Comic Books

[Wooderson]

Having seen comments in the last 2/3 weeks from people on the film thread Ive realised theres some seriously knowledgeable panelologists on here.

Time for thread dedicated to comics methinks... Im dead keen to hear the take of people far more knowledgeable than I on stories/writers/state of the industry etc and of course to get recommendations.

- - -

Ive always read comics.

When I was a really little kid it was Buster and Beano. My first subscriptions were Simon Furman-era Transformers UK and of course ROTR. It was the proper BMX kid cycling to the newsagent in a tracksuit every week kinda experience for me. My old man binned every single one of my comics from my youth into a skip though so the less said about those years the better...

In my early teens of course I read Viz like most people - still do, but it's not a patch etc - and also spent manys the Saturday afternoon wandering around Forbidden Planet when it was on Dawson St in Dublin in the v early 1990s. It was always a brill place to chill and listen to great music. Dublin was still a v backwards place in those days but the impact of hearing Blue Lines in there when i was about 14 has stayed with me to this day. Comics weren't bad either and we werent hit with the "No Free Reading" scheiße once.

I was a proper Marvel Zombie in my late teens but never really reached critical mass (not feeling at sea when picking up a book due to lack of understanding / experience / problems with continuity) with anything and kinda drifted away for a few years. Its one of the real love/hate things with comics that they are so impenetrable at times. Ebay has been my saviour with certain titles though - e.g. the first volume of Ellis' Authority - and of course Wikipedia is a god-send to find your bearings with a new book.

Back with a bang in the last 7/8 years. Have spent €1000's in building up a pretty solid collection and am a regular visitor to my local (much smaller) store once more.

It really is a great time to be reading comic books with huge variety and subtlety in heaps of stuff right now. "Chew" for example is amazing.

- - -

Would love to hear what you lot are diggin' - see if we can't share some really good books on here.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Wooderson

[Wooderson]

News today that All Star Superman is getting the animated movie treatment. By a mile my fave Superman book of the last decade. Wonder how they'll get on without the Quitely art though.

[Langdale Wolf]

Mainly Transformers and the Beano/Dandy. Good memories.

Remember Death's Head? He RULED.

[dakyras]

As a very small child, read Sonic The Comic; about the only decent interpretation of Super Sonic there ever was, i.e. a really scary villain.

Moved on to Marvel, mostly X-men. Then later got heavily into Batman, especially Miller's stuff. I really liked any other interpretations that developed Batman's relationship with Bruce, the gargoyle.

In recent times I've been following quirky, non-traditional comics, such as Kill Shakespeare, or this one-shot beaut:

The Pro.

NSFW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BshfyOxPMMI

I really like limited series, one-shot comics, and graphic novels, like Maus. I love Maus.

It was a really sad day when Videosyncratic in Oxford shut down this year. The nicest comic book/video rental shop there ever was. Right across the street from Blockbuster, but there was a montage in the shop of cut-up Blockbuster cards. They didn't care if a film wasn't a blockbuster-hit; if it was good, they had it. Same with comic books. Loads of indie stuff. Sad times

Edited July 27, 2010 by dakyras

[the_hedge]

I used to read these bad boys

Used to love the 1970's footballers and Wrestlers on the inside covers

[nightcrawler13]

massively recommend downloading the Black Panther web comic, its so animated it's pretty much a cartoon

and its good

[Greeny_Musicchild]

Loved the Beano/Dandy when i was younger. I started collecting Marvel when i was about 14 or 15 but everything's been sold during hard times. All i have left is Amazing Spiderman comics (the first ones i got, it's hard to part with them). I have all of Alan Moore's graphic novels as well and a couple of hard back Batman collections, Watchmen is too pretty to get rid of.

Since i was 18 i've read a lot of Manga. As a general rule I prefer it to western comics, the story tellings better and the art is just as good. One Piece and Bleach are two of the best animated series of all time.

[swede]

I absolutely love and have quite a large collection of silverage-bronze age Dc and Marvel classic titles such as Amazing Spiderman, Batman, Adventure comics, Fantastic Four, Flash, Green Lantern ect, I just find the classic style on these comics amazing and the covers are absolute works of art on some of them.

I also trade comics on ebay, if you fancy having a look at any time for what im selling just search for wrestlingswede.

[Purple Monkey]

My fave comics:

Superman: Birthright

Superman: Red Son

From Hell

Watchmen

V For Vendetta

The Killing Joke

Batman: Long Halloween

Batman: Dark Victory

All Star Superman

Astonishing X-Men

Ultimate Avengers

Ultimate Spider-Man

Sin City

Arkham Asylum

Joker

This may be surprising, but unlike most comic book nerds I don't actually rate Dark Knight Returns that much. Seemed like a 13 year old boys wet dream.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Purple Monkey

[jump]

I think I got into comics (apart from mme loving the 90's Batman cartoon as a kid) was a girl I was going out with in college who liked stuff Ghost Worls, Lost Girls and manga and she got me into them in general.

Not really a collector, I just like grabbing the tradebacks/graphic novels, but it's f**king annoying having to wait a year or 2 for them to appear though. At the moment I really want to read Paul Dini's Zatanna, Grant Morrison's Batman & Robin, Ultimate Thor Origin (even though the writer has pretty much said he's been made to do it) & Scarlet.

Does anyone know if Marvel are gonna release the Moore/Gaiman run of Marvel Man anytime soon, they just seem to be pissing about with the silver age ones at the moment.

[Wooderson]

Mainly Transformers

Remember Death's Head? He RULED.

Never made sense to me how Death's Head was a 40ft tall geezer though.

The way Furman kept his ownership of the character away from Hasbro is an interesting enough little story. Put a sly one-pager in another Marvel book to keep the rights.

In the 1980s the Transformers cartoon was pretty ubiquitous - but the way characters got bumped off in the comic book was pretty awesome for a little kid. They always had real gruesome deaths aswell. Quality.

[Wooderson]

Moved on to Marvel, mostly X-men.

Dunno why I gravitated towards Marvel in particular rather than DC. Similar to you mate I read XMen aswell rather than Avengers or Spiderman.

Then later got heavily into Batman, especially Miller's stuff. I really liked any other interpretations that developed Batman's relationship with Bruce, the gargoyle.

The "Gargoyle"?

In recent times I've been following quirky, non-traditional comics, such as Kill Shakespeare, or this one-shot beaut:

The Pro.

Very good!

I really like limited series, one-shot comics, and graphic novels, like Maus. I love Maus.

Hmmmm the notion of "loving" Maus is something I would have difficulty with. Ive read it and can appreciate the subtle genius of the storytelling - but I found it so disturbing in places that I wouldnt like to go back to reading it. I can think of a couple of panels right now that if I never saw again would be too soon - guess it shows how weak willed I am but that kinda thing haunts me.

It was a really sad day when Videosyncratic in Oxford shut down this year. The nicest comic book/video rental shop there ever was. Right across the street from Blockbuster, but there was a montage in the shop of cut-up Blockbuster cards. They didn't care if a film wasn't a blockbuster-hit; if it was good, they had it. Same with comic books. Loads of indie stuff. Sad times

My local store is Sub City in Dublin and the manager there was telling me he got 40 issues of the latest Walking Dead trade in this day last week - he had two left on Saturday morning. I think the future days of the small focussed store are bright. "Kids" are getting back into comic books in a big way.

[Wooderson]

Loved the Beano/Dandy when i was younger. I started collecting Marvel when i was about 14 or 15 but everything's been sold during hard times. All i have left is Amazing Spiderman comics (the first ones i got, it's hard to part with them). I have all of Alan Moore's graphic novels as well and a couple of hard back Batman collections, Watchmen is too pretty to get rid of.

Since i was 18 i've read a lot of Manga. As a general rule I prefer it to western comics, the story tellings better and the art is just as good. One Piece and Bleach are two of the best animated series of all time.

Did you make any decent profits on the stuff you sold? I have a mint copy of Uncanny XM 142 "Everyone Dies!" haha that I really love and like you and Spiderman would hold onto despite a firesale.

- - -

Don't get Manga in the slightest. Me and Nal watched "Legend of the Overfiend" in bout 94 - put me off all that gear for life.

[Wooderson]

My fave comics:

Superman: Birthright

Superman: Red Son

From Hell

Watchmen

V For Vendetta

The Killing Joke

Batman: Long Halloween

Batman: Dark Victory

All Star Superman

Astonishing X-Men

Ultimate Avengers -> You mean the Ultimates here right?

Ultimate Spider-Man

Sin City

Arkham Asylum

Joker

This may be surprising, but unlike most comic book nerds I don't actually rate Dark Knight Returns that much. Seemed like a 13 year old boys wet dream.

Bit more leaning towards DC? Do you reckon it tells you something about a person if theyre more of a DC geek than a Marvel Zombie?

Pretty canonical list here. Ive read all of the above except From Hell / Superman Birthright and Joker. From Hell I know about, and I've seen the cover of Joker -> whats "Birthright" all about?

[jump]

Don't get Manga in the slightest. Me and Nal watched "Legend of the Overfiend" in bout 94 - put me off all that gear for life.

That's because Overfiend is basically cartoon softcore porn/snuff and shit, try the watching the decent ones. It's like saying all comics are crap because you read Booster Gold.

[Wooderson]

Grant Morrison's Batman & Robin

Scarlet.

Morrison's B&R is worthy of all the hype. I could be wrong but it is DCs biggest seller at the moment. The first 3 issues with Quitely are particularly brilliant. It dipped a bit for about 6 months but the last 3 issues again have been top drawer.

Scarlet is well worth checking out. You know that theres only one issue released thus far?!

Does anyone know if Marvel are gonna release the Moore/Gaiman run of Marvel Man anytime soon, they just seem to be pissing about with the silver age ones at the moment.

I'd say so. Theyve got the rights back after years... you can see some "refresher" issues trickling though. I'd check it out as I've never read it unfortunately.

[Wooderson]

That's because Overfiend is basically cartoon softcore porn/snuff and shit, try the watching the decent ones. It's like saying all comics are crap because you read Booster Gold.

I think thats the exact reason we watched Overfiend to be honest.

What else would you recommend then? Ive seen Akira (natch) and though the bit with the bikes was fabulous but the bit with the expanding in the stadium was right up there with the biggest load of shite ive ever witnessed. Thought Spirited Away/Mononoke were also a bit load of overrated pap.

[jump]

I think thats the exact reason we watched Overfiend to be honest.

What else would you recommend then? Ive seen Akira (natch) and though the bit with the bikes was fabulous but the bit with the expanding in the stadium was right up there with the biggest load of shite ive ever witnessed. Thought Spirited Away/Mononoke were also a bit load of overrated pap.

Just so I don't get confused with what I'm saying, manga are Japanese comics and anime are japanese cartoons.

Akira is more good in it's time than it is good. Most anime are better in series than films, decent films are Ghost In The Shell, Blood The Last Vampire, Porco Rosso (love that film) Perfect Blue decent series are Mushishi, Nadesico, Evangelion (but don't watch if you're new to anime as it's f**king confusing 1st time) & Cowboy Bebop (which is f**king brilliant).

Anyway back to comics...

[Wooderson]

Just so I don't get confused with what I'm saying, manga are Japanese comics and anime are japanese cartoons.

Akira is more good in it's time than it is good. Most anime are better in series than films, decent films are Ghost In The Shell, Blood The Last Vampire, Porco Rosso (love that film) Perfect Blue decent series are Mushishi, Nadesico, Evangelion (but don't watch if you're new to anime as it's f**king confusing 1st time) & Cowboy Bebop (which is f**king brilliant).

Anyway back to comics...

Sorry - youre obv. totally correct re: manga & anime.

- - -

Does Scott Pilgrim count when talking about Manga? It is kinda like manga right?

For the record I think Scott Pilgrim #5 is one of the cleverest and most addictive books ive read in ages. #6 is out but I havent read it yet. Couple of dodgy reviews thusfar.

[jump]

Sorry - youre obv. totally correct re: manga & anime.

- - -

Does Scott Pilgrim count when talking about Manga? It is kinda like manga right?

For the record I think Scott Pilgrim #5 is one of the cleverest and most addictive books ive read in ages. #6 is out but I havent read it yet. Couple of dodgy reviews thusfar.

Maybe, I've got a passing intrest in both manga & comics but I'd say it's more manga influenced.

I really like no.6, I think the problem is that Scott is more aimed at teens and there's fan boy hate on it because it's big and he has really developed as a character, a tad more serious now than when it started and people are looking back and going it's not like this a the start. I really like how everything get's a closing in the books though.

[The Nal]

Just finished downloading 20 gigs worth of He-Man (cartoon). Its brilliant.

[windy_miller]

Has anyone read The Filth by Grant Morrison? One of the most f**ked up things I've ever read

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Filth-Grant-Morrison/dp/1840237392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280317606&sr=8-1

I highly recommend you check it out. It will bend your mind in on itself.

[Langdale Wolf]

Wooderson - do you remember the Transformers comic when Optimus Prime was destroyed after losing a battle set inside a video game? I think it was Prime and Protectobots versus Megatron and Combaticons.

Bloomin' awesome.

The cartoon wasn't a patch on the quality of some of the comic's storylines.

Just finished downloading 20 gigs worth of He-Man (cartoon). Its brilliant.

The original? One of the campest cartoons ever. It was ruined for me when I saw my first episode in about 2 decades not so long ago.

[The Nal]

The original? One of the campest cartoons ever. It was ruined for me when I saw my first episode in about 2 decades not so long ago.

Oh its dreadful, no doubts. Still hilarious though. He-Mans messages to the kids after are amazing.

Check out the anti drug message at 3 mins 50. Bit of a hypocrite, I never saw He-Ma exercise but he looks like a body builder. I reckon hes geared up to his eyeballs.

Edited July 28, 2010 by The Nal

[radish]

I used to run a branch of Forbidden Planet. Basically read comics (all of them, every single last one every week) and played with toys for a living. Favourites tended to be Brit stuff like Exit by Nabiel Kanan - http://www.calibercomics.com/TITLES/exit.htm - good luck finding that anywhere, and End of The Century Club - http://www.amazon.com/End-Century-Club-Countdown-v/dp/0952738600 - although as I said, I read everything. And enjoyed most of it.

Going way back to the 70s I got into comics from some hand-me-down 60s classics, JLA, JSA, Batman stuff, still have a couple hidden in a box somewhere (bagged and backed naturally). Grew up reading mainly DC staples, had a bit of Marvel but I didn't really like the UK reprints of Spider-Man et al, they lacked something, mostly colour, but also from memory they tended to cut the stories quite badly to fit the magazine formats. Just remembered I really used to like The Invaders by Marvel (WWII set team stuff with Captain America and a bunch of second-string heroes) and MTU/MTIO (if you know what they stand for you're welcome to join the offical geek club) probably because they were imports and not forced into the UK format.

Growing up a bit I started to get into some of the more 'thoughtful' stuff and hence moved away from DC, which I can see now was always a bit more concerned with the spectacle of it all. In the DC universe no matter what their personal lives are like, it's the hero-ing that comes first. With Marvel, it's more often the secret identity that comes first and the hero stuff gets in the way. Anyway, around now I started enjoying Captain Marvel (still do/did on the recentish run), Nightcrawler (although I still think the stories have never lived up to the character's potential) with still a liking for Green Lantern from the DC stable. Chuck in some great Brit stuff like Dr Who and some 2000AD classics, but then they're kind of 70s throwbacks anyway.

Into the 90s and that's when Tank Girl and stuff really re-ignited the Brit scene for me, took the 2000AD type stuff to the next level. Can't remember when I first read Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Concrete, Sandman, Death et al, but these for me were brilliant as they had an obvious Brit approach but on an American scale. Also subscribed to Deadline in the 90s, had some great stuff in there including End of the Century Club, Sadist (never concluded!), Cheeky Wee Budgy Boy and so on.

Present day and I have to say I don't buy comics any more. I've still got plenty stored safely in their cardboard coffins, but at most I'll pick up a graphic novel or collected edition of a run I'm interested in (intrigued by the Batman RIP stuff for example). It's just cheaper that way, I don't want to get drawn into buying 'just one more' issue to make sure I don't miss out on a story arc. Sadly that means I don't keep up with what's going on in the comic world now, other than through the odd online list type stuff. Enough for me.

Edited July 28, 2010 by radish