Make Your Comic Book Recommendations

[Blue_Adept]

With the recent discussion of comics in general discussion, I wanted to set a "safe" area for people to make recommendations of what you think people should be reading and trying out, especially the good progressive and smart books that are out there.

I'll admit I'm a huge fan of comics, having been reading since the late 70's, and I love the changes and evolution in comics in the last few years.

Big recommendations are obviously things like Saga and Walking Dead and other TV adaptations that are coming up.

History fans will love the twist with Manifest Destiny. Also huge props to East of West and I'm adoring the twist on history with Manhattan Projects.

What do you recommend new readers to comics should try out?

[Aristus]

1. On the basis of the only issue I ever owned:

The Moon Knight.

I thought he was super-cool...

[Blue_Adept]

2. Definitely a fun Batman-esque character

I read a bunch of his stuff in the 80's and there have been a few revivals since then, including Charlie Huston taking a shot at him.

The new incarnation has me a bit wary with the character design;

[img][/img]

[el_bryanto]

8. He uses both the suit and the old suit as well

The six issues with Warren Ellis are very tight and well done; I'd heartily recommend them. A new writer and artist starts with 7, so we'll see how that goes.

[Blue_Adept]

9. I'm usually a little wary of Ellis

Some stuff great, some not so much. I tend to do trades (or digital sales) so the book is definitely on my radar.

[el_bryanto]

13. Ellis can be too cool for school sometiimes, and on his superhero work he sometimes phones it in

But he's probably still in my top 5 comic book writers - Transmetropolitan, Planetary, Ignition City, Supergod, Global Frequency - all comics I go back to regularly.

[Blue_Adept]

14. Oh man, Planetary.

I picked that up as a $20 bundle from ComiXology a couple of years ago and read it while on vacation. What a fantastic work that was.

[edhopper]

18. I am still surprised

Global Frequency was picked up for TV.

[NightWatcher]

3. ...should be reading...good progressive....smart.....

My fav is none of that. I used to read Punisher when I was a middle schooler while my other friends were geeking out with heroes with super powers.

I do not recommend to anyone else. I haven't even seen the comic in more than ten years.

[Blue_Adept]

4. Same here

I haven't read any Punisher in a long time, though I enjoyed the Thomas Jane movie, but in my teens and early twenties I loved the War Zone book as that had some great arcs and gorgeous artwork.

[Marr]

5. Saga, the Sixth Gun... and you have to get Joe the Barbarian in the compilation format.

Sean Murphy's art alone makes that one worth it, but the story's great, too.

[In_The_Wind]

6. Bookmarking ... maybe I need to start reading comics again.

I'd like to see what DU suggest.

[Blue_Adept]

7. Check out ComiXology.com

They offer a ton of free books, tons of daily sales. All digital books, but for a lot of people (myself included), that's the path to go rather than being held down by lots of print books.

[In_The_Wind]

11. Thanks. I'll take a look.

[kentauros]

10. I recommend these to anyone, new reader or not :)

Stinz by Donna Barr (out of print)
Stinz: Playthings (review)





XXXenophile by Phil Foglio (out of print)




Girl Genius by Phil Foglio




And there's always something to discover for free at the Digital Comic Museum

[hifiguy]

22. My ex-boss, the owner of Dreamhaven Books,

was Phil's partner in Palliard Press; they'd been buddies for ages. I managed the store from '92-95 and met Phil a number of times. He is a hoot and a half and a wonderful cartoonist.

[kentauros]

23. Cool!

I remember the publisher Dreamhaven Books, though I can't recall any other titles at the moment. I do really prefer independent publishers over the big guys.

I've only 'met' Phil over the phone, both in setting up, and later doing a radio-interview with him in the early 1990s. Just his manner of speaking is funny!

Bob Burden (creator of "The Flaming Carrot&quot is pretty funny in person as well. Bit of a womanizer, too.

I really wanted to interview Art Spiegelman, but he turned me down. Still, we did have a nice conversation on the phone anyway

Well, I was afraid my contribution to this thread was too "non-super hero" to garner any attention or interest by the majority. So, thanks for noticing I love hearing personal experiences with the indie creators and publishers.

[hifiguy]

24. Dreamhaven was THE SF store in Mpls at the time

and a major comic dealer. I met tons of interesting creators there including authors Robert McCammon (lovely guy), William Gibson (as nerdy as you'd expect), Basil Copper, Dan Simmons, Harlan Ellison (who lives up to his legend and actually liked me because I could hold my own in verbal fencing with him ) and comic creators Jaime/Gilbert Hernandez (both great guys, especially Gilbert, who is as big a Dan DeCarlo fan as I am), Dave "Cerebus" Sim (very bright and unorthodox), Chris Claremont (who has a very good opinion of Chris Claremont), Neil Gaiman (on many occasions - he was another buddy of Greg's and one of the most witty, intelligent, charming and interesting people I have ever met), S. Clay Wilson, Pete Krause, Dan Jurgens (both Mpls locals) and others. That was definitely one of the more interesting parts of the job.

[el_bryanto]

12. Number one suggestion for ongoing -- Ms. Marvel

It's very good, tight and fun.



I also quite like Chew, BRPD/Hellboy, The Manhattan Projects, Bandette (from Monkey Brain Comics only available online), and a number of others.

Bryant

[mackerel]

36. I've just started on Chew. Love the premise.

[edhopper]

15. The first issue

of The Fade Out, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips was fantastic.

[img][/img]

[Blue_Adept]

16. I just picked up 4 volumes of Fatale

So plenty to dig into there, but this is definitely on my radar as well.

[edhopper]

17. Fatale was really good

I think this is better.

[GOLGO 13]

19. Yep, the new Moon Knight is a good bit of reading right now...

I'm recommending
- HELLBOY
- The BPRD (Bureau of Paranormal Research & Development)
- PLANETARY
- The work of Japanese horror master Junji Ito. Really anything by him is fantastic.
- AKIRA by Katshurio Otomo is a sci-fi classic that's just breathtaking.
- LONE WOLF & CUB Omnibus #1 is a samurai classic created by the venerabal Goseki Kojima that is considered to be a graphic-fiction masterpiece of beauty, fury, and thematic power.

[hifiguy]

20. The Sandman graphic novels

are a great place to start. Neil Gaiman's work is extraordinary.

Not too up on recent comics, though.

[Blue_Adept]

21. A real classic to be sure

I admit to having a hard time revisiting it after all these years though, especially the early issues and the artwork. it was revolutionary at the time and holds up well, but it's showing its age.

[ismnotwasm]

25. There's a second series coming out

Visually stunning, but slow as molasses

[Blue_Adept]

27. I'm looking forward to Overture

I've been keen on it, but I knew better than to start reading it because I could tell by the initial delays that it was gonna be a slog. I've got dozens of books to read so I'll hold out until it's done. But it's definitely high on my list.

[ismnotwasm]

26. Hellblazer

All 300 of 'em.

[Blue_Adept]

28. The original series to be sure

I haven't checked out the new incarnation that's part of the regular universe now. But that original run had so many great issues and absolutely stunning covers.

[ismnotwasm]

29. Me either

I'm not sure I want too-- the original took us through a lot of changes, including Thatchers England. The whole series, despite occasional lameness, is pretty badass.

[Blue_Adept]

31. True

Something about Constantine in the regular universe leaves me wary. I did like what I saw of him in the Justice League Dark though. And I'm very keen on the TV series this fall for him.

[ZombieHorde]

30. Uzumaki.

I highly recommend these for anyone into Lovecraft-style horror. They are now free online too!

http://www.mangahere.co/manga/uzumaki/

[GOLGO 13]

34. This is the work of Japanese treasure

Junji Ito that I mentioned previously. Uzumaki is his most well known & one of his most disturbingly memorable ones as well. The website in the above post will allow you to read the entire story for free.

[Efilroft Sul]

32. I don't think you'd go wrong with these books…

1. Anything written by Ed Brubaker, ranging from his runs on Batman and Captain America to his film noir works.
2. "Fables," which puts storybook characters into modern-day New York City and tells of their survival. James Jean's cover art rocks.
3. "Age of Bronze," a wonderfully drawn and told series detailing the Trojan War.
4. "Earth 2," featuring gorgeous art and a fast-paced story of a world after the deaths of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
5. "Star Wars: Legacy," a gritty and fun series that takes place 138 years post "A New Hope."

[Tom Ripley]

33. Big Boy Babylon

"What happens when the red checked coveralls come off..."

[mackerel]

35. Wolverine Origin

love the graphics

[Bosonic]

37. Leftfield choice: Stray Toasters

Meta choice: Marshal Law



(not sure how easy they are to get though, I read them as hand me downs)

[mythology]

38. The Jason Aaron run on Thor God of Thunder was/is great

but I think there's only one more issue.

Jason Aaron's Southern Bastards has been really good.

As others have mentioned Chew, most anything by Ed Brubaker, Bendis' All New X-Men, Scott Snyder's Batman.

Also I really enjoyed the Y the Last Man and 100 Bullets.

[sakabatou]

39. The only comics I read these days are webcomics and manga

Misfile
Mystic Revolution
Sinfest
The Dreamland Chronicles
Sandra and Woo
Megatokyo
Sparkling Generation Valkirye Yuuki

and some others.