared an arc with Irredeemable where we'd finally see the origins of our title characters. You don't have to read the Irredeemable issues for it to make sense, but they do tie in together in the sense that Plutonian and Max have more to do with each other's development than they realize. Luckily, you don't have to read Irredeemable to get Incorruptible. References are made, but it's explained well enough in the issues.
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Feb 1, 2012 04:44
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Bitchin Kitchen posted:The Darkness chat Is this actually a good comic or is it just manly as gently caress? The Xbox game based on it is absolutely incredible, so if it's even a fraction as good as that was...
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Feb 1, 2012 05:03
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Just gonna drop a little link here to my Empowered thread. Check it out if you like superheroes. Anyway Title:: Beasts of Burden Publisher: Dark Horse Brief description: It's basically Hellboy but with pet dogs and cats. Supernatural horror, but at a smaller, more personal scale. Why I like it: The stories are intimate and scary, but it's due to the characters and their perspective, not because something is gross or shocking. Things that would be scary to a dog or cat wouldn't necessarily be scary to a human, but the book makes does such a wonderful job of creating that feeling of dread that good horror relies so much on. Plus: It's absolutely beautiful. Jill Thompson's painting makes every page a joy to look at. Issue that is a good jumping on point: The stories are split up over a bunch of different anthologies but Dark Horse has done the heavy lifting for you and put them all in a very nice hardcover trade called "Animal Rites" (get it? get it?). OR if you are a fancy pants A few of the stories are available digitally for reading on your ipad or whatever
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Feb 1, 2012 13:46
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fnordcircle posted:Right now he's somewhat amoral. The storyline definitely seems to be heading in a direction where Moriarity does good because he doesn't like the alternative. Funnily enough, this is also to some extent what happened to the other character to beat Holmes (well, according to his author, and not Conan Doyle), Arsene Lupin, who was a criminal who increasingly frequently worked on the side of good because there were people worse than him.
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Feb 1, 2012 14:16
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Mr Wind Up Bird posted:Title:: Beasts of Burden I keep meaning to pick this up, because the Hellboy/Beasts of Burden crossover was one of my favorite comics of recent memory. I usually think crossovers like that are kind of hokey, but that one was done right.
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Feb 1, 2012 16:23
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Title: Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser Publisher: Dark Horse Brief description: Wise barbarian Fafhrd and silver tongued rogue Gray Mouser put the first spin on the Sword & Sorcery genre in one of Mike Mignola's most well-respected non-Hellboy endeavors. Why I like it: Mike Mignola's art is absolutely gorgeous when rendering the pre-historic pseudo-medieval sword and sorcery world of Fritz Leiber. The dialogue is quick and funny, but also very well written for all characters. Issue that is a good jumping on point: There is only 1 issue, which is a graphical adaptation of 4-5 of Leiber's short stories / novellas.
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Feb 1, 2012 18:56
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WickedIcon posted:Is this actually a good comic or is it just manly as gently caress? The Xbox game based on it is absolutely incredible, so if it's even a fraction as good as that was...
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Feb 1, 2012 20:51
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Ahh I've been waiting for a thread like this to pop up/be resurrected, and this is why. Title: The Sixth Gun  Publisher: Oni Press Brief Description: Based in post civil war America, the mysterious Drake Sinclair must stop an evil undead occultist confederate general from being resurrected by the power of his 6 unholy weapons. Revolvers, each with their own power (one shoots with the force of a canon, one can summon the spirits of anyone it has killed, etc.) can only be held by whoever killed it's last owner, and innocent farm girl Becky Montcrief inherited one unwillingly drawing her into the supernatural bid for power. It has cowboys, apocalyptic prophecies, voodoo, creatures of myth and legend and written by Cullen Bunn manages to never feel hoakey (even when they fight a mummy on a train!) Why I Like It: I'm super gay for cowboys/apocalypse/voodoo/monster stuff. The plot and characterization keep you pretty interested (it's definitely a "can't wait to see what happens next" kinda book) and though Brian Hurtt's art is kinda cartoony, it's consistently good and captures the grim horror aspects really well. Issue That Is A Good Jumping On Point: Well the first arc is the "Western Apocalypse" stuff, issue 7 starts the "New Orleans Voodoo" arc, and issue 12 is when it gets "Secret Society/Eternal Struggle" but it's only on 18 so start from the begining. I got issue one on free comic book day and have been hooked ever since.
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Feb 1, 2012 22:24
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Sgt. Politeness posted:Title: The Sixth Gun Also of note is that issue #1 is free on Comixology and 2-17 are just 99 cents each through tomorrow. 
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Feb 2, 2012 02:08
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I was going to post about Albion, Leah Moore and John Reppion's love letter to British comics, but am no longer going to do so because apparently Wildstorm is an imprint owned by DC, so it won't count here, which is a dreadful shame, because it's a really fun book with great and varied art. Looking at the other non-Big 2 titles in my comics shelf, the first one I came across was Kick-rear end, which I'm also not going to write about for various reasons, not least of which are the fact that Icon is a Marvel imprint, and also the fact that Kick-rear end 2 is... well, Kick-rear end 2, but which did remind me about the best thing to be published in Millar's CLiNT magazine: Who Is Jake Ellis?  Publisher: Image Brief Description: Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) meets The Bourne Identity - Jon Moore is a mercenary on the run from pretty much every government. There's only two people in the world he can rely on: himself, and the mysterious omniscient man that only he can see. Why I Like It: Who Is Jake Ellis? was a massive surprise to me. Aside from being the most -in fact, the only- genuinely mature comic ever featured in CLiNT, it's a really slick paranormal/psychological-ish espionage thriller with an interesting core concept, really striking art, and tight scene pacing. A total breath of fresh air amongst CLiNT's usual cavalcade of attention-grabbing blood-spewing shock violence and celebrity names, this strip came out of nowhere with little build-up or fanfare and a writer and artist I'd never heard of, and drew me right in from the first few pages, which you can read at this Comic Book Resources preview (Do it, then go to Amazon and buy the TPB). Cool, slick, and mysterious, the series manages to be understated and subtle in many respects, and deserves more attention. Also as one final thing that I liked, Batman fans might have noticed that Croatian artist Tonci Zonjic's art (though very much his own) is more than a little reminiscent of David Mazzucchelli's noir-ish style in Batman: Year One, which is another plus for me, since I love that book's art. In fact, here, have a look at more of Zonjic's art, in which he makes the Marvel Divas concept look far classier than it has any right to be, although his style is overall clearly more suited to realistic people than superheroes, which Who Is Jake Ellis? benefits from. He also does great establishing shots, and knows how to make transitional panels work in a way that just subtly flows, which really helps keep the art in line with the smooth, slick action of the story. Issue That Is A Good Jumping-On Point: It's a suspense series, and it's only 5 issues long. Start at issue 1, or just buy the TPB. ChuckDHead fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Feb 2, 2012 |
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Feb 2, 2012 02:10
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WickedIcon posted:Is this actually a good comic or is it just manly as gently caress? The Xbox game based on it is absolutely incredible, so if it's even a fraction as good as that was... Yeah, it's very cool. I think it does get bogged down a bit in a long arc with a villain, but it's broken up into small arcs that are all really cool. If you liked the game Paul Jenkins run is sometimes collected and he wrote it and it was based loosely on it. I got it around when that game came out in a big trade with the first arc (Garth Ennis) and Jenkins first arc. Jenkins was a big bright spot in the books past. It was not as good as it is now.
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Feb 2, 2012 03:17
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I think Image might be my favorite current publisher going, and I think they have some fantastic books currently going or recently collected. King City, Godland, Orc Stain, Fatale and Prophet are all very cool, but my favorite comic is... Title: Bulletproof Coffin Publisher: Image Brief Description: A man hired to rummage through the homes of the recently deceased comes across artifacts from some of his favorite comics and a David Lynch superhero/EC comic series ensues. Why I Like It: Shaky Kane has been a revelation to me because of this series. I was unaware of who he was prior to, but his artwork in this series seems a bit like Mike Allred's work set to a grindstone, rougher and harsher than Allred's ever looked even in the darker, more violent issues of X-Statix. The colors are sort of perfect, offsetting the dark subject matter with a weird neon palette that makes everything look somewhat sickly and is creepy in ways that very few horror comics achieve, or at least none that I've read. David Hine also does a fantastic job with the script, giving some worn-out meta-textual tricks new life via a pretty great sense of humor. He also manages to capture the trashy, goofy narration of old-school horror comics pretty well, filling the comics with classy gems like, "the stench of decay rises through the aura of her perfume, like a fart in a bubble bath," and still somehow manages to play it pretty straight. The series packs in some really strange fake advertisements similar to the period ads that show up in Moore's League of Gents, and they function to enhance the mood in sort of the same way as in those books. The Creators plan to do a bunch more with this little horror/superhero comic setting they've created, and the original series is being followed by the current six issue miniseries entitled Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred. Issue that is a good jumping on point: Buy the Bulletproof Coffin TPB because it is VERY GOOD, or just start from Disinterred at issue one if you are cheap, as the current story doesn't continue the events of the first, it simply shares characters/setting.
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Feb 2, 2012 04:49
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Mr Wind Up Bird posted:Title:: Beasts of Burden There was a new short story for this in this most recent issue of Dark Horse Presents and it was just fantastic. I enjoyed the short stories a lot more than the miniseries, though I probably should go back and re-read the mini. It may be better the second time around. Title: Essex County Publisher: Top Shelf Brief Description: The intertwining lives and personalities of the residents of Essex County, Ontario are followed throughout the years. Essex County is a fictionalized version of author/artist Jeff Lemire's hometown and the comic is a love letter to the region and it's hearty folk. Why I Like It: I was introduced to the work of Jeff Lemire by his Vertigo series "Sweet Tooth" which quickly became one of my favorites. I saw Essex County which was just heaped with critical praise and I'm a sucker for heartfelt, personal stories from people with a weird perspective so I snagged it. It has turned into one of my favorite stories ever, not just comics. The way the different story threads interact with and intersect each other is perfect. The characters all feel completely real. It manages to be sweet without being sappy, hearbreaking without being maudlin, and funny without turning the characters into caricatures. Lemire's artwork is perfect, stark and cold while simultaneously familiar and friendly. He gets a lot of detail and emotion out of some very sparse lines. Issue that is a good jumping on point: It was released as three large Graphic Novels originally and has been collected (along with some bonus materials) into one huge 500 page tome of awesome. You can get it on Amazon for  or Comixology for just  . There is a free 10 page preview on Comixology, and there are dozens of preview pages on Amazon if you want to find out what you're getting into.If you're familiar at all with Lemire's Sweet Tooth, imagine the same artistic/narrative sensibilities applied to a smaller, personal character-study-type story instead of an Apocalyptic one.
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Feb 2, 2012 22:58
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Title: Chew Publisher: Image Brief description: Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning that he can get memories/impressions/background of anything he eats. In this world, the FDA has increased legal and enforcement power, and chicken has been outlawed after a bird flu outbreak. The reason for the ban, however, may not be that cut-and-dry. Why I Like It: Great writing, character design and art. The world set up here is endlessly fascinating, and while the plot is intriguing enough, the humor is one of the main selling points. One of my favorite current ongoings. Issue that is a good jumping on point: I really would recommend starting at issue 1, but the latest plot started at issue #21, so I'd stay start there if you don't want to go back to the very beginning.
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Feb 3, 2012 03:37
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Title:: The Mis-Adventures of Adam West Publisher: Bluewater Brief description: Actor Adam West is in a slump. He gets offered roles in movies, but turns most of them down against his agent's wishes because he doesn't agree with the actions of the hero characters and their lack of morality. A fan sends him a mysterious amulet and soon he finds himself decades younger as a spy in the world of one of those scripts. With nobody believing that he's only an actor, he proceeds to act out the story, only on his terms. Like some kind of Quantum Leap story, he moves from world to world after setting things right. Why I like it: I was going to read it anyway because it's too strange not to, but there's some real fun and a little bit of heart to be had under the overly-contrived plot. The biggest obstacle is the art, which is your usual overly-scratchy indy artist. It would be fine if his depiction of Adam West looked anything like him. Issue that is a good jumping on point: There are only four issues so far, so #1 is where to start.
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Feb 4, 2012 20:32
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InnercityGriot posted:I think Image might be my favorite current publisher going, and I think they have some fantastic books currently going or recently collected. King City, Godland, Orc Stain, Fatale and Prophet are all very cool, but my favorite comic is... This sounds incredible, and I never would have heard of it otherwise. All you had to do was mention Lynch (one of my favorite filmmakers) and Allred (probably my favorite comic artist), and I'll give it a chance as soon as possible. Big Bad Voodoo Lou fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Feb 5, 2012 |
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Feb 5, 2012 18:37
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Since two of the more well-known series aren't mentioned, I might as well take care of it: Title:: Invincible Publisher: Image Brief description: Mark Grayson is the son of Omniman, a superman-like dude with a mustache. His powers finally kick in and he gets into the superhero business. He quickly discovers that his father is actually a bad guy setting up for an eventual invasion by his people, the Viltrumites. Invincible makes a lot of friends and a lot of enemies over the years with a lot of setup made for the Viltrumite War, which itself finally ended about a year ago. Now he's dealing with the morality of the superhero lifestyle, wondering if most villains aren't truly evil but need to be heard and understood to better everything. Why I like it: It has its flaws, but it's a fun series with a ton of interesting characters and situations. Kirkman at least knows not to keep his tone in the same place for too long, so you can go from happy and funny to dark and messed up between issues to break up the monotony. The biggest problem of the series is that it was mainly leading up to the Viltrumite War for years and at the end of the day, the Viltrumite War was boring as hell, went way too far on the gore factor and nearly killed the series. Luckily, the whole thing has picked up after Mark got home. Issue that is a good jumping on point: #77 and #78 cover the end of the Viltrumite War and lead right into the next status quo. So somewhere around there. Title:: The Goon Publisher: Dark Horse Brief description: The Goon, flanked by his little buddy Franky, is a mob goon claiming to be working for a guy named Labrazio... only in reality, he killed Labrazio in a fit of anger decades ago. He's truly been running things, but he's ultimately a really good guy, constantly protecting the people in his neighborhood from all sorts of macabre threats. His main villain is a nameless sorcerer (he's really Rumpelstiltskin) who conjures up armies of the undead. Goon has a mentor of sorts in Buzzard, an old gunslinger who thanks to the nameless zombie priest is an anti-zombie and cannot die no matter what he does. Goon has also done crossovers with both Hellboy and Dethklok from Metalocalypse, while Buzzard had his own 3-issue miniseries. Why I like it: First off, Eric Powell's art is absolutely stellar. The characters are great, from Goon and Franky to the supporting cast like the Willie Nagel the friendly zombie and reformed supervillain Dr. Alloy. The humor hits more often than it misses. The hopeless atmosphere of it all contrasts well with Goon's ability to ultimately make things right. Issue that is a good jumping on point: It's worth starting from the beginning, but if you need to start later, I guess go with #31. Goon's issues are mostly done-in-ones, but the 20's mostly dealt with a major story arc. It goes back to normal by #31 and there's a really good issue co-written by Evan Dorkin, but the last few issues have been mostly Powell using the comic as his soapbox. #36 is easily the worst issue of the series, as it's Powell writing a crossover between Goon and some burlesque dancer he knows.
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Feb 5, 2012 21:41
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What did you think of Chimichanga? I...didn't really care for it. But I appreciated Powell trying something a little different.
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Feb 5, 2012 21:53
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Gavok posted:Issue that is a good jumping on point: It's worth starting from the beginning, but if you need to start later, I guess go with #31. Goon's issues are mostly done-in-ones, but the 20's mostly dealt with a major story arc. It goes back to normal by #31 and there's a really good issue co-written by Evan Dorkin, but the last few issues have been mostly Powell using the comic as his soapbox. #36 is easily the worst issue of the series, as it's Powell writing a crossover between Goon and some burlesque dancer he knows. Just went back and re-read it and yeah, 36 was one of the weakest in the entire series. I enjoyed 37 a lot though, despite its soapboxiness... Using the Triangle Shirtwaist FIre to tell a pretty cool ghost story was clever, but the pro-union tone might put some people off.
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Feb 5, 2012 22:24
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choobs posted:Just went back and re-read it and yeah, 36 was one of the weakest in the entire series. I enjoyed 37 a lot though, despite its soapboxiness... Using the Triangle Shirtwaist FIre to tell a pretty cool ghost story was clever, but the pro-union tone might put some people off. Goon has always been fighting for the little guy though. If people are put off by that, then they haven;t been reading very closely.
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Feb 6, 2012 04:46
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choobs posted:Just went back and re-read it and yeah, 36 was one of the weakest in the entire series. I enjoyed 37 a lot though, despite its soapboxiness... Using the Triangle Shirtwaist FIre to tell a pretty cool ghost story was clever, but the pro-union tone might put some people off. I have no problem with the pro-union aspect of it at all. It just seemed paced awkwardly in that Goon only cameos in his own book because Powell spends so much time talking setup.
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Feb 6, 2012 04:50
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xK1 posted:Also of note is that issue #1 is free on Comixology and 2-17 are just 99 cents each through tomorrow. Well I hope everyone took advantage of this cause it's worth it. Title: iZOMBIE  Publisher: Vertigo Brief Description: Gwen Dylan is a zombie, but if she can manage to eat brains on a regular basis she won't go shambly or decompose. The catch of course is that when she eats a brain she gets a little bit of their spirit and if there's unfinished business she has to help finish it or she'll never get rid of the voices. It's kind of a girlie soap opera that just gets ridiculously wacky the more were-terriers, paintball vampires, debonair mummies, and ghoulish government agencies are introduced into what should have been a simple plot. Why I Like It: Did I mention being super gay for monster stuff? Cause this book has a great comprehensive system linking most movie monsters (were-wolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, etc.) to the "undersoul" or "oversoul". It's a neat new spin on it and it also has beautiful art by Mike (and his wife) Allred, which of course is why I picked it up. Issue That Is A Good Jumping On Point:Issue 4 explains the soul stuff. Issue 13 introduces the Dead Presidents (a group of monster secret agents) and gets heavier into the over arching plot. But since it's only on issue 21 I'm gonna recommend starting from the beginning so you aren't wondering what the mummy has to do with the Bride of Frankenstein bringing about the end of the world, or some such nonsense.
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Feb 6, 2012 22:25
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Title:: BPRD Publisher: Dark Horse Brief description: Spinning out of the events of Hellboy: Conqueror Worm, BPRD follows the events of the extraordinary and normal workers of the Beuro of Paranormal Research and Defense. The series follows Abe Sapien (fish man), Liz Sherman (pyrokinetic), Roger (humunculus), Johann Krauss (a spirit in a special suit) and Kate Corrigan take on the things that go bump in the night.  Over the course of the title they've taken on plagues of Frogs, subteranian human, steampunk Victorians, Lovecraftian nightmares, inter-dimensional Dukes, Wendigos, Cultists and a multitude of men with delusions of grandeur. Why I like it: For a title that's all about weird people facing even stranger monstrocities, what makes BPRD so good is the human element. The horror and terror is just as human as it is monstrous. Like Hellboy, there's always the question of what makes someone human. This is an ensemble cast, and each character definitively grows and changes for better or worse over the course of the series. The entire series is constantly building towards something big. The apocalypse is coming and has been coming and it's unsure whether or not the BPRD can actually stem the tide of doom brought by the Frogs, or whatever else lurks out there. The dread and tension is built continually, whether it's mistrust within the team or surrounding circumstances, you always have the feeling that at any moment all hell is going to break loose. Also Guy Davis just knocks the art out of the park.  Issue that is a good jumping on point: Dark Horse has just recently been releasing hardcovers aimed at collecting the entire series (I think barring 1946/1947) into four inexpensive hardcovers. So far they've released volume 1 and 2, with volume 3 coming out very soon. The first volume is around four hundred pages of comics for around 15 dollars, which is a real steal and a perfect place to start if you've already read Hellboy. If not, start with Hellboy: Seed of Destruction and continue until Conqueror Worm- then go into BPRD.
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Feb 6, 2012 23:04
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I've been meaning to check out BPRD though I never read any Hell Boy I also want to second Bulletproof Coffin. I only read the first issue, (couldn't find anymore) but what the gently caress?
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Feb 6, 2012 23:57
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Sgt. Politeness posted:I've been meaning to check out BPRD though I never read any Hell Boy I'm going to go ahead and third Bulletproof Coffin. I got a chance to talk with David Hine for Comics Bulletin and it sounds like he's got a lot of ideas in the can for that one. Plus, Shaky Kane's art is spectacular. When I've got a bit more time, I'll toss together a detailed post about why you should all be reading everything Brandon Graham does, and maybe talk about a few other favorites of mine while I'm at it. bairfanx fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Feb 7, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 00:03
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Do yourself a favor and read Hellboy. And BPRD. And Lobster Johnson. Also Witchfinder and Baltimore. Pretty much anything by Mike Mignola.
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Feb 7, 2012 00:06
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Yeah I read the first issue of Baltimore (free comic book day again) and loved it but haven't been able to afford to pick up the trade yet.
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Feb 7, 2012 00:14
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Dr. Hurt posted:Issue that is a good jumping on point: Dark Horse has just recently been releasing hardcovers aimed at collecting the entire series (I think barring 1946/1947) into four inexpensive hardcovers. So far they've released volume 1 and 2, with volume 3 coming out very soon. The first volume is around four hundred pages of comics for around 15 dollars, which is a real steal and a perfect place to start if you've already read Hellboy. If not, start with Hellboy: Seed of Destruction and continue until Conqueror Worm- then go into BPRD. The first two volumes both have quotes on the back from hermanos, but the second one is better because it labels him as "4thletter.net"
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Feb 7, 2012 01:00
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They do a pretty good job of explaining the backstory in Baltimore, but anyone interested in it should really check out the illustrated novel Mignola did with Christopher Golden because it's friggin awesome! If you're cheap/poor you may be able to get it at you're local library like I did. I had read BPRD Hollow Earth (which was good) and the various oneshots that Mignola wasn't directly involved in (which were ok at best) but they didn't measure up to Hellboy. From Plague of Frogs on (which Mignola was directly involved in) though, it has been just as good and occasionally better than HB. choobs fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Feb 14, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 01:20
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choobs posted:I had read BPRD Hollow Earth (which was good) and the various oneshots that Mignola wasn't directly involved in (which were ok at best) but they didn't measure up to Hellboy. From Plague of Frogs on (which Mignola was directly involved in) though, it has been just as good and occasionally better than HB. That is one of the problem with the Plague of Frogs stuff. I admit the Soul of Venice (the second miniseries of BPRD stories) is probably the weakest just because it's mainly just one and done stories about the BPRD in general. Once the war of the frogs actually gets heated up is when the story gets into full gear. (around volume 2) Volume three has some of my favorite stories, the Universal Machine, Garden of Souls and Killing Ground which really fleshes out a lot of the characters. Also everyone should read Hellboy. Everyone. At least up until Mignola stops doing art. And then read all the Hellboy in Mexico stuff just because it's great.
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Feb 7, 2012 03:59
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InnercityGriot posted:I think Image might be my favorite current publisher going, and I think they have some fantastic books currently going or recently collected. King City, Godland, Orc Stain, Fatale and Prophet are all very cool, but my favorite comic is... Holy crap, I just slammed through the first trade in an hour. This poo poo is so good. I need to pick up Disinterred this week.
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Feb 7, 2012 08:48
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I read all of BPRD in rapid succession over about a week one time. Once you get started, it's really hard to stop. I'm a little disappointed to hear that the hardcovers won't collect 1946/1947 though. I think 1946 is one of my favorite BPRD stories, and Varvara is one of my favorite characters.
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Feb 7, 2012 16:23
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Hopefully 1946/1947 will be collected in a nice hardcover seperate from the regular BPRD stuff. I liked them a lot too, but unfortunately they do stick out when it comes to the general overall flow of the story. They are great at fleshing out the universe though and are extremely lovely to look at. On that note, are they ever doing 1948? I heard there might have been plans about that but I've really heard next to nothing about it. This just might be me misreading something though so I'm not really sure if it was ever planned in the first place.
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Feb 7, 2012 17:49
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I got some good news from my comic shop today. Title:: Orc Stain Publisher: Image Brief description: Well there's an orc and he's really good at breaking things and there's a swamp which who poisons people and they have to stop some other orcs and you know what trying to describe the story is stupid. It's an adventure book. Why I like it: The art. Oh my god the art. Every page, every panel. James Stokoe's art is just...oh jesus I can't even describe it.  Issue that is a good jumping on point: Haha that's a funny story. You can't find back issues of it and the TPB is apparently out of print already and is going for like 40 bucks on amazon for a used copy. The TPB is really the only place to start and then you have to try to find a copy of issue #6 which came out almost a year ago I think. BUT #7 is apparently coming out in like three weeks! Hooray!
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Feb 8, 2012 19:30
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