Goth Comics

[mttskates]

Does anyone have an opinion on any well done Gothic Comics? Not morbid, but Goth in the sense of Anne Rice or Edgar Allan Poe. All suggestions are welcome

Cheers
MC :cool:
Bloomington Indiana

[Luthor]

I'm assuming you know about Sandman, so we'll skip that.

That book Virgin is doing with Nic Cage and his son(the name of which completely escapes me) is very goth-y.

[JAFlanagan]

You know, I'll claim utter ignorance on this. I don't even know what a goth comic would be. Does O'Barr's The Crow count?

[mttskates]

I'm assuming you know about Sandman, so we'll skip that.

That book Virgin is doing with Nic Cage and his son(the name of which completely escapes me) is very goth-y.
Yes, I have read Sandman. I should have put all suggestions besides that.

Voodoo Child...is that it. Thank goodness for google. Also thanks for the suggestion. Now I have another publisher to keep track of with Virgin Comics. I have been out of the loop for about 17 years so I have so serious catching up to do.

[mttskates]

You know, I'll claim utter ignorance on this. I don't even know what a goth comic would be. Does O'Barr's The Crow count?

Definitely... I have been out of the loop for awhile and in the midst of catching up I wanted to see if there were any comics out there for this genre. Way back in the day I use to play a D&D game called "Ravenloft" and wanted to find something similar to that setting.

[Dave Accampo]

Y'know, this is a bit "cutesy" on the surface, but you might want to check out the Courtney Crumrin series from Oni Press. It's centers on a little goth girl, but the stories told usually deal with vampires and werewolves and witches and various other elements of Folklore. It's got a bit of a timeless quality.

Um, how about Hellboy? It's not exactly goth, more pulp (HP Lovecraft) than Poe, but it definitely has tons of atmosphere.

This may be out of print, but Anthony Johnston did a book from Oni called "Spooked" that might fit. It's modern, though. Are you searching more for a period piece?

Vertigo did a photo-comic graphic novel called "In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe", but again that's a few years old, and may not be in print.

Hmmm, it's actually a good question. Most of the modern indies I see seem to be about goth kids, y'know? I think maybe Sandman and it's follow ups burned out everyone on the whole gothic kick.

Maybe Mike Carey's Lucifer series from Vertigo that ended recently? I'm stretching from "gothic" a bit, but if you liked Sandman, I'd imagine you'd like Lucifer.

[JAFlanagan]

I think a lot of the Hellblazer trades would scratch those itches. They're certainly moody and creepy.

But I still don't know what goth means from a narrative standpoint.

[mttskates]

Y'know, this is a bit "cutesy" on the surface, but you might want to check out the Courtney Crumrin series from Oni Press. It's centers on a little goth girl, but the stories told usually deal with vampires and werewolves and witches and various other elements of Folklore. It's got a bit of a timeless quality.

Um, how about Hellboy? It's not exactly goth, more pulp (HP Lovecraft) than Poe, but it definitely has tons of atmosphere.

This may be out of print, but Anthony Johnston did a book from Oni called "Spooked" that might fit. It's modern, though. Are you searching more for a period piece?

Vertigo did a photo-comic graphic novel called "In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe", but again that's a few years old, and may not be in print.

Hmmm, it's actually a good question. Most of the modern indies I see seem to be about goth kids, y'know? I think maybe Sandman and it's follow ups burned out everyone on the whole gothic kick.

Maybe Mike Carey's Lucifer series from Vertigo that ended recently? I'm stretching from "gothic" a bit, but if you liked Sandman, I'd imagine you'd like Lucifer.

Awesome!!! That is exactly what I was looking for. I have a good foothold to get started on. I really enjoy Hellboy, and I am really looking for something with a "ravenloft (AD&D) feel to it. If there isnt something out there like this, maybe it would be a good idea to start one :)

[mttskates]

I think a lot of the Hellblazer trades would scratch those itches. They're certainly moody and creepy.

But I still don't know what goth means from a narrative standpoint.

Definitely going to check out all of Hellblazer. Surprisingly I really didnt care for the movie all that much. I think I need to read a ton of the comics and rewatch it. I dont think Keanu did that bad of a job so I cant blame that.

Good suggestion though, thanks

[mttskates]

OOOOoooh...I think I found a good one. Check this out... Favole: Stone Tears Book 1 TPB (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-740) from Dark Horse...Looking Good :)

[Ryan79]

Y'know, this is a bit "cutesy" on the surface, but you might want to check out the Courtney Crumrin series from Oni Press. It's centers on a little goth girl, but the stories told usually deal with vampires and werewolves and witches and various other elements of Folklore. It's got a bit of a timeless quality.


I'll add another Oni title to that. About a year ago there was a mini-series called "Ojo" that focused on a little girl and her pet...umm...thing. It was done by, I think, Keith Giffen. It might not be as gloomy as, say, The Crow, but it was the first thing I thuoght of when I saw this thread.

[xyzzy]

Well, they're pretty morbid, but how 'bout Squee! or Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Vasquez (you may know him from the Invader Zim cartoon series).

Or maybe Lenore or other work from Roman Dirge, in the same vein. Both Vasquez and Dirge publish primarily with Slave Labor Graphics.

For a Poe-esque story, how about Bad Mojo (http://comics.ign.com/articles/608/608029p1.html) by Steve Morris from AIT/Planetlar? Ah, those heady days when I wrote IGN...

[Dave Accampo]

But I still don't know what goth means from a narrative standpoint.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure. It's a bit of a gray area. I mean, there's a classic definition of "gothic fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_fiction)" but I'm not sure that's what we're really talking about here. So I'm just going on elements of atmosphere and style: ravenloft, sandman, anne rice, etc.

[itsbecca]

I'm not sure exactly what to consider goth, but I love a good horror comic when one comes out. My favorite series in recent history is Criminal Macabre written by Steve Niles and art by Ben Templesmith. There's a couple (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-402) trades (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-788) you can pick up now and the current mini (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-633) ends this month, so it should be available in a few months. It follows Cal McDonald, who kind of straddlez our society and the society of supernaturals among us. He's a private detective and bit of a haggard bad ass, in that he knows his way around a gun, but is pretty familiar with drugs too. Very fun book.

The Secret (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-989) was another fun mini from the summer I beleive, and it's also been released to trade (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-012). Although, it's sort of more in the thriller side of the genre. Definitley creepy and just beautiful art.

ALSO! There was a fantastic mini this year called City of Others (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-129) (Trade (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=14-133) soon). Also written by Steve Niles, but Bernie Wrightson on art (a titan in the genre). This one follows professional killer without a conscience, or really any emotion at all, Stosh Bludowski as he unwittingly stumbles upon the world of the undead and other mysteries surrounding the supernatural underworld. This was top of my stack every time it came out.

Lest I seem like a Dark Horse fangirl, I have to mention Fell (http://www.imagecomics.com/issue.php?item=3322) (I'm kind of surprised I'm the first). It's not horror per say, but I think it might have the sort of tone you're looking for. Very dark, very seedy and once again art by the delicious Ben Templesmith. It hasn't been out for a while (although image's site says #9 hits this month) but the trade is definitley worth it.

Sorry if I'm completley barking up the wrong tree, but I thought I'd throw 'em out there!

PS - I just realized you mentioned Ravenloft... I wonder if you'd like Death Dealer (http://www.imagecomics.com/previews.php?start=60[/url). Haven't read it myself, but have heard it described as "Dark Fantasy" so I thought I'd throw it out there. Image has a preview of the first issue on their site.

[Cav]

You might like Joann Sfar's "Vampire Loves"?

http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/images/giftsVL/vampireLovesGift003.jpg

There's a link to an excerpt here: http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/vampireLoves/vampireLovesGift001.html

[JonathanD.Gordon]

Without a doubt the best Goth comic being put out is Polyglot & Spleen which is a Goth Book almost akin to Addams Family with Romantic Elements thrown in. Issue 5 just came out and held up well to the first four. it is at
http://www.seraphemera.org/ I don't know if a lot of stores have it. My LCS puts it on shelves, though they are indy heavy.

[Dave Accampo]

Haven't read it, but I wonder if the Anita Blake stuff would fill that Ravenloft-y void he's seeking to fill...

[Winters_Night]

Go check out Simon Dark by steve niles

it's surprisingly set in the main DC universe (gotham city to be exact) but dont let that dissuade you, The Bat hasn't shown up once (yet)

very atmospheric, very creepy, very "goth"