graphic novels/comic books

aka calling JB and eddie thread.

what ya'll been reading lately? I can't afford the per-issue habit these days, so im down to just buying the novel collections of my favorites, but as i mentioned in the book thread, im currently on:

ex machine (read through 4)
runaways (3)
Y: the last man (8)
scott pilgrim (3)
the walking dead (4)
exterminators (1)

recommendations always welcome, as JB has never failed me.

i'm not really into comic books, the last on i read was the graphic novel of "shaun of the dead" it was really good, the drawings kept the detail of classic action comics, i'm gonna read v for vendetta soon, i should have read it earlier, but i never have the time. can somebody please tell me what you think of it

my brother has all the of the walking dead books and i've been getting into those recently, this might be my gateway into graphic novels, never really got into them before but so far i'm liking these. any recommendations on where to go from here?

i'm gonna read v for vendetta soon, i should have read it earlier, but i never have the time. can somebody please tell me what you think of it

anything written by Alan Moore is awesome, though in order to fully appreciate the various layers and themes in his storytelling you have to read them more than once. As long as you planning on trying out V for Vendetta, I'd recommend Watchmen as well. There's a 100% possibility it can become your favorite comic of all time.

as for me, I'm fairly new to most of Vertigo's stuff. any advice on which ones to start first would be greatly appreciated.

one of the most memorable books i've ever read

^hell yeah. nate's with us on this

for me it's all about:

- box office poison and tricked by alex robinson
- strangers in paradise by terry moore
- bone by jeff smith
- anything dan clowes
- anything jeffery brown
- anything adrian tomine
- anything craig thompson (see avatar)
- anything by seth
- the mcsweeney's comics issue is the most gorgeous thing i've ever seen.

etc., etc., etc.

currently been reading some r. crumb collections. i also just discovered joe matt. i really, really want to read lost girls but it's so damn expensive.

^If you have no problems with reading them on cbr format, here are a couple of links :

Book 1 :

http://rapidshare.com/files/12972999/lostgrlshardcover.rar

Book 2

http://rapidshare.com/files/13041002/LostGirls-HardcoverBook2.cbr

haha, do people actually read books on computers? i'd love to see a video plea by a group of esteemed authors combating piracy.

'we work really hard to bring you these books...'

yeah i never understood the concept of ebooks. it's a strain on the eyes and a waste of electricity

fuck webcomics. seriously.

unless it's short-length humor strips like perry bible fellowship, i have zero interest in webcomics.

scott mccloud is a huge advocate of the stuff and i love his work but reading his online comics just gives me a headache

i hate comic books. when i go to the store and look at the graphic novel section it's 90% fucking comic books.

my four or five comics stores actually have pretty good graphic novel sections. the nerds always give me weird looks at the stuff i buy.

as far as mainstream bookstores go, you can't beat borders. awesome selection of graphic novels. they even give them their own section instead of cramming them in with the sci-fi/fantasy section like b & n, which is so depressing

I know ebooks can be a strain on the eyes, but when one lives in a country where one can't even find mainstream comic books like batman or x-men in bookstores, this is the only option left.

Originally Posted by Eddie

as far as mainstream bookstores go, you can't beat borders. awesome selection of graphic novels.

for real. plus nice seatery in which to read them, if you're a total cheapskate.

eddie, have you read epileptic by david b.? it's sorta similar to blankets (growing up, siblings, fantastic artwork)

also i gotta recommend windsor mccay's ancient little nemo in slumberland series. it's like the neutral milk hotel of comics, unbelievable stuff.

eddie, SoB

from all you've listed, gimme like 2-3 books to pick up next time i'm at my local comic haunt. i tend to lean towards 'modern' artistic leanings, but its the writing/character development that's most for me.

the walking dead is really the only horror comic i've ever liked, but anything listed here is a good bet

as far as vertigo, pretty sure eddie and JB will back me up that Y is one of the best things in the world ever. instantly addicting. its like children of men, 24 and PTA rolled into one, if not a bit more lighter than that suggests.

edit: Girls by the Luna brothers may be a good follow up to the walking dead. its on image as WD is, and has the same sort of dystopia tone to it.

the only bookstore in my town is waterstones (don't know how widespread it is outside the uk) and 99.9% percent of the graphic novels they have are manga shit.

oh, and i was in a music/film store the other day and they had the 2-disc v for vendetta & graphic novel bundled. but i already have the 2-disc ed, and that package was like $30.

I just read Pride of Baghdad by Vaughan, simply awesome. Loved the allegorical stuff, artwork was perfect for what the story demanded, appreciated how each character represented a different theme. the ending in particular was one of the most effective I've ever read, demonstrating the the truly horrifying nature of war.

ive read some of vaughan's stuff part because he's writing for lost, and part because i do think graphic novels are pretty cool and have been looking to get back into them. it's pretty addictive.

annyway, im through the first three volumes of ex machina, and just got the first volume of y: the last man (which i hear is ending soon)

Y's got about a yearish left if you only do the volumes, but the series collectors will get the end within 6 months, if what i remember is right.

and yeah, both of those vaughn series are intensly addictive, but moreso Y. you'll be up to 8 in no time

anything batman related!!!

Recently read or re-read:
-'Watchmen' (second time)
-'Superman for All Seasons' (third time)
-'Batman: Year One'
-First Cerebus compilation
-'Justice' vol 1

Looking for next:
-'Batman: the Killing Joke'
-More Cerebus
-'Justice' vol 2

Not really into independent comics; mostly a DC and Marvel guy (although come to think of it, I haven't read much Marvel for a long time).

Originally Posted by Roarke

eddie, SoB

from all you've listed, gimme like 2-3 books to pick up next time i'm at my local comic haunt. i tend to lean towards 'modern' artistic leanings, but its the writing/character development that's most for me.

definitely definitely definitely read these if you haven't already:

- blankets by craig thompson
pretty easy to find, it's an autobiography about craig's first girlfriend in high school/his disillusionment with religion/his relationship with his little brother. it's...gorgeous

- optic nerve by adrian tomine
it's been impossible for me to find the individual issues other than the internet, but there are a few collected editions...there's one called summer blonde and another called sleepwalk for example. collections of short stories, many about lonely, idiosyncratic people and their various daily goingons

- box office poison by alex robinson
there's a big collected graphic novel of the whole story that's pretty easy to find. it's about a group of post-college twentysomethings in nyc struggling with jobs, girl/boyfriends, life in general...very funny and quirky

these all lean more toward autobio/indepth character studies...all about relationships, dialogue, and very relateable.

also be sure to read the comics based on the movies you've probably seen: american splendor, ghost world, etc. oh and maus is a pretty popular read. phil will back me up on this.

Originally Posted by Son of Bomber

eddie, have you read epileptic by david b.? it's sorta similar to blankets (growing up, siblings, fantastic artwork)

nope, but i flip through it every time i go to the bookstore. i gotta get to it...looks amazing. thompson credits a lot of influence on the european cartoonists, most of which i don't know about yet. i also only have read a couple issues of black hole by charles burns...gotta get on that, too.

Hot off the presses, to supplement Eddie's awesome recommendations, here are two things everyone should read.

We3

Amazing, amazing story, beautiful, moving, and some of the most form-pushing art you could imagine. Really something close to perfect.

And in terms of an ongoing series that a lot of people could pick up in the trade, jump on Queen & Country, which is uniformly amazing. Really good spy stuff, and actually realistic, dude researches the hell out of stuff, and was doing Taliban material before 9/11.


For super-hero stuff there are enough recommendations out there that I don't feel the need to add to it, much, other than to say that if you can pick up All-Star Superman it's basically the best possible superhero material I could imagine.

But yeah listen to Eddie more, dude clearly knows his shit. I need to explore more indie stuff.

Originally Posted by Jolly Bengali

Hot off the presses, to supplement Eddie's awesome recommendations, here are two things everyone should read.

We3

ha, that looks pretty sweet. i'll have to check that out. i loved grant morrison's x-men.

i've read a couple issues of queen & country. it was pretty good, but i understandably didn't really know what was going on. these days i don't read any comics on a monthly basis...always gotta have the collected editions.

i need to get into more vertigo stuff, too. all i've read is y: the last man and preacher (which DAn will surely be in here to tell you all to read when he gets a chance)

I haven't read comics in awhile but I was a huge Marvel fan growing up. Especially X-Men and all the spin-offs X-Force, X-Factor along with other Marvel titles like Spider Man and the Avengers. I've always hated DC characters besides Batman because to me they seem to goody goody. I did check out Marvel's Civil War arc out though. My friend bought some issues and I read some online.

I've loved the few graphic novels I've read but never known which ones to check out next. thanks eddie

my favs are maus, blankets, and anything jhonen vasquez

what are those links to?

^Alan Moore's Lost Girls.

For super-hero stuff there are enough recommendations out there that I don't feel the need to add to it, much, other than to say that if you can pick up All-Star Superman it's basically the best possible superhero material I could imagine.

I gave up on the All Star line because I found All Star Batman to be absolutely terrible. Thanks for the recommendation.

i mentioned it up there, but girls by the luna brothers is pretty great so far. does a good job of fusing basic dystopia premise with something utterly new ala Y, but with a much darker tone.

just picked up blankets per everyone ever's recommendation

That's probably because All-Star Batman is absolutely terrible. Don't worry.

Superman is basically Morrison/Quitely at the top of their game beating the shit out of every problem with Superman stories. Comes out on about a tri-monthly schedule at best, since Quitely takes his sweet time, but it's worth it every time. Probably the most roundly praised series in the last five years from comics critics.

For more Vertigo stuff, Eddie, definitely check out Lucifer. I've still never gotten around to Sandman because I'm saving money for the first Absolute, but it works well independently and is a fascinating little series.

have you never read sandman, jacob? I'm rereading my set now for the third time and there are so many nuances to pull from the text at every pass. dense, brilliant, graphic literature.

other than that, not much for me: I was a big fan of all things matt wagner back in the day and still am (mage, grendel) and y the last man is indeed tits. rediscovering some of the 60s coutnerculture comix now too...lots of good stuff to unearth, and most has been reprinted nicely.