What are you reading, right now?

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What are you reading, right now?

Postby Agent C » Fri Jan 10, 2014 4:43 pm

Admittedly, I have been out of touch with comics for some time. I made the trip to my local shop this week to pick up a Previews catalog. I wanted to get a feel for what is going on. It seems DC is in the midst of yet another mega series, and Marvel is something I can't seem to figure out. I guess they have opted to renumber again. I just hate starting in the middle of a story.

Any one have any suggestions?
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby ntnon » Fri Jan 10, 2014 7:01 pm

What do you like/what have you enjoyed previously?

My advice is to steer clear of the (largely) poorly-thought out current Big Two titles, and head for some of the overlooked great series' of the past and recent-past.

Which "new-to-you" titles I will happily recommend if you give me an idea of what you have liked reading in the past! :)
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby Agent C » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:39 pm

I have really enjoyed Hellboy and The Goon. Of course, BPRD and Abe Sapien all go with it. The big two have disappointed. I really can't tell you the last time I regularly read something from them. For nostalgic reasons, I liked what IDW had done with Transformers and GI Joe. I have heard good things about Fables and 100 Bullets. I did notice that Marvel was producing a limited run comic called Disney's Kingdoms Seeker of the Weird. That looks interesting and it is supposed to start this coming Wednesday.
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby ntnon » Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:19 am

Fables and 100 Bullets are indeed great. Fables has been perpetually due a TV adaptation, but Once Upon a Time seems to have quashed it, which is a great shame. Fables is about the best mix of genres with all storylines populated by near-reasonable "realistic" fables and fairytale characters. The cameos and machinations are impeccably thought through, and the shifting of typical heroes into villains (and vice versa) added to the melding of some iterations - the Princes Charming, the Jacks - makes for really entertaining reading. It IS Vertigo, though, which means some 'adult' language, themes, etc.

100 Bullets is as good a crime/noir comic as they come (though Brubaker's Sleeper and Criminal are rightly lauded). The twists and turns are phenomenal, and the high concept summation - and untraceable weapon and promise of impunity offered to someone with a grudge/debt/duty - was a brilliant one even before the layers of plot and intrigue. And there's so much going on..!

Have you tried James Robinson's 90s Starman, Neil Gaiman's Sandman or Alan Moore's... everything..?

And if you like those published by Dark Horse titles, what do think of their Mask, Indiana Jones or Star Wars licenced offerings - or of Concrete, Mister X and Sin City..?
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby Agent C » Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:33 am

I've tried Alan Moore and he has been a mixed bag with me. As much as people fall all over the Watchmen, I didn't care for it much. I did enjoy V, and I liked the atom Strong stuff. I have not tried Starman or Sandman. I will take a look at those. Thanks for the info on Fables and 100 Bullets. I will give them a look.
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby ntnon » Sat Jan 11, 2014 1:52 am

(I added an addendum about DH, since it looks like you were typing as I was.)

I actually prefer V to Watchmen, although - at the risk of sounding patronising (I hope it doesn't read that way; certainly isn't intended to be) - it becomes greater every read as you really get to grips with all the levels not just of story, not just of history, reference and pastiche, but of pure comics craft. One issue has mirrored panels - the first echoes the last and so on until the two sides meet in the middle. Then there's the additional materials that really flesh out the world, and the asides about capes and... it does leave some cold, and I suspect there's also now a problem of age and being over- referenced. WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS were (are) so, so influential and important that in some respects the originals seem stale and surpassed... although sadly neither has.

If you like Tom Strong - good! - you might also like Moore's Supreme, Busiek's Astro City or even the recent Conan comics. They all hearken back to the Golden/Atomic Age in style and tone (somewhat). Have you tried Promethea..?

My recollection of Bullets and Fables is that they are among the rare(ish) titles that start almost as strong as their best, so the first collections ought to give you a fair idea of whether it'll be interesting enough for you to continue with them. Sandman needs a little more perseverance, but is very mythical and intricate and epic. It's not much like Hellboy, but I got the same sort of vibe from each. And if you did like Sandman, then the companion series by Mike Carey - which can easily be read alone, and probably should - is even better. Lucifer remains one of my personal favourite Vertigo series'. And there are many great ones!
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby Agent C » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:11 am

I do like Astro City, and what I have been able to read of Promethea I have enjoyed. I thought the first couple League of Extraordinary Gentlmen were pretty good. As for Watchmen, the extra content is one of the things I disliked. I understand why he did it, and I applaud him for that kind of vision, but it just wasn't for me. It may have been how I read it. I read the graphic novel. I can see if it was on a month to month basis, it my be better. I should probably go back and just read the story without the extras.

I really do enjoy the Goon. It is just crazy zombie noir that shouldn't fit together, but it does. The characters really are what make the story and specifically the supporting characters. We need more titles like the ones we've mentioned. I think of a guy like Brian Michael Bendis. He has dome some really fine titles, but now, he has gotten so tied up with the super hero title can barely read him any more. You can insert Rucka and Johns in there as well.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I know I can't read the big two anymore, and now, linden sing has gotten so over the top, it is had to find a good original story.
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby ntnon » Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:04 pm

Queen & Country, Powers, Jinx...

I do think Watchmen suffers from a weight of expectation - and things like Astro City, Powers, Top Ten (even Gotham Central and WildStorm's brief Ellis/Millar reign) - that it can hardly live up to. Reading it when it came out (...or didn't for months on end) when there was (nearly) NOTHING like it must have been a breatb of fresh air. But now it's the pressed-upon cornerstone that gets praise and blame for what followed. The bonus bits are 'only' bonus bits, though. Even Black Freighter - though purists would be appalled - isn't necessary. If you like thematic resonance and asides and recurring details, though, there are a dozen levels to every single thing in there..!

The benefit of living in the golden age of reprints is that, while there may not be much coming out that is "new," there is a mountain of stuff from the last hundred (yep) years that is great..!
 
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Re: What are you reading, right now?

Postby KyletheCartoonist » Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:51 pm

Does it have to be a comic? Because I'm only just now reading the Harry Potter series. That Hagrid is hilarious!
Not dead, just busy. :)
 
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