Must Have Trades

[qswordfish]

What are some must read trades i can start at the beginning?
Any suggestions are welcome. Right now I'm reading New Avengers from the beginning and just picked up Watchmen. List some great stories and the brief overview of what they are about.

Thanks in advance

[hank41]

-Invicible
An 18 year old kid finds out that he is going to get superpowers and his dad is the Superman of their world. Most people on the board love this book

-Walking Dead
The best zombie story ever

-Box Office Poison
Slice-of-life about a 20-something trying to figure what he wants to do with his life and how to do it

-The Dark Knight Returns
Simply put, the best Batman story out there. You can also check out Batman: Year One

-Sin City
Yeah, like the movie


I don't know, that's just my opinion for a good starter set. You're gonna get some great feedback from these guys

[hank41]

some others i just thought of

-DC: The New Frontier
A re-telling of the beginning of the DC universe

-Ultimate Spider-man
A re-telling of Spider-man

-Scott Pilgrim
Magna-espue awesomeness on a page...with video games

[gobo]

If your library has trades and graphic novels I would go and take a few out from there first and see what kind of things turn your crank. Trades can get expensive quick if you're just trying things out and don't have an idea about what sticks

[hank41]

great point

libraries with trades FTW

[electricshoes]

Y: The Last Man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_the_last_man)

It is one of the best stories I have read, and the series that brought me back to comics. You should check it out.

[georgexjr]

am i the only one that doesn't dig on walking dead?

sheesh.

[hank41]

YES!!! just kiddin.

i know of a lot of people at my LCS that only picked up the first trade and haven't followed up because they didn't dig on it

[georgexjr]

i got through the second one, but it was tuff.

[conanobrien]

You should check out the top five and five through ten trade recommendations on the video show. I just started reading as well and so far I have been looking for the best books and I have picked up about 20 or so trades and I haven't gotten a book I disliked yet.


Those episodes I mentioned are numbers 1 and 52.

[mari0]

am i the only one that doesn't dig on walking dead?

sheesh.

I picked the first hardcover and didn't really enjoy it.
It isn't bad, I can see what people like about it but it just didn't pull me in like I thought it would.


I would pick up DMZ.
- A civil war is taking place in the U.S and Manhattan is the location of the demilitarized zone between the two warring parties. Great writing and art.

[georgexjr]

funny you should say that i just went to the shop and bought vol. 1

[hank41]

oooooooooooooooooo dmz is gooooooood

[deadspace]

I'll second Y THE LAST MAN.
Basically something wipes out every male member of every species except one guy Yorick... and his monkey. I haven't finished all the trades yet but it's easily one of the best things I've ever read.

Also:

PRIDE OF BAGHDAD
A group of lions in Baghdad are free to leave the zoo because it's been bombed during the war. It follows them through the bombed city.. and I'll not give any more away. It's an amazingly well executed story - stunningly beautful both in story-telling and artwork. It's just the one book.

WE3
Another animal one that again is so so well executed. I don't want to give too much away but the dialogue between the animals was so well done. It's a short story (just 3 comics collected in 1 book) about a dog, a cat and a rabbit that have been technologically modified to become.. weapons basically. Gorgeous artwork.

FELL
This is about a homocide detective called Richard Fell who has been transferred to a shithole town called Snowtown. It is a terribly dark, decaying, rotten and forgotten town. This comic is ongoing but issues are released now once in a blue moon. The good thing though is that each story is self-contained so waiting for another issue isn't too bad. The first 8 (i think its 8 anyway) stories are collected in a trade - they're all great! It's crime in terms of genre but thriller/horror too - helped loads by the amazing artwork of Ben Templesmith.

FABLES
This one is ongoing but there are already 10 trades! It's about all the characters from fairy tales (snow white, little red riding hood, pinocchio, the big bad wolf, beauty and the beast etc) who have been forced out of their 'homelands' by 'the adversary'. They are now living in an area of New York they call Fabletown but keeping their identities secret from ordinary human beings (who they call "the mundanes" or "mundys"). The ones who cannot take human form have had to be taken to a remote area they call "The Farm" so that they can't be discovered by the 'mundys'. This one has won numerous Eisner awards.

[georgexjr]

are these MUST HAVES?

Y: the last man, yes. watchmen, dunno never read it, but everyone swears by it.

fables? doesnt sound must have.

more opinions on fables? i actually picked it up took a look, didn't recognize the writer and went with dmz.

[paper]

Fables is polarizing. Love it or hate it, it's a very important book in the current state of things.

[deadspace]

are these MUST HAVES?

Y: the last man, yes. watchmen, dunno never read it, but everyone swears by it.

fables? doesnt sound must have.

more opinions on fables? i actually picked it up took a look, didn't recognize the writer and went with dmz.

how does a book "sound" like a must have? i don't think you can read a few sentences on a comic that spans 10 trades and is still going and decide it doesn't "sound" like a must have :S

all you're going to get in a thread like this is opinions. i listed what are in my opinion must haves that hadn't been mentioned yet.

[georgexjr]

more then one guy saying it was good?

[paper]

Guy as opposed to girl? That shouldn't matter.

Plenty of guys read it, yes. It's a popular Vertigo title.

[georgexjr]

i hope your being sarcastic. gender has nothing to do with anything.

[paper]

It was just the way you phrased it. Sorry. :D

[cenquist]

Bone-The Complete Volume

and everything else already said.....

[odds-bodkins]

Bone-The Complete Volume

and everything else already said.....

I read Bone, cover to cover, this weekend. Bone is to LOTR as Toy Story is to 2001. God, I loved it.

[deadspace]

more then one guy saying it was good?

Fables is a hugely popular book. In terms of recent comics, it's easily a must-read.

I just didn't understand your comment about it not sounding like a must-read.

And I'm not a guy :)

[deadspace]

Some books you'll see talked about a lot:

WATCHMEN
FROM HELL
LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
V FOR VENDETTA
SIN CITY
300
BATMAN YEAR ONE
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
MARVELS
MAUS
THE SANDMAN
PREACHER
BONE
EX MACHINA
INVINCIBLE
THE INVISIBLES
THE SPIRIT
DMZ
100 BULLETS
STRANGERS IN PARADISE

[georgexjr]

Some books you'll see talked about a lot:

WATCHMEN
FROM HELL
LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN
V FOR VENDETTA
SIN CITY
300
BATMAN YEAR ONE
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
MARVELS
MAUS
THE SANDMAN
PREACHER
BONE
EX MACHINA
INVINCIBLE
THE INVISIBLES
THE SPIRIT
DMZ
100 BULLETS
STRANGERS IN PARADISE


marvels - prolly the best thing ive ever read
bone - big fan
ex machina - read the "delux hc" loved it but the hc and tpb's dont match up. lame.
dmz - reading right now(vol.1)
batman (dark night/yearone) - read em both, didn't care cause im not a batman fan.

100 bullets - is it consistantly good? i here mixed reviews...
preacher - my friend is prolly gonna make me read it.

[deadspace]

ex machina - read the "delux hc" loved it but the hc and tpb's dont match up. lame.


it's a bit weird they did it that way, but still, it's only an overlap of one issue.


100 bullets - is it consistantly good? i here mixed reviews...


i haven't read it all but my own personal opinion is that it's a definite worth-read rather than a must-read. but i see it talked about positively a lot... and it's won awards if you care about that kinda thing.

[timmywood-]

Honestly the majority of titles from Vertigo are usually pretty good stories and I seldomly hear people dissapointed by them

Y: The Last Man
Preacher
Transmetropolitan
Doom Patrol
Animal Man

And there are others that I haven't read but I plan on someday
DMZ
The Invisbles

Even things I don't care for that much that are Vertigo (Fables, Sandman) I am still glad that I read it. Even though I didn't love as much as others did. They are still really good comics even if they aren't your thing.

[hank41]

wow, i hope this dude is loaded or has a rad library

[georgexjr]

we should do a thread where we take pictures of our book shevles.

dmz is gooooooood.

[hank41]

that's actually a good idea. i'd do it

[georgexjr]

im totally in. my non comic reading friends aren't usually impressed.

i dont even know how to post a pic on this thing but ill figure it out and do it later if someone doesn't beat me to it.

[bdf]

Taste is very peculiar and every thread about "must-reads" usually shows that.

Since I had been away from comics for a few years, I bought mainly trades when I came back, and Vertigo because I didn't know where to start.

- For some reason, I did not enjoy DMZ (at least the first trade) I might go try the second on just to be sure.
- Preacher is a classic, although I find it a bit overrated generally but it is still very good. The only thing I could say negative about the book is that it feels a bit too long at times. I think the whole story could have been done with 1-2 less trades (so what 10-15 issues).
-100 Bullets I enjoy very much, but it can be confusing read if you don't start from the beginning (at least it was to me).
- Bone the complete series in one book is just fantastic, and the best bang for your buck.
- Fables is great too, but it is not "as deep" (I use the term "deep" loosely) as others. It's just enjoyable kind of book that you can read a few times.
- I force myself (weird) to like Transmetropolitan but I just can't. I've realized lately that I don't really care for Ellis style. That probably makes me a minority in the CB community, but I don't know, I often feel like he thinks he's so much smarter that his reader and spew anything with the final idea being (well, if you don't think it makes a whole lot of sense, you're probably not smart enough.) A lot of people like his books though so it's worth a try for sure. But for me, not at large at first.
- Y the last man and Ex Machina are very good and as someone told before, Vaughan has a way to make you care about the characters. I'll have to pick up Pride of Baghdad soon.

- If you like Espionage, I truly enjoyed Queen and Country. Can't wait for the next book.

Finally, if you like historic stuff, and although it is not a comic book per se, you can't go wrong with Maus.

Cheers.

[georgexjr]

have i said how much i like dmz lately? its good.

i get that feeling with ellis as well. i like transmetropolitan. but his stuff is hit or miss. i tried gravel and didn't like it. anna murcury is bad too. black summer is good.

[sugarsickness]

we should do a thread where we take pictures of our book shevles.

dmz is gooooooood.

I need to find my camera now!!

[hank41]

whoever the first one is to do it, start a new thread

[georgexjr]

i just rememberd my camera is f'd. its either camera phone or wait like two weeks. shit.

[deadspace]

have i said how much i like dmz lately? its good.

i get that feeling with ellis as well. i like transmetropolitan. but his stuff is hit or miss. i tried gravel and didn't like it. anna murcury is bad too. black summer is good.

I recommend FELL if you haven't read it. Ellis' writing goes really well with Ben Templesmith's art.

[deadspace]

whoever the first one is to do it, start a new thread

I love those kinds of threads... it's going to make me jealous though. My collection is pretty small :(

[georgexjr]

I love those kinds of threads... it's going to make me jealous though. My collection is pretty small :(

quality, not quantity.

oh and i will get fell.

[hank41]

@DeadSpace

that's what it's for...INTIMIDATION and DOMINATION!!!!!

jk

[sugarsickness]

I recommend FELL if you haven't read it. Ellis' writing goes really well with Ben Templesmith's art.
Even though Fell is a series of stand alone issues, that Feral City trade makes one incredible, complete, over all tale. It's just so good.

[hank41]

the trade really is fantastic

[deadspace]

Even though Fell is a series of stand alone issues, that Feral City trade makes one incredible, complete, over all tale. It's just so good.

totally agree. that trade is perfect. i still wish the issues would come out more regularly though.

[hank41]

amen to that. imagine how "waiting for the trade" is when the issues come out once every 6 months

[zombox]

Well, here is a short and non-comprehensive list.

Watchmen
Killing Joke
DKR
Complete Invincible series
Complete Walking Dead
Complete League o Extraordinary Gentlemen
Complete Top Ten
Complete Preacher
Kingdom Come
Inferno (X-Men)
Phoenix Saga (X-Men)
Days Future Past (X-Men)
Complete Starman
Complete Sin City
Welcome Back, Frank (Punisher)
Long Bow Hunters (Green Arrow)
American Flagg
Complete Fables
Complete Y: The Last Man

That should keep you reading for several months alone...

[hank41]

ive never read Leauge of Extraordinary Gentelmen, American Flagg, or...Preacher! I know, i know. please don't hit me. im waiting for the hardcovers coming "soon"

[optimus187prime]

am i the only one that doesn't dig on walking dead?

sheesh.
Yes

we should do a thread where we take pictures of our book shevles.

dmz is gooooooood.

Im down with that. I got a killer 'geek room' I could take some pics of.


Recommendations:
Punisher MAX
100 Bullets
Y
Walking Dead
Queen & Country
Astonishing X-Men (Whedon)
Green Lantern Rebirth
Nightwing Year One
Preacher
Cap (Brubaker)
Battle Royale

[deadspace]

amen to that. imagine how "waiting for the trade" is when the issues come out once every 6 months

haha yeah, that'd be pretty painful

[hank41]

oh geek rooms FTW

[optimus187prime]

oh geek rooms FTW

A lair if you will. The deal was "Honey if I let you decorate the whole house can I have one room for my stuff ?"

[hank41]

ha! you're lucky you didn't just get a geek corner. those suck.

[owlboy]

or a geek shelf

[optimus187prime]

You should just put that geek foot down. I have too much stuff that I have collected to be relegated to a corner/shelf.

[owlboy]

But that would require me to grow a geek spine and that almost seems like an oxymoron.

[optimus187prime]

But that would require me to grow a geek spine and that almost seems like an oxymoron.

touche;)

[euchre0]

I don't think anyone's mentioned Powers, but it is definitely one of my must haves. Specifically volume 7, but the impact is only there because of the entire series.

Also, Daredevil vol. 4-6 by Bendis and Maleev. Fan-tastic.

[georgexjr]

powers should have been assumed.

[nukethewhalesagain]

I can't believe its been 6 pages and no one has mentioned Batman: The Long Halloween. Not only does it have a great Batman/detective story but it tells a great origin story as well. Also Jeph Loeb does that thing he does where he uses every Batman villain but this is the only time I've felt he pulled it off well.

[hank41]

it's fair to say that Bendis/Maleev Daredevil & Loeb/Sale anything are both pretty awesome