View Full Version : Just started, need recommendations
sprucemoose
03-05-2007, 01:45 AM
As a kid, I never had any money to support comics as a habit and found myself on the outside looking in...now that I've got some money, I find myself listening to this podcast and wanting to get into comics, but I need some recommendations....so far I've picked up the following trades: Walking Dead (awesome), DMZ (awesome), Queen and Country (on 2nd trade, kinda slow), Dark Knight Returns and Identity Crisis
While I watched the X-men cartoons as a kid, after starting Identity Crisis, I'm liking the timeless style of the DC universe but I'm confused as hell...any suggestions on pivotal trades? I like moral ambiguity (Superman bores the hell out of me), so think Batman: Year One might be a good place to start. Plus I think Crisis on Infinite Earths might help my confusion...are there any other good story arcs/runs in the DCU that I might overlook? (Also the whole new Flash and a new Green Lantern in Identity Crisis seems cool, what arcs explain that? What are some good Flash stuff in general?)
As for independent, I'm liking the stuff I picked up, but I was wondering if theres some good titles that are more philosophical/mature in nature with some themes/ideas that you can think about after you read it. You know, something I can really stink my teeth into. I think Y: The Last Man and Utopiates (sp?) seem interesting because of the sci-fi/drugs aspects of them, respectively...any other recommendations?
Finally, any suggestions for must reads (besides Watchmen)?
For those that read to end of this rambling post, thanks!
Hey, you're welcome and welcome to the forum. For Batman, my favorites are Year One, the Long Halloween, Dark Victory, The Killing Joke, Dark Knight Returns, and Hush.
I don't like Superman either because he's too powerful. Can't do anything really fun with him. Superman Red Son is a must read though. It's awesome. Even I like it. Also, Allstar Superman has been good.
Some others: Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Sin City, Invincible, and 400 others that will come to my head as soon as I click post.
I'm more into Marvel than DC so if there's anyone at Marvel you like let me know. Always glad to help.
paper
03-05-2007, 01:52 AM
Can't help much with the DCU stuff, but...other stuff...
If Y The Last Man even looks remotely interesting to you, pick it up. Belongs in any comic reader's library.
Bendis' Powers is all about the moral ambiguity. Daredevil too (starting with Kevin Smith's mini, moving over to Mack and Bendis).
From Hell, V For Vendetta, Lost Girls, Watchmen(sorry), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
paper
03-05-2007, 01:58 AM
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
League is fun. A good balance of dark/philosophical and plain old superhero swashbuckling. I hate that the movie is probably keeping some people from checking out the books.
acomicbookgirl
03-05-2007, 01:58 AM
Daredevil: Born Again. Green Lantern is pretty good. JLA and JSA. If you can find a Secret Origins. I think there was one of Green Lantern that came out last year with the relaunching and all..
acomicbookgirl
03-05-2007, 01:59 AM
From Hell, V For Vendetta, Lost Girls, Watchmen(sorry), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
V for Vendetta is my all time favorite in regards to Alan Moore. :)
Hmm, Flash stuff, the Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins Run was fantastic, taking old rogues and making them bad ass and introducing some awesome new rogues (Murmur for example). Lots of people recommend the Mark Waid years as well which came before, I started here however and loved it.
Independant stuff, if you like Moral Ambiguity, I'd recommend Matt Wagner's "Grendel: Devil's Legacy" trade. The hero is VERY conflicted and driven to the edge after losing her son (to Vampires no less)
Oh and anything by Paul Pope, "100%" specifically, futuristic love with art like nobody else.
And Of course Brubaker and Phillips "Sleeper", a 4 trade complete story and still one of my favs. A super powered undercover agent gets f-ed when everyone who knows he's undercover either dies or is a coma. Good stuff.
Good luck man.
League is fun. A good balance of dark/philosophical and plain old superhero swashbuckling. I hate that the movie is probably keeping some people from checking out the books.
I heard about it beforehand and never saw it
Daredevil: Born Again. Green Lantern is pretty good. JLA and JSA. If you can find a Secret Origins. I think there was one of Green Lantern that came out last year with the relaunching and all..
Born Again is the shit as far as DD stories go. Also, The Man Without Fear and Daredevil Yellow. Volume 2, the latest relaunch from 1-94 is awesome as well.
While I'm thinking of the Marvel Color books - Hulk Gray is a great story
Grant morrison's JLA is great
V for Vendetta is my all time favorite in regards to Alan Moore. :)
Me too, followed very closely by Lost Girls and then From Hell
Watchmen and LOEG are good but they pale next to these
this statement should be controversial
How come nobody ever gives props to Alan Moore's Top Ten, I thought it was fantastic? Has nobody read it?
big-doze
03-05-2007, 02:27 AM
As always I recommend Runaways very highly. A great portal into the Marvel U, but make sure to start at the beginning to avoid ruining the secrets lying within.
Also Bone, by Jeff Smith, is a masterpiece. If Lord of the Rings or even Calvin and Hobbes appeals to you, check it out.
Straight super hero? JSA is great, but you'll be confused for sure. If you're looking for moral ambiguity, might I suggest certain runs of Deadpool, specifically those written by Joe Kelly or Gail Simone? Genius, and hilarious.
acomicbookgirl
03-05-2007, 02:28 AM
Me too, followed very closely by Lost Girls and then From Hell
Watchmen and LOEG are good but they pale next to these
this statement should be controversial
I haven't read Lost Girls. I liked From Hell. Watchmen is up there but not all time fav.
k-dizzle
03-05-2007, 03:23 AM
How come nobody ever gives props to Alan Moore's Top Ten, I thought it was fantastic? Has nobody read it? I read. I like.
How come nobody ever gives props to Alan Moore's Top Ten, I thought it was fantastic? Has nobody read it?
Yeah, I read 'em recently and they were great - Moore makes storytelling seem so easy, effortlessly bringing together plots, sub-plots and characters while still slyly commenting on and wink-wink-ing at superhero comics. Which reminds me I still have to get to the Forty-Niners GN.
k-dizzle
03-05-2007, 03:28 AM
Yeah, I read 'em recently and they were great - Moore makes storytelling seem so easy, effortlessly bringing together plots, sub-plots and characters while still slyly commenting on and wink-wink-ing at superhero comics. Which reminds me I still have to get to the Forty-Niners GN. To bad ben foster cant pull that off. I read his book. blow job city.
Oh, and back to the original request - you mentioned liking the timelessness of DC and surprisingly no one has mentioned New Frontier (unless I missed it). Even though it isn't ostensibly a modern story, it really made me understand and appreciate DCU more than I ever had before, being a mostly Marvel guy.
Oh, and back to the original request - you mentioned liking the timelessness of DC and surprisingly no one has mentioned New Frontier (unless I missed it). Even though it isn't ostensibly a modern story, it really made me understand and appreciate DCU more than I ever had before, being a mostly Marvel guy.
you're totally right. I forgot that one too and I loved it even as a Marvel Zombie
k-dizzle
03-05-2007, 03:37 AM
you're totally right. I forgot that one too and I loved it even as a Marvel Zombie thats another one. Buy the Marvel Zombies hardcover. If you like marvel.......oh and Zombies.
jgg0610
03-05-2007, 03:40 AM
On the DC side, check out the Rucka/Brubaker run on Detective/Batman. Any of the Loeb Sale collaborations are great. I just recently finished Daredevil Yellow and it is awesome.
Morally ambiguous is a good way to describe 100 Bullets. If you're having trouble getting into Q&C, backup and try Whiteout and Whiteout Melt first. That might give you a little bit of an introduction to the character.
k-dizzle
03-05-2007, 03:41 AM
or babies and jesus
Damn you remember that? If you dont like Marvel Zombies the chances are you HATE babies and DESPISE Jesus.
humphrey-lee
03-05-2007, 03:53 AM
Current books that need attention:
Fables
Ex Machina
Local
DMZ
Wasteland
Criminal
X-Factor
100 Bullets
The Walking Dead
Casanova
Fell
And classic runs that everyone has probably already recommended to death by now (and maybe a couple they haven't):
Preacher
Transmetropolitan
Starman
Sandman
Lucifer
Shade The Chaning Man
Morrison's Animal Man
Morrison's Doom Patrol
Sleeper
Concrete
Alan Moore's Top Ten
Sin City
kwok_talk
03-05-2007, 05:14 AM
Maybe a suggestion, but it seems like every few weeks we have another suggestion thread. Could we maybe just post a sticky "recommendations" thread so we don't have to keep rewriting our suggestions?
I know its mildly hypocritical for me to ask for that since I think I posted the first "suggest something to me" thread here.
jaflanagan
03-05-2007, 05:32 AM
It's like I don't need to even do anything anymore.
Th thing about a sticky suggestions thread is that eventually, it will just get long and scary for new people. Besides, I'm not sure anyone minds doing the recommendations so far.
And this dude did it right. He said what he liked and what he wanted. And then was bombarded with 25 years and $50,000 worth of comics.
See, right now, I want someone to be able to come in here, and say, what should I read, and get an answer, rather than a "refer to this thread and leave us to speak of more important things."
Welcome the noobs, for we were all once among them.
Also, keep watching the vid show, and listening to the audio show, because we answer some form of this question almost every week.
The real question is, how many times can we all suggest for someone to read Y: The Last Man, before everyone on earth has a copy? I say we go for the gold.
humphrey-lee
03-05-2007, 07:17 AM
It's like I don't need to even do anything anymore.
Th thing about a sticky suggestions thread is that eventually, it will just get long and scary for new people. Besides, I'm not sure anyone minds doing the recommendations so far.
And this dude did it right. He said what he liked and what he wanted. And then was bombarded with 25 years and $50,000 worth of comics.
See, right now, I want someone to be able to come in here, and say, what should I read, and get an answer, rather than a "refer to this thread and leave us to speak of more important things."
Welcome the noobs, for we were all once among them.
Also, keep watching the vid show, and listening to the audio show, because we answer some form of this question almost every week.
The real question is, how many times can we all suggest for someone to read Y: The Last Man, before everyone on earth has a copy? I say we go for the gold.
New threads are the way to go. The old ones do get cumbersome. Besides, it only takes me two seconds to type "BUY FABLES YOU GODLESS BASTARDS!!!" ove and over again. :D
Th thing about a sticky suggestions thread is that eventually, it will just get long and scary for new people. Besides, I'm not sure anyone minds doing the recommendations so far.
I agree that they should be new things. also 2 things:
1) I certainly don't mind doing recommendations
2) there can only be so many stickies (don't look at me I didn't start that other thing) before all the content people are on now isn't even displayed on the page
jaflanagan
03-05-2007, 01:41 PM
I agree that they should be new things. also 2 things:
1) I certainly don't mind doing recommendations
2) there can only be so many stickies (don't look at me I didn't start that other thing) before all the content people are on now isn't even displayed on the page
This is also certainly a factor.
kwok_talk
03-05-2007, 03:14 PM
Points well taken.
Then I suggest Y: the Last Man just like everyone else.
drwally
03-05-2007, 04:27 PM
I don't know about moral ambiguity...but I just started STARMAN: SINS OF THE FATHER (trade, 1st in series), and 2/3's in, I already ordered the next three. Basic story is son taking up the mantle of his father, who was a hero in the 1940s. The son is no way going to wear the cape and tights, more an ordinary guy you could relate to, and the old hero in question, Starman, became so obscure when the series was written that it really doesn't touch much on the rest of the DC universe. The writer assumed most of the readers would not know his references, and he brings together "fantastic world" and "ordinary world" quite well.
I think most people here would highly recommend that one.
NEW FRONTIERS -- my goodness yes, yes, and yes. Books like this that are almost like a "historical story" are good, because many modern day comic readers don't always know much about "the old days," so you avoid all the tie-ins to modern developments of characters. Something like Batman: Year One is a good choice too.
For a regular "now coming out every month now" book: The Spirit, by the same guy who did New Frontiers (Darwyn Cooke), and also Jeff Smith's SHAZAM book. I bet most people here couldn't name The Spirit's rogues gallery or know much (if anything) about Mr. Mind, but you will no doubt hear much love thrown at both these books in the months to come. Those books are just plain, clean fun that will melt any iceburg, so Daredevil and Iron Fist are your good choices for a darker approach. And Josh has been right when he says, "half the fun sometimes is just jumping in and not worrying who this or that person is; if it really is a good book, half the fun is finding out."
I wouldn't get too worried about Identity Crisis -- remember, you don't have to take a test on who wears what and why they wear their costumes and masks like people wear T-Shirts and jeans (everywhere). I think I had as much DCU knowledge as you do going in (honestly! I was a big Marvel Zombie years and years ago)... As an "event" book that features a team of superheros, this one is as friendly to non regular readers as you can get. Not true of its follow up, The Omac Project and the multiple tie-ins that come after-- at that point it really is "need to know too much," and my reaction (not great) is probably very different from all those four star reviewers at Amazon (no doubt regular DC readers).
At some point, you just have to be like "Oh, Wonder Woman can fly now, whatever," or, "The guy in the Flash costume used to be a different guy, OK, whatever," to get past a certain barrier. Then you can get into stories on a deeper level, and things may then get a little ambigous...
Remember, ambiguity means not always knowing which way is up or down right from the start...
sprucemoose
03-05-2007, 04:37 PM
Wow! thanks for the recommendations everyone...
As far as mature themes, I'm sensing that most things Alan Moore are a safe bet, so I'll probably start out with From Hell, LOEG and/or Top Ten
Transmetropolitan looks interesting, so I'll be sure to pick that up
THanks for the Batman/Flash suggestions too, there's a bunch of stuff on these characters, so giving me some key runs/arcs is really helpful
Although I paged through one of the Y: the last man trades and I was a little skeptical when I saw a bearded she-pirate, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt
Again, thanks for the quick replys, this has been REALLY helpful!
iSteve
03-05-2007, 04:39 PM
SpruceMoose,
If you like Batman, check out the following trades:
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: No Man's Land
Batman: Cataclysm
Batman: War Games
Batman: Bruce Wayne - Murderer?
Batman: Bruce Wayne - Fugitive
Batman: Contagion
Batman: War Drums
They are fun reads.
Much of Alan Moore's stuff is definitely mature themed. I should've mentioned that Lost Girls is a great book that's not for everyone. It's very sexual and graphic and intentionally crosses taboo lines to poke at the reader.
jgg0610
03-05-2007, 06:27 PM
Much of Alan Moore's stuff is definitely mature themed. I should've mentioned that Lost Girls is a great book that's not for everyone. It's very sexual and graphic and intentionally crosses taboo lines to poke at the reader.
Glad you pointed this out about Lost Girls. It certainly felt like the whole project was written and drawn with the idea to rile people up. It's definitely not for everyone and the art is very different, nice but different. These two thing combined can make this work a little less accessible.
It's not the most accessible thing ever, but I think that if you're inclined to be open minded then you'll get something out of it. The thing about it is though, in fairness to Moore, that if you're inclined to be offended by it then you probably wouldn't get it in the first place. He definitely pushes buttons. I'm fairly jaded and there were a few things where I was like 'oh wow'. I think he does it with his goal in mind though.
These two thing combined can make this work a little less accessible.
Not to mention it does carry a hefty price tag...
I agree that they should be new things. also 2 things:
1) I certainly don't mind doing recommendations
Yeah recommendations are alot of the fun of comic reading, by the gods I'll convice someone out there to read Grendel: Devil's Legacy...
xyzzy
03-05-2007, 06:52 PM
I'm going to strongly discourage you from trying to use Crisis on Infinite Earths as your guide to the DCU. Aside from the fact that the fallout from that event is mostly not relevant anymore, the truth is that the narrative as presented in the TPB is a mess. Plot threads wander in and out with no explanation. Characters, too.
Typically, I like to work my way from the outside in. Read the self-contained out of continuity stories first. They'll give you an idea about who the characters are enough that when you read them in the main books, you'll know who they are. These would be books like New Frontier, Kingdom Come, Superman: Red Son and Superman: Secret Identity. Then read some of the fringe books. Set in the DCU, but not in the thick of things, like Gotham Central and Manhunter.
As far as mature, philosophical titles, based on what you've liked so far, I'm going to recommend the Surrogates from Oni Press. Really an outstanding science fiction/noir mystery story with a thoughtful look at identity and the disconnect that technology can create.
Also, one of my all time favorite books is Soulwind (collected in The Complete Soulwind) by Scott Morse, also from Oni. Don't be thrown by the first story. The art style and story type vary wildly from chapter to chapter, but when it all comes together, it's fantastic.
Also, there are several books out there that are more modern takes on the superhero genre, deconstructing it a little bit. Astro City, Top 10 and Powers are some good examples of these. You'll probably like them, given your tastes.
Not to mention it does carry a hefty price tag...
when you see it though, you'll completely understand. It's a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL book done in the style of the Victorian childrens book tradition. It's really very impressively dressed.