Comic Book Chatter

This is the place where you can conflab about all the other stuff besides videogames
Post Reply
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Comic Book Chatter

Post by Alex79 »

I love comics. I love reading comics both in print and digital form. It took me a while to accept reading comics on a screen, but using both Comic Zeal on the iPad and Comic Rack on the PC (laptop, in bed) is a great way of reading.

Anyway, specifically, I want to start by asking if anyone is following any of the DC New 52 storylines? From what I understand, the DC Universe had become so convoluted and spread out over the last 70 years that in 2011 they took the bold step of starting again. I thought this was so they could have storylines being followed through specific issues and not be so confusing for the reader. What I mean is that in the past if you wanted to follow a certain Batman storyline (for example), you might need to pick up Batman #456, followed by Detective Comics #488, then Batgirl #321, Batman And Robin #278, then back to Batman #457 etc. The new system would mean to follow that Batman story you could just read Batman #12-19. Get it?

But no. It doesn't seem like this is what's happened. The TPB's are only up to like volume 3, and already the storylines are branching all over the place again crossing over from one comic to the next. If you only collect TPB's, this isn't so much of a problem - but in a way it is, because you'll be missing out on parts of the storyline. As I said before I buy comics, but I also download them from torrent sites to read on the computer for ease. Take this as an example, the latest volume of Batman is volume 3, Death Of The Family (not to be confused with Death IN The Family, the classic Batman story in which the most annoying Robin ever is seen off by a fantastically dark Joker). Anyway, the TPB of Death Of The Family collects Batman #13-17. BUT - if you go on a torrent site and download the Death Of The Family story arc (made up of scans of single issues rather than the TPB) there are LOADS more issues than those five Batman comics. It crosses over in to Batgirl, Detective Comics, Suicide Squad, Catwoman, Nightwing - it's a fucking nightmare to try to understand what you are supposed to be reading!! This is half the reason I gave up on superhero comics in the first place, and it's no better now than it's ever been!!

Ok, so that rant over (did anyone have the slightest clue what I was on about?) what are your favourite comic series? My favourite series for a long time was the epic Neil Gaiman's Sandman, a fantastical tale about the lord of dreams and his family. It's definitely worth a read. I say my favourite for a long time, because I was introduced to Preacher by Garth Ennis* about four years ago, and read through the entire run in about a week and it blew me away. It is probably in my top three pieces of entertainment of anything ever - TV, books, movies, games, anything! Read that. Also, Y - The Last Man is a particular favourite. Set in the immediate aftermath of a virus which wiped out the entire male population of all species, other than our hero Yorrick and his pet monkey. Another must read. Oh, and most overrated comic ever? Watchmen.

EDIT : *I wasn't introduced to Preacher BY Garth Ennis, although that would have been cool.
Todinho

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Todinho »

Well comics and I have a love hate relationship sometimes im really into them and others I hate them with a passion because they never fucking end and can get really stupid so I try to read graphic novels and independent stuff like the walking dead instead of Marvel and DC.

As for my favorite comics you can count Watchmen :D ,V for vendetta,Animal man the Grant morrison run(go read this it's really fucking good),Lobo because it's really silly,Lucifer the Sandman spin-off,Spawn(I know im sorry but im a 90's kid I cant help myself also this was the first comic I ever read which in hindsight probably wasnt the best choice for a kid),Batman year one,the dark knight returns,the killing joke and Superman Red son(AKA the only good superman comic ;) )

I also started reading recently Spiderman's:Kraven's last hunt and it has been ok so far.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Alex79 »

Anyone read The Boys? It's from Garth Ennis (Preacher) and it's great! I'm only on volume two but loving it.

100 Bullets was also fantastic until about halfway through when the story went to shit. It's worth reading the first few volumes though, they're great.
User avatar
AndyKurosaki
Member
Posts: 968
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 10:43 pm
Location: Scunthorpe, UK

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by AndyKurosaki »

Absolutely love Garth Ennis' work, Preacher is easily one of comics greatest series. Really hope the planned TV version falls through, as it's genuinely hard to imagine it being anything but a total disaster.
The Boys is indeed excellent, I envy you reading it for the first time. It gets extremely gruesome and dark in places, but I found it excellent from start to finish.

I also think his work on The Punisher with Steve Dillon is brilliant. Not read the entire series, but the first two hardcover collections, Welcome Back Frank especially, are excellent.

The Walking Dead is another favourite of mine, I always wait for the hardcover volumes to keep up to date with them. Certainly better than the TV version, which has it's moments but isn't of the same calibre.

Marvel Zombies is brilliant, well worth checking out. As is the Evil Dead crossover, Ash in the zombified marvel universe is just groovy.

Watchmen is obviously a must-read, not tried the new stuff though.

Don't buy any new comics these days, I tend to wait for my library to get stuff in, or borrow from my more
knowledgable mate. Read the first book of Hack/Slash he lent me the other week, is pretty good.
KYUSS

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by KYUSS »

I just finished reading Locke and Key. Wub. Got me a bit choked-up if I'm honest. Excellent stuff.
Todinho

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Todinho »

Started reading a chinese comic/mangá/mahou(?) by the name of Feng Shen Ji,it has a pretty cool style you read like a manga but it's colored and it's actually well drawn the story seem to be a retelling of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fengshen_Yanyi but from the perpective of the losing dynasty and mixing up gods and other supernatural elements,the plot is interesting and it carries a vibe of being a real epic with the main character starting at the age of 10 and having us go through his whole life,it has some pretty good action and setting.A friend of mine that recommended it to me said it was like Berserk(a series I never started because aparently the creator is working on this for 20 years and still doesnt know the ending) but better and while I cant make the comparison im liking it alot I dont know where would get this through...conventional means but it's pretty easy to find on scan sites and such
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Alex79 »

Does it read right to left or standard western style? I remember buying a load of Death Note manga off Amazon, and couldn't get my head round reading it backwards!
Todinho

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Todinho »

Unfortunally eu have to read it backwards :(
Todinho

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Todinho »

Welp I didnt know where else to put this so I'll write it here so Naruto is over after 15 long years it's finally over,yesterday I read the final chapter and Im not gonna lie I got a little emotional about it,the series may have peaked in the beginning and I hated the direction it headed with people summoning meteors on top meteors by the end but even when I stopped following it the manga it was always something in the back of my mind and now it's over.I will say that the ending was probably the best it could have been after everything that happened and if anything it closes the series in a positive note,so that was Naruto for all the good and bad Im really glad I read it(seriously it's one of the few manga I have physical volumes of) for anyone else interested in the series I dont recommend it.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Alex79 »

I can't even fathom how a comic series could run for that long (other than the standard Superhero stuff, and even that reboots from time to time). Was there a long running narrative? Did the characters age? I'm actually fascinated.
User avatar
Beck
Member
Posts: 653
Joined: September 4th, 2012, 3:50 pm

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Beck »

I like Naruto, it's a shame the anime was plagued with filler as I'd much rather watch it than read it. I read the manga weekly from start until half way through the last arc. It all got a bit dragon ball z for me, too much let's fight until I'm nearly dead or opponent is dead. Then some miraculous last minute transformation to a new form and start again.

Those early seasons were the best though, that fight between Rock Lee and Garaa was amazing. The games on the GameCube are really good as well if you ever get the chance to play them:)
Todinho

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Todinho »

Yep Naruto had a long running plot that finnaly ended the antagonists changed a little and there were minor plots(or arcs) that resolved itself but yes it was basically a single story that took 15 years to finnish,and also yes the characters did age!The characters started off as kids and ended up as adults.

Yeah the begining of Naruto was great but weirdly enough my favorite fight was Zabuza vs Kakashi but the chunnin exam was the peak of the show no doubt
Testtube27

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Testtube27 »

Alex79uk wrote:I love comics. I love reading comics both in print and digital form. It took me a while to accept reading comics on a screen, but using both Comic Zeal on the iPad and Comic Rack on the PC (laptop, in bed) is a great way of reading.

Anyway, specifically, I want to start by asking if anyone is following any of the DC New 52 storylines? From what I understand, the DC Universe had become so convoluted and spread out over the last 70 years that in 2011 they took the bold step of starting again. I thought this was so they could have storylines being followed through specific issues and not be so confusing for the reader. What I mean is that in the past if you wanted to follow a certain Batman storyline (for example), you might need to pick up Batman #456, followed by Detective Comics #488, then Batgirl #321, Batman And Robin #278, then back to Batman #457 etc. The new system would mean to follow that Batman story you could just read Batman #12-19. Get it?

But no. It doesn't seem like this is what's happened. The TPB's are only up to like volume 3, and already the storylines are branching all over the place again crossing over from one comic to the next. If you only collect TPB's, this isn't so much of a problem - but in a way it is, because you'll be missing out on parts of the storyline. As I said before I buy comics, but I also download them from torrent sites to read on the computer for ease. Take this as an example, the latest volume of Batman is volume 3, Death Of The Family (not to be confused with Death IN The Family, the classic Batman story in which the most annoying Robin ever is seen off by a fantastically dark Joker). Anyway, the TPB of Death Of The Family collects Batman #13-17. BUT - if you go on a torrent site and download the Death Of The Family story arc (made up of scans of single issues rather than the TPB) there are LOADS more issues than those five Batman comics. It crosses over in to Batgirl, Detective Comics, Suicide Squad, Catwoman, Nightwing - it's a fucking nightmare to try to understand what you are supposed to be reading!! This is half the reason I gave up on superhero comics in the first place, and it's no better now than it's ever been!!

Ok, so that rant over (did anyone have the slightest clue what I was on about?) what are your favourite comic series? My favourite series for a long time was the epic Neil Gaiman's Sandman, a fantastical tale about the lord of dreams and his family. It's definitely worth a read. I say my favourite for a long time, because I was introduced to Preacher by Garth Ennis* about four years ago, and read through the entire run in about a week and it blew me away. It is probably in my top three pieces of entertainment of anything ever - TV, books, movies, games, anything! Read that. Also, Y - The Last Man is a particular favourite. Set in the immediate aftermath of a virus which wiped out the entire male population of all species, other than our hero Yorrick and his pet monkey. Another must read. Oh, and most overrated comic ever? Watchmen.

EDIT : *I wasn't introduced to Preacher BY Garth Ennis, although that would have been cool.

best advice for Batman events, skip the tie ins, if it was that important it'd be part of the main narrative, Death of the Family does'nt lose any impact if you havent read Nightwing #13 for example.

BTW is anyone reading Endgame at the moment?
User avatar
hazeredmist
Member
Posts: 1709
Joined: June 25th, 2013, 12:45 pm
Location: The DMZ
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by hazeredmist »

Good thread!

I'm a huge fan of The Walking Dead comic, also love 100 Bullets.
User avatar
KissMammal
Member
Posts: 523
Joined: August 22nd, 2014, 5:52 pm

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by KissMammal »

I've always found conventional mainstream (ongoing) superhero comics to be utterly impenetrable and grew up on mostly British comics which were much more to my taste (and latterly American comics mainly by British creators like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison), and have always tended to prefer finite series or standalone stories.

Generally I like all of the usual suspects (Preacher, 100 Bullets, Swamp Thing, Watchmen) but here's a few more obscure series that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend:

Judge Dredd - technically an 'ongoing' series but far more accessible and consistent than the norm due to it not getting bogged down in continuity and mostly being all written by one writer.
Usagi Yojimbo - beautifully told and meticulously researched Samurai tales (where every character just happens to be anthropomorphised animals).
Orc Stain - bonkers Image fantasy series with mind-blowing artwork. It's currently on hiatus, but the first volume is well worth checking out.
Leviathan (2000ad) - steampunk mystery set on a city-sized cruise liner that has been lost at sea for twenty years. The whole thing is available as a complete graphic novel.
Scarlet Traces - comic book sequel to War of the Worlds.
Strontium Dog (2000ad) - sort of a British version of X Men set in a world that is half sci fi, half Western - think Firefly.
We3
The Ballad of Halo Jones (2000ad)
The Adventures of Nikolai Dante - seriously underrated serial that ran in 2000ad on and off for 15 years before ending in 2012. Imagine a blend of Star Wars, superheroics, cyberpunk, crime caper, period romance, Carry On style sauciness, Errol Flynn style swashbuckling and historical war epic that is set in a futuristic, science fictional version of 17th century Imperial Russia.
The Authority (original Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch run) High concept, epic and imaginitive take on the superhero genre.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Alex79 »

Thanks, I'll be checking out some of those I think.

Did you ever read Crossed by Garth Ennis? It was only a short run, but it was an incredibly brutal zombie apocalypse story, one that you wouldn't secretely like to actually happen (as I think we all feel as we read The Walking Dead haha). Worth checking out.

With regard to mainstream superhero comics, I've only ever bothered with Batman. I know what you mean about being impenetrable and impossible to follow but there are loads of spectacular stand alone stories. The beauty of Batman really is that you can just drop in and out as you please. The New 52 was supposed to fix a lot of the mess it was in but it hasn't. It's just created a brand new one! (Albeit one I'm enjoying greatly).
User avatar
KissMammal
Member
Posts: 523
Joined: August 22nd, 2014, 5:52 pm

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by KissMammal »

Didn't mean to dismiss superhero comics out of hand - the vast majority aren't my cup of tea, but there's certainly a lot that I enjoy.

I'll tend to follow creators rather than specific characters or series. I love the aforementioned The Authority, Watchmen and Saga of the Swamp Thing (Alan Moore) as well as New X Men (Grant Morrison), Animal Man (Morrison again), Miracleman (Alan Moore), Batman: Dark Knight Returns/Year One/Killing Joke, Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Top 10, Kingdom Come, Daredevil (Frank Miller), Zenith (1980s Grant Morrison series about a British superhero who just wants to be a pop star). I've also quite enjoyed Hawkeye by Matt Fraction and Mud Man by Paul Grist recently.

I'm sure there are plenty of others too, that's just off the top of my head. I really need to get around to reading Marvels which I've heard good things about.
User avatar
Tleprie
Member
Posts: 144
Joined: November 2nd, 2014, 4:13 pm
Location: Indoors
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Tleprie »

I don't stay up to date on any series, instead just borrow from friends or the library. Sometimes me or my brother will get our favorites from amazon or a local shop if they have them.

My favorites in no particular order: Chew, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Invincible Iron Man, Civil War, House of M, Secret Invasion, Scott Pilgrim, Batman: Hush, Batman: Knightfall, Green Arrow: Quiver, and Ultimate Spiderman.

I definitely recommend Chew for a good non super hero story.
User avatar
Alex79
Member
Posts: 8415
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 12:36 pm
Location: Walsall, UK.
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Alex79 »

I've been reading through the entire Grant Morrison Batman run from the Batman and Son through RIP and Final Crisis etc almost up to the point where the New 52 kicked in. Enjoying it so far, I've always had a thing about Morrison and never enjoyed his work, but I've always dipped in and out and it's very difficult to make sense of it all out of context so I thought I'd start at the beginning. It opens with The Black Casebook, a collection of 50's and 60's era Batman stories. I'm fascinated by the development of the character over the decades, the old stories are so far removed from the modern stuff, but highly enjoyable. They went for short self contained stories, often with a lame punchline at the end of them, but they're a lot of fun and show some brilliant imagination. It's easy to see where Morrison draws his inspiration from.

Other than that, interesting to see that Fables is finally coming to an end. I never made it past the first few issues when I originally read it, so I'm definitely going to work my way through the entire 150 issue run at some point. I like comics that end.
User avatar
Pitwar
Member
Posts: 323
Joined: September 2nd, 2012, 9:46 am
Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK
Contact:

Re: Comics (Batman, and other comics in general...)

Post by Pitwar »

I'm a huge comic fan, it's my main passion for sure.

I've read all manner of different books over the years but Superman is my passion. I started collecting the Supes titles back in '92 but my collection dates back to the relaunch in '86 after the initial Crisis. I've got everything Superman related since then and my collection is without question my pride and joy.

With my Supes collection and everything else I have, my spare room is basically my comic room. Thankfully I have a very understanding girlfriend :)
Post Reply