Recommend me Comics

[Eldan]

Okay. The thread about flash villains made me do this.
I know that comics are, in a way, one of the most quintessential nerd media. And I know next to nothing about them. My childhood was spent entirely comicless, mostly because you need to find one of a handful of specialist shops in the entire country to get even the german translations, where they exist, of most comics. As a child, I was only vaguely aware that comics existed, mostly from when they were mentioned in cartoons (and I didn't watch many cartoons either. My parents severely limited TV time, to maybe an hour a week until I was pretty old. I'm grateful for that, it gave me time to build room-sized LEGO castles.)

So. Assume the only comics I have read (and loved) are:
Sandman
Lucifer
Watchmen.

Obviously, my experience is limited, and I have missed a great deal of good stuff out there. I'd like to know more. What comics can you recommend me? Just for the record, I don't really have the time to read 400 issues of a series. Sandman was probably the upper limit for lenght. So I'd like something that is a mostly self-contained story that doesn't assume I know much about any characters and isn't too long. (Of course, feel free to suggest a series, if you must, but I might not have time to read it.)
What's out there that's really good?

[Roxlimn]

We talkin' about American superhero-style comics or does manga count?

[drakir_nosslin]

Fables. It's really good, though it's quite long. I haven't read that much besides that and Lucifer/Sandman.

[whitelaughter]

if you liked Sandman, have a look at Fables (and maybe the spin off Jack of Fables, though that's not nearly as good).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables_%28comics%29

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Witchblade.
The Darkness.
Gen13 (old and new).
Grimm Fairy Tales.
"" Return to Wonderland.
"" Beyond Wonderland.
"" Escape from Wonderland.
Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama.
Freddy VS Jason VS Ash.
President Evil.
Aphrodite IX.
I'll post more when I think of them.

[pita]

I went to a comic bookstore with a nearly identical request.
First off, anything by Vertigo. I mean literally anything.
If you want me to elaborate, Y: The Last Man was recommended to me, and they almost seemed disappointed that I got something else. Transmetropolitan is excellent. Preacher is amazing, and I'm really enjoying it now. I didn't like V For Vendetta that much, but it's an Alan Moore. Alan Moore is the Dosoevsky of comic books. If you don't like a work of his, you're just ignorant. I enjoyed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
I enjoyed Punisher: MAX, in which each volume is two hundred pages of him unloading a machine gun into a group of people he doesn't like, while having a moody yet well written inner monologue.
And I generally love the three Johnnyverse works of Jhonen Vasquez, starting with Johnny the Homocidal Maniac, going on to Squee, going on to I Feel Sick. JTHM is about Johnny, who kills people he thinks are nasty. He's completely insane and he knows it. He also harasses his nextdoor neighbor, Todd Casil, also known as Squee. Squee is about Squee, who is a panicked little kid who's smarter than anyone around him and is harassed for it. His parents hate him, and aliens seem to home in on his house on a regular basis. His best friend is the Antichrist. I Feel Sick is about Devi, a person Johnny dated once and tried to kill, who goes insane because of a painting of hers. It's noted for being one of the few Jhonen Vasquez works that have color, the others being Invader Zim and Fillerbunny #3. Jhonen Vasquez has a sick sense of humor, but he's hysterically funny and often very sobering, because the real world is very close to the hellhole depicted in his books.
I generally hate the Marvel-verse, because it overuses Talking is A Free Action, but Deadpool is pretty funny.

[Innis Cabal]

I second The Darkness.

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

I second The Darkness.

Darn right you do!

[Innis Cabal]

I promote the game as well.

[Eldan]

Darn right you do!

Well, I guess I'll start there, then. If it's been mentioned by three people, it can't be all that bad, right? :smalltongue:
I'll also see if I can get Fables anywhere.

[xPANCAKEx]

my personal favourites:
100 bullets - murky, conspiracy theory stuff, very flash bang on action too
the walking dead - zombies, very dark... things will NOT get better
Fables - definately on the fables bandwagon

and for some very gory, over the top, completely tongue in cheek super hero action (with a political plot running through underneath), try The Boys. Its more for people who've read many comics before so you'll get all the inside hints and references to which super hero everyone is ripping off, but its good times all the same

[Erothayce]

I can't recommend Preacher enough. It's gritty, dirty, and amazing. Lots of violence but a truly amazing story.

[xPANCAKEx]

I can't recommend Preacher enough. It's gritty, dirty, and amazing. Lots of violence but a truly amazing story.

hmmm, preacher got me into garth ennis, but now it just feels a tad dated

borrow it from a friend, maybe but i wouldn't recommend lashing out for all the TPBs unless you can get them cheap - far better things to spend money on

far better things by garth ennis to spend money on!

Erothayce - i recommend you check out The Chronicles of Wormwood. If you liked preacher, you will LOVE that. It was only 6 issues, so you can pick it up as a single trade. good reading, completely over the top, utter rediculous, but so very good

[Berserk Monk]

Maus and I've heard good things about League of Extraordinary Men.

[chiasaur11]

Secret Identity.

Kurt Busiek (His Astro City's also aces) and Stuart Immonen (One of the best artists currently in the business) write one of the top Superman stories ever.

Nextwave.
Warren Ellis. Stuart Immonen. I will attempt to describe it.

BOOM WHAM PUNCH KICKSPLODE DEATH EXPLOSIONS AWESOMENESS!

Only with more wit and excellence.

[Erothayce]

hmmm, preacher got me into garth ennis, but now it just feels a tad dated

borrow it from a friend, maybe but i wouldn't recommend lashing out for all the TPBs unless you can get them cheap - far better things to spend money on

far better things by garth ennis to spend money on!

Erothayce - i recommend you check out The Chronicles of Wormwood. If you liked preacher, you will LOVE that. It was only 6 issues, so you can pick it up as a single trade. good reading, completely over the top, utter rediculous, but so very good

i lucked out and found preacher online and torrented it. Along with Sandman, 30 days of night, Hellblazer and Sin city. I've got a lot comics to read through.

[Eldan]

I'll probably torrent most comics as well... they are a pain to get around here. At least torrents aren't really all that illegal here.

[Evil DM Mark3]

My own knowlage is limited to Judge Dredd, but that is certainly worth a look.

[Catch]

+1 for Fables.

Also, since you're looking for both self-contained stories and books to get you deeper into comics, any of DC's "Year One" trades are great (Batman and Two-Face especially), cheap and brief. I'm a Batman dork and really like the mystery elements of his books, so I recommend The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, and Haunted Knight, and if you don't get tired of Jeff Loeb by the end of all that, snag Hush for a blow-your-mind detective story.

Most trades are low-commitment in terms of story, but try and stick to books that only have one or two volumes. For example, NOT Final Crisis or 52.

[Catch]

Grimm Fairy Tales.
"" Return to Wonderland.
"" Beyond Wonderland.
"" Escape from Wonderland.

Really? Most of the Wonderland books are just boobies, guts and rape tied together by familiar plot. Ruining childhood memories is fun and all, but after a couple of issues I went, "Everybody dies, everything is horrible. Okay okay, I get it."

The Lovecraftian allusions were a nice touch, though.


+1 for Fables.

Also, since you're looking for both self-contained stories and books to get you deeper into comics, any of DC's "Year One" trades are great (Batman and Two-Face especially), cheap and brief. I'm a Batman dork and really like the mystery elements of his books, so I recommend The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, and Haunted Knight, and if you don't get tired of Jeff Loeb by the end of all that, snag Hush for a blow-your-mind detective story.

Most trades are low-commitment in terms of story, but try and stick to books that only have one or two volumes. For example, NOT Final Crisis or 52.

[Soras Teva Gee]

Umm +1 for everything published by Vertigo starting with Hellblazer.

[xPANCAKEx]

ima big fan of anything Image puts out

[Dienekes]

Other than some that are listed here, I would definitely advise against jumping into the tangled world of Marvel or DC mainstream comics. They're in my opinion generally confusing, twisted, with large plot holes that make little sense (S.H.I.E.L.D. is HYDRA my ass)

However, there are some very good graphic novels that can introduce you to them, my favorites being The Uncanny X-Men #1 (warning, very very dated), Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, Batman: Long Halloween, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke (Ok, I'll get off Batman now), Red Son, I'd give more Marvel for you if I could think of any. Right now Marvel is doing one of the previously mentioned large confusing plot hole filled cross over thingamabobs so I can't think of anything besides those (not that it's bad mind you, I really enjoyed Civil War but it seems a bit too much to throw someone into)

These are simply added to some of the greats others have said.
Seconding (or whatever number they're on) everything by Alan Moore, Fable, Transmetropolitan, 100 Bullets

[Walrus]

DMZ (Vertigo/DC) - Manhattan island is a demilitarized zone in the second American Civil War. The story follows Matty Roth, a photo intern who ends up stranded on the island and becomes an imbedded reporter. He's trying to report the truth of what's happening on the ground, but the news networks and various private enterprises won't make it easy for him.

Atomic Robo - This book reminds me a lot of NextWave, which I also highly recommend. It's a packed with jokes and big explosions. If you don't like Atomic Robo, you don't like joy.

Killer of Demons - This book is drawn by the same artist as Atomic Robo. It's about a guy who works at a marketing firm who isn't sure whether he's really been recruited by angels to murder demons or whether he's just going crazy. Hilarity and showers of blood ensue.

[Berserk Monk]

Umm +1 for everything published by Vertigo starting with Hellblazer.

+5 for everything created by Alan Moore.

[xPANCAKEx]

DMZ (Vertigo/DC) - Manhattan island is a demilitarized zone in the second American Civil War. The story follows Matty Roth, a photo intern who ends up stranded on the island and becomes an imbedded reporter. He's trying to report the truth of what's happening on the ground, but the news networks and various private enterprises won't make it easy for him.

fully 100 % definately backed... don't know why i didn't mention this one myself

[pita]

I torrent comics, and if I like them, I buy them. It lets me read them on comfortable paper, and doesn't take money away from the creators, who deserve it.
Preacher is relatively cheap for a TPB. It's why I originally got it.

[Cheesegear]

I too will second Hellblazer and Preacher.

Partly because John Constantine is in Sandman. And he is one of my favourite characters ever. Take Harry Dresden, make him, say, fifty times more hardcore, and you get John.

Ignore the (first) movie...Apparently DC are gearing up to do an R-rated John Constantine at some point.

[Eldan]

Oh, yeah. The constantine movie. I saw about ten minutes from the middle of it when it was on TV and concluded it was bad. Still, if I remember correctly, he was pretty cool in his short Sandman appearance, so something else for the "to read" list.
Well, looks like I'm booked for the next year or so. Thanks a lot, all around.

[lisiecki]

Im going to assume, that since you were inspired by the Flash thread, you want to read something superheroish.

AstroCity: Everything that is good about superhero comics is in Astro City.
There are fewer than 75 issues (if memory serves me thats how long Sandman was)

Also: All Star Superman
Like Astro City, ASS is everything that is good about the series boiled down.

other than that, the problem is that most of the "Magic" of superhero comics comes from hundreds of issues of comics crossing back and forth and back again.
I would suggest some Flash storylines, but there arn't any stand out storys that don't require backstory.

[Eldan]

Not really. I'm open for pretty much anything. It was just that the flash thread brought comics back to my mind, not especially superheroes. So, recommend what you think is good.

[Shademan]

anyone said Tellos, yet?

[JabberwockySupafly]

There are some comics I am almost ashamed noone else has mentioned yet....



Eric Powell's The Goon
Mike Mignola's Hellboy & BPRD
Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, which rarely ever asks you to know about anything of the previous Swamp Thing comics, and best of all, has the first appearance of everyone's favourite acid-tongued occultist, John Constantine.
Brian K. Vaughan's run on Runaways, and the Whedon run isn't too bad either. Anything afterwards kinda went downhill something chronic.

Vertigo, Dark Horse, and some of the indie imprints like IDW and Top Cow publish most of the really good stuff. A lot of really good comics have also already been suggested like Fables, Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man, The Darkness, Hellblazer and many others.

[endoperez]

Secret Identity (or Superman: Secret Identity) is nice alternative take on Superman, so +1 on that.

Batman: Year One was a nice take on how Batman might have started.

Moore's run on Swamp Thing is interesting. Some of it has dated badly (80s), some of it felt fresh when I read it this year.

Rice Boy (http://riceboy.jho-tan.com/) is also available online, but the actual paper comic is easily worth the price.

Y: The Last Man was quite an intelligent story. +1 for that as well.

[Berserk Monk]

Sandman's also a good read, though, I've only read the first book.

[lisiecki]

Honestly I adore superhero comics.

I would honestly suggest Planetary

Its a book about the secret superhero history of the 20th century.

It takes place in the Wildstorm universe, but requires the reader to know nothing at all about the setting.

The team investigates the manipulations of early 20th century pulp heros, the mystery men of the WWII era, Silver age superheros and modern.

Most of the superheros are farmilure, but all have a twist here and there.

Read, it, love it

[Roxlimn]

If you're up for manga, I recommend Genshiken. The comic is about the eponymous organization - a club for comic geeks. The comic is about their experiences as otaku in a suburban Japanese university.

[Eldan]

Sandman's also a good read, though, I've only read the first book.

I've read them. They become much better after the first book, actually, all the way to an awesome end. Also, it contains my favourite immortal human character. The Lucifer spin-off is also very good. You should give both a try.

[bosssmiley]

Alan Moore - Watchmen, V for Vendetta, LXG (vols 1-2 only), Top Ten, Tom Strong/ABC, From Hell, DR & Quinch, his run on Swamp Thing and Superman

Warren Ellis - His run on The Authority, Transmetropolitan (vols 1-4), Dr Sleepless, Planetary, Nextwave, anything else of his you can find

Grant Morrison - Doom Patrol

Frank Miller - The Dark Knight Returns

Mark Millar - Superman: Red Son

Mark Waid & Alex Ross - Kingdom Come

Neil Gaiman - Sandman series, Death: High Cost of Living, Signal to Noise, Mr Punch, The Eternals, Marvel 1602

Bryan Talbot - The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, The Tale of One Bad Rat

Pat Mills - Nemesis the Warlock (books 1-4 only), ABC Warriors, early period Slaine

Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey - Action Philosophers ("Plato SMASH!")

Art Spiegelman(sp?) - Maus

Jack Kirby - New Gods
The problem is that people read Watchmen first and ask "Great! What's next." Unfortunately the honest answer has to be "Not much..."
Oh, and you might want to read Section 8 too.

[chiasaur11]

I now feel great shame, as I forgot the best. comic. ever.

Fantastic Four. Original run, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Issue 51.

"This Man, This Monster!"

The single greatest comic book of all time, bar none. Combine it with 20 or so more excellent issues at a minuscule price, and Essential Fantastic Four volume 3 is required reading for all of mankind.

[Roukon]

I'll add my vote for both Fables and Y: The Last Man. Both are wonderfully done. Now, as someone pointed out, Alan Moore was mentioned, and I have to agree that almost everything he has done is excellent. If you are in the mood for something a little less "kidy" but still done by Alan Moore, I would recommend "The Lost Girls". You won't be able to find it in bookstores, but most comic shops should have a copy of it.

[Robert Blackletter]

and for some very gory, over the top, completely tongue in cheek super hero action (with a political plot running through underneath), try The Boys. Its more for people who've read many comics before so you'll get all the inside hints and references to which super hero everyone is ripping off, but its good times all the same


Please try the boy, I acquire the first 20 in January and was blown away. (also hate the fact i nbot been able to gain any more of them since)

Also Y the last man made me cry at the ending IN a good way

[WalkingTarget]

Hmm... well lots of stuff already mentioned (Y: the last man, Transmet, stuff by Alan Moore, Kingdom Come). Here are a few I didn't see in the lists so far.

Midnight Nation by J. Michael Straczynski (12 issues, single trade paperback collection) and

Starman during the James Robinson run from 1994 to 2001 (80 issues, 10 trades, which makes this just slightly longer than the monthly Sandman comic Gaiman did).

[Tyrant]

Most of what I read is Marvel and DC stuff (and I am several months behind whatever is currently going on). I will second the comment that a lot of it would be confusing if you just jumped right in. There are some fringe cases where knowledge of decades of backstories isn't 100% necessary (though there might be the occasional inside joke or referrence that passes you by). So, if you want to go down the road of the big 2, here are some that might be worth looking into:

DC-Superman Red Son-Someone else mentioned it already and I agree. So long as you know the basic Superman premise (he's from Krypton, Lex is his enemy, etc) then you should completely get it. There are other DC characters but as an Elseworlds (alternate reality, essentially) tale their origins are changed and it's all in that book.

DC-Kingdom Come-Again, already mentioned. The only thing to be concerned about here is that it is filled with DC characters and it mostly assumes you know them. If you don't, it shouldn't dramatically hurt the story. A friend of mine who knows next to nothing about 60+ years of DC history loved it.

Marvel-Annihilation-If you want a space hero story, this one was pretty good. It explains itself for the most part, so decades of backstory aren't necessary. You may have a handful of questions afterward, but it should be mostly self contained. There was a sequel series as well and it was decent too in my opinion. These two show you a lot of what's going on in the rest of the universe in Marvel and not just what's happening on Earth.

Those are a few that I thought were decent.

[Eldan]

Well, yeah, I have some cursory knowledge of the most important characters from half-watching the movies and reading some internet discussion. I think I could handle Superman or Batman, but most of the stuff beyond that could get difficult. Still, I have about 500 issues to read before me already, so, it would take a while to get to the newer suggestions.

[chiasaur11]

Well, yeah, I have some cursory knowledge of the most important characters from half-watching the movies and reading some internet discussion. I think I could handle Superman or Batman, but most of the stuff beyond that could get difficult. Still, I have about 500 issues to read before me already, so, it would take a while to get to the newer suggestions.

Essential FF 1-5.

The birth of the modern Marvel Universe. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby. Excellence, assumptions the reader doesn't know Marvel's other superhero stuff...

Old school at its best.

[Fiendish_Dire_Moose]

Really? Most of the Wonderland books are just boobies, guts and rape tied together by familiar plot. Ruining childhood memories is fun and all, but after a couple of issues I went, "Everybody dies, everything is horrible. Okay okay, I get it."

The Lovecraftian allusions were a nice touch, though.

You have to look a little past Scott Campbell's work sometimes. Take away the tits and it's a bit more clever of a comic.

[WitchSlayer]

Grant Morrison's JLA is one of the best Justice League runs ever.
James Robinson's Starman is great and his JSA run is also good.
If you like more trippy things, the Filth, Invisibles, and Seaguy all by Morrison are good.
Geoff Johns' Brainiac story is great.

[Robert Blackletter]

Rice Boy (http://riceboy.jho-tan.com/) is also available online, but the actual paper comic is easily worth the price.


Oh my god, thank you for letting me know this comic exist its amazing, i literally spent the last 2 hour reading it start to finish

[T-O-E]

Rice Boy (http://riceboy.jho-tan.com/) is also available online, but the actual paper comic is easily worth the price.

Agreed.
The book's just so beautiful.
I also have Order of Tales volume 1.

[Mr White]

@Eldan

Are you looking for American/English comics specifically?

I gather you're somewhere from middle Europe. I can fully recommend the French/Belgian comic scene. You won't find those titles easily in torrents but maybe they can be found at local book stores.
If you're interested, give me a genre you'd like and I can give you some titles.

If you are indeed looking for American comics I can fully advise Fables and Hellboy/BPRD. Maus was also very good but quite different from the other two.

I too asked around here for the best American comics. Most named were Sandman, V for Vendetta, Watchmen and The Black Knight Returns. Be aware most are somewhat dated. Especially Watchmen and TBKR can become overly dramatic IMO.

[daggaz]

Wow ok.. You guys out there talking about torrenting comics.. You do realize that regardless of your own moral justifications to yourselves, it is still illegal? And that you are not just talking about it, but that you are actively advocating it, on a free website hosted by a guy who makes his living writing and selling comics?? Nice way to get a thread locked, and a good thread at that. :smallmad:

To the OP: I just read thru a great webcomic about a wombat on a crazy mystical journey, heavy fantasy, really well written and illustrated. Its updated twice a week like clockwork, as well. Check out Digger (www.diggercomic.com) if you havent already.

[chiasaur11]

Anyone mention Scott Pilgrim?

Did I mention Scott ilgrim?

If not:

Get Scott Pilgrim. It's the great Canadian (graphic) novel.

[lisiecki]

Anyone mention Scott Pilgrim?

Did I mention Scott ilgrim?

If not:

Get Scott Pilgrim. It's the great Canadian (graphic) novel.

Scott Pilgrim was the amazing

But there was a huge drop off in quality after book 2 or 3

[Cheesegear]

Has Planetary been mentioned yet? Available in trade runs and is very, very good. Contains a lot of (pretty thin sometimes) allegories to other mainstream heroes. And, similar to LXG (really similar...The allegories are that thin), deals with public domain characters somewhat.

Elijah Snow is the awesome.

If it helps, Ellis did Hellblazer too for a while...So, he gets credit for that. Just about all the covers of Planetary are homages to other comics.