409 replies to this topic

[Amras]

Liffguard, on May 6 2009, 00.01, said:

I finally finished all of the Sandman volumes recently, including all the additional ones like the Dream Hunters, Endless Nights, the High Cost of Living and Time of Your Life. I'm looking into getting the large bound collections (Absolute Sandman?) but they're damn pricey. Has anyone else got them and are they worth it?

Depends on how much you love Sandman/Neil Gaiman, really. Gaiman is probably my favourite author out there, so I had no problem with splurging for the Absolutes. They're really pretty, seem quite sturdy and make for great decoration, but they're far from optimal if you're just in it for the story (unwieldy is the word, I believe). I see they're putting out the Absolute Death (ominous title, eh?) later this year, so if you're going Absolute NOW... well, you're going to have to pay a lot for the privilege. The backmatter in the Absolutes are great; I especially enjoy reading Gaiman's scripts.

As for my own comic purchases, I just put down an order for the humongous Daredevil omnibi by Brian M. Bendis. I got all of Ed Brubaker's run in those small Marvel trades, and while Daredevil seems like a whiney sucker, I thought I should give Bendis a go. The run's considered a classic, no?

I also went and bought Lapham's "Silverfish" GN and the first Starman omnibi by James Robinson & Harris. Too bad Lapham's Stray Bullets is OOP, seeing as I'd love to read it. Perhaps I'll ebay it someday...

[palin99999]

Posted this in the Entertainment section, but thought people here would like to know too:

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AMC has optioned Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. See quote below:
http://www.hollywood...5cdd4d9a8b8450e

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In its biggest development deal to date, AMC has acquired the rights to Robert Kirkman's popular comic book "The Walking Dead" for a potential series.

Frank Darabont is on board to write, direct and exec produce the project, with Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion also executive producing.

"Walking Dead," a monthly black-and-white comic book, has been a hotly sought-after property since it was published in 2003 by Image Comics. Darabont originally developed the project several years ago under his deal at NBC. It landed at AMC after a healthy bidding war.

"Dead" chronicles the months and years following a zombie apocalypse where a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, travel in search of a safe, secure home. The comic explores the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies that take a toll on the survivors. Over time, they grow willing to do anything to survive, so the interpersonal conflicts sometimes present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies who roam the country.

Genre films have traditions on AMC, whose annual Fearfest horror showcase continues to be a strong draw.

But a "Dead" series would transcend the comic book genre and mesh with AMC's other drama offerings, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," said Joel Stillerman, senior vp original programming, production and digital content.

"I don't know of another series of books that has such beautiful storytelling, great human emotions and everything that really works on AMC," he said. "It allows us to stay where we want to stay: in the world of smart, sophisticated storytelling and apply that to a show that we think the audience would love."

Darabont, an Oscar nominee for writing "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption," is repped by CAA.

In its biggest development deal to date, AMC has acquired the rights to Robert Kirkman's popular comic book "The Walking Dead" for a potential series.

Frank Darabont is on board to write, direct and exec produce the project, with Gale Anne Hurd of Valhalla Pictures and David Alpert of Circle of Confusion also executive producing.

"Walking Dead," a monthly black-and-white comic book, has been a hotly sought-after property since it was published in 2003 by Image Comics. Darabont originally developed the project several years ago under his deal at NBC. It landed at AMC after a healthy bidding war.

"Dead" chronicles the months and years following a zombie apocalypse where a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, travel in search of a safe, secure home. The comic explores the challenges of life in a world overrun by zombies that take a toll on the survivors. Over time, they grow willing to do anything to survive, so the interpersonal conflicts sometimes present a greater danger to their continuing survival than the zombies who roam the country.

Genre films have traditions on AMC, whose annual Fearfest horror showcase continues to be a strong draw.

But a "Dead" series would transcend the comic book genre and mesh with AMC's other drama offerings, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," said Joel Stillerman, senior vp original programming, production and digital content.

"I don't know of another series of books that has such beautiful storytelling, great human emotions and everything that really works on AMC," he said. "It allows us to stay where we want to stay: in the world of smart, sophisticated storytelling and apply that to a show that we think the audience would love."

Darabont, an Oscar nominee for writing "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption," is repped by CAA.

Looks like it's in good hands with Darabont and AMC. Wonder if they'll do it in black and white.

[Krafus]

I'd appreciate a bit of advice from the board's resident comics experts. Recently I've been contemplating buying some comics. Always before I relied on my imagination to create images from descriptions in novels, but of late I've decided I'd like to see some actual pictures to go along with the written story.

I did a bit of browsing in comics-related websites, and one current series that keeps being mentioned as being of excellent quality is DC's Blackest Night, related to the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps lines. It seems Blackest Night is the third part of a trilogy. Now, I know I could easily enough get my hands on parts one and two in trade paperbacks while waiting for the Blackest Night to do the same, but I know myself - if I decide I really like it, I'll feel compelled to delve back further into those series' past storylines. However, I'm also aware that the quality of comics can be quite uneven due to changes of writers and artists. If Blackest Night and its immediate predecessors are lone islands in a sea of mediocrity, I'll pass.

So I'd like to know your opinion - is the trilogy Blackest Night is part of worthy of a read in and of itself, and are the GL and GLC lines that precede it going back a decade also quality works (or at least not bad)?

[Slyfinger]

Krafus, on 02 January 2010 - 02:10 PM, said:

I'd appreciate a bit of advice from the board's resident comics experts. Recently I've been contemplating buying some comics. Always before I relied on my imagination to create images from descriptions in novels, but of late I've decided I'd like to see some actual pictures to go along with the written story.

I did a bit of browsing in comics-related websites, and one current series that keeps being mentioned as being of excellent quality is DC's Blackest Night, related to the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps lines. It seems Blackest Night is the third part of a trilogy. Now, I know I could easily enough get my hands on parts one and two in trade paperbacks while waiting for the Blackest Night to do the same, but I know myself - if I decide I really like it, I'll feel compelled to delve back further into those series' past storylines. However, I'm also aware that the quality of comics can be quite uneven due to changes of writers and artists. If Blackest Night and its immediate predecessors are lone islands in a sea of mediocrity, I'll pass.

So I'd like to know your opinion - is the trilogy Blackest Night is part of worthy of a read in and of itself, and are the GL and GLC lines that precede it going back a decade also quality works (or at least not bad)?

BN and the renewed GL/GLc stories are excellent. Geoff Johns, who has crafted and written the entire storyline, along with Grant Morrison are promoted fanboys who are currently running the DC Universe. These two have... you know, I had to delete some pretty massive spoilers.


Disunirregardlessly,  totally worth checking out.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Krafus, on 02 January 2010 - 02:10 PM, said:

So I'd like to know your opinion - is the trilogy Blackest Night is part of worthy of a read in and of itself, and are the GL and GLC lines that precede it going back a decade also quality works (or at least not bad)?

Are you invested--preferably heavily--in the DC universe? Are you willing to read all the GL and GLC issues before Blackest Night?

If you answered no to either of those questions, it's not for you. Go read 52 instead if you're in the mood for a DC event that's actually well done and not utterly inaccessible to the uninitiated.

ETA: Sly's right. Johns is a promoted fanboy. That's exactly why I don't like his work, and exactly why sly does like his work--he writes for other fanboys. What does that fanboyism mean for you? Well, since it sounds as though you've read fewer comics than me, I'm guessing your reaction will be more like mine than his, but I could be wrong.

Edited by Max the Mostly Mediocre, 02 January 2010 - 02:57 PM.

[Krafus]

Thanks for your answers. It seems I didn't make myself clear enough - I have absolutely no knowledge of/experience with comics. The only comics I own are trade paperbacks of GRRM's two Hedge Knight comics adaptations.

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Are you invested--preferably heavily--in the DC universe? Are you willing to read all the GL and GLC issues before Blackest Night?

As I said above, I have practically zero experience with any comics. I might be willing to purchase those GL and GLC issues leading up to Blackest Night that you mention, if they're worth it (or at least do not suck).

As an aside, it seems Blackest Night and similar big events are something of a catch-22 for complete newcomers like myself; on the one hand, we're attracted to the hype, the positive comments by fans and the prospect of a quality story, but on the other hand, in order to derive the maximum satisfaction and payoff from those big events, a prospective reader seems all but required to be familiar with preceding series.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Krafus, on 02 January 2010 - 03:42 PM, said:

As an aside, it seems Blackest Night and similar big events are something of a catch-22 for complete newcomers like myself; on the one hand, we're attracted to the hype, the positive comments by fans and the prospect of a quality story, but on the other hand, in order to derive the maximum satisfaction and payoff from those big events, a prospective reader seems all but required to be familiar with preceding series.

It's not just complete newcomers. But, yeah, if you're coming into comics cold, superhero CRISIS ON WORLD HULK INVASION SECRET WAR CIVIL INVASION stuff is exactly the wrong starting point.

If you're looking for a quality story, the big events aren't--well, with the exception of 52 (and maybe Final Crisis, provided you're a fanboy)--where you'll find one. Like, read Brubaker's run on Captain America, or Bendis on Daredevil, or Brubaker/Rucka on Gotham Central or Ennis on Punisher or Simone on Birds of Prey.

[Calibandar]

Just picked up two very interesting comics/graphic novels. One is The Complete Essex County by Jeff Lemire, the other is Northlanders vol. 1 as well as Vol. 2 by Brian Wood, though the artists have changed between volumes.

[Ran]

Northlanders has been pretty solid. Didn't care for the too-modern university-trained forensic scientist viking in the Irish story arc (I'm serious), but the rest of the story about an Irishman fighting a hopeless fight and losing everything was pretty good.

[Deluge]

Ran, on 02 January 2010 - 04:26 PM, said:

Northlanders has been pretty solid. Didn't care for the too-modern university-trained forensic scientist viking in the Irish story arc (I'm serious), but the rest of the story about an Irishman fighting a hopeless fight and losing everything was pretty good.

I love Northlanders, and I completely disagree with you about the Viking forensic scientist. I thought it was hilarious (though it did distract from the Irishman's story).

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Yeah, I didn't think the second volume of Northlanders was as good as the first, but it was good enough that I'll pick up the third whenever it's released.

[red snow]

Max the Mostly Mediocre, on 02 January 2010 - 03:49 PM, said:

It's not just complete newcomers. But, yeah, if you're coming into comics cold, superhero CRISIS ON WORLD HULK INVASION SECRET WAR CIVIL INVASION stuff is exactly the wrong starting point.

If you're looking for a quality story, the big events aren't--well, with the exception of 52 (and maybe Final Crisis, provided you're a fanboy)--where you'll find one. Like, read Brubaker's run on Captain America, or Bendis on Daredevil, or Brubaker/Rucka on Gotham Central or Ennis on Punisher or Simone on Birds of Prey.

You forgot the ironic word FINAL in your list

For someone who might be interested in trying out an event maybe "Seven Soldiers" by Grant Morrison is worth a shot. It's 7 4-issue stories on relatively new/unknown characters and doesn't require previous reading or further reading to enjoy it.

As for Blackest Night. It really is the culmination of about 5 years worth of writing since Geoff Johns started writing Green Lantern: Rebirth. It would be like reading the final volume of "Sandman" or "100 bullets" without reading the previous volumes. That said I hadn't read any Green Lantern before "Rebirth" and I've followed the story easily. If you are interested in Blackest Night, I'd reccomend checking out Green Lantern: Rebirth first. If you enjoy it, follow the trades until you get bored or reach Blackest Night. You'll enjoy it a whole lot more that way.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

red snow, on 03 January 2010 - 06:11 AM, said:

You forgot the ironic word FINAL in your list

Also Messiah Complex/War, House of M, Avengers Disassembled, Identity/Infinite Crisis, Chocolate Dark Reign, The Siege, Ultimatum, Necrosha...

Man, fuck event comics.

I think your 7 Soldiers suggestion is a good one.

ETA: Krafus, if anyone ever suggests you read anything by Jeph Loeb, I would advise you to respond by punching that person in the face. Repeatedly.

Edited by Max the Mostly Mediocre, 03 January 2010 - 08:44 AM.

[Krafus]

Thanks for the additional advice. I really like red snow's suggestion of starting at GL: Rebirth since that's when Blackest Night's writer started with the GL line, then going forward if I like it.

Oh, and Max, if I may ask, why do you despise Jeph Loeb so much?

[Ran]

I think Seven Soldiers is a potentially good suggestion, but I wonder if the thematics of it won't turn off a non-fanboy, in that it's very heavily steeped in Morrison's particular obsessions and interests regarding the field's history. There's a lot of stuff that would probably make no sense at all without having at least some grounding in on the origins of the characters he uses.

That said, just getting Seven Soldiers #0 and Seven Soldiers #1 for the gorgeous art of J.H. Williams, III is well worth it.

If you're interested in current super-hero comics with serious storylines, I'd look at Rucka and Williams on Detective Comics (featuring the new Batwoman) or Mark Waid's Irredeemable about a Superman-like hero turning into a supervillain. I have discovered that I've mostly ditched all the Marvel comics -- I could care less about the current big event story, and I want the old Bendis back because he's presently crawling around his own rectum. More Powers would be nice.

Brubaker's starts on Captain America and Daredevilwere excellent, and not that far back. Less enthused about where they're going at the moment, however.

[Gigei]

I recently picked up Fables just because I saw it and liked the premise. I didn't realize this was actually an ongoing series that could possibly go on for *years*??

I am now looking for mini/finished series. Hmmm I was looking over the recs but are there any that aren't violent or superhero comics? Not a big fan of noir either. "Boobs and butt" artwork is also a big no.

Fables is actually just about perfect for me, any similar comics? Not necessarily about fairy tails or anything but rather the lack of "big booby" artwork, super-violent atmosphere and weird super-powered masked dudes in skintight costumes?

P.S. The only comics I actually bought and kept is Sandman.

read so far:

sandman - still my fave

fables - very sweet. I do not like Jack so I have not read the spin-off.

marvel 1602 - picked it up because it was by gaiman. Not bad but I didn't recognize some of the characters.

house of m - friend lent me and I read. Not bad for a superhero comic miniseries but I wouldn't follow this sort of comic series at all. My god, Emma Frost is "good" now? See, this is what I mean. What's up with her costume? She used to wear lingerie and now she wears a bra-cape?? Rofl. Last I read x men, it was all Psylocke's tits and ass. Oh, x-men,  is it always about the tits and ass? I googled cuz I was surprised at Frost and it seems as per canon, she has has a boob job, she is a fake blonde and she has has several cosmetic surgeries. Wow.

spiderman house of m - also read this one in the house of m crossover. It was nice to see Gwen Stacey and the alternate universe was pretty good but imo it was predictable.

iron man house of m - I got kinda lost here. I guess I simply don't know enough about this series to appreciate anything. I didn't know what was up with the father and again I did not recognize some characters.

bone - uh, someone told me this was good. I read the first 3 pages and it was doggies doing some cute doggie things. Seemed too kiddy for me so I didn't read further.

[Zappster]

Krafus, on 03 January 2010 - 09:32 AM, said:

Thanks for the additional advice. I really like red snow's suggestion of starting at GL: Rebirth since that's when Blackest Night's writer started with the GL line, then going forward if I like it.

I think that's the best thing to do really. That or you could read the trade collecting the recent Origins story that Johns wrote to tie into the mythology he was creating basically, called Green Lantern: Secret Origins.

I'm also skeptical about how much knowledge you really need to enjoy the comics from Marvel/DC. I came into comics in the summer of 2008 with little to no knowledge (gleaned mainly from cartoons/films), and I've not had any problems that wikipedia entries or a quick forum query couldn't clear up.

[Stego]

Some of what I've been reading since I got back into comics:



-The Walking Dead - I think this is the best comic being published right now.

-Astonishing X-Men - Best X-Men since Jim Lee ruined it back in the day.

-Y: The Last Man - Fascinating premise, but unlikable protagonist and unrealistic plot. Still a really fun read.

-Invincible - Best superhero comic going. (Kirkman embarrasses some of the supposed comics heavyweights by being better than they could ever hope to be, IMO.)

-Green Lantern: Rebirth - I always liked Kyle Rayner, but this story was amazing. (Even better if you've read the old JLI's by Giffen and DeMatteis back in the day.)

-Locke and Key - Joe Hill's best work so far, forget his prose.

-The new Justice League - Great reading. Looking like it's taking a head first dive at the moment under James Robinson, though.

-Crossed - Garth Ennis is amazing!

-The Boys - Garth Ennis is amazing!

-Scalped - Fun read.

-Ex Machina - It can bog down, but definitely worth it.

-Northlanders - I enjoy it.

-100 Bullets - always enjoyable.

-Kick-Ass - Great premise, great fun.

-The Unwritten - Great premise, but I have not fallen into it yet. I would recommend to Harry Potter fans.





I also re-read some old favorites:

-Stray Bullets

-Preacher

-Claremont's X-Men

[Ran]

Have you tried Brubaker's Criminal, Stego? Think you'd like that. And, it's loopy, but Lapham's Young Liars is amazing. Cancelled prematurely, though.

Crossed is indeed awesome.

Gigei,

Bone started out as much more of a children's work. It became somewhat more mature (more like YA) as it progressed.

Finished series work you may like:

Y the Last Man, We3, Mouse Guard (really beautiful art), perhaps Cerebus before Dave Sim truly went off the deep end (up to Jaka's Story). You may find Alan Moore's Promethea of interest (it starts out seeming like a superhero yarn, but it's not really), and his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (far better than the travesty that was the movie "adaption" -- I use the word very loosely). Maybe Planetary, which is in some ways in a similar thematic vein to LoEG, and it's semi-sorta superheroic.

And All-Star Superman. Superhero, yes, but so colorful and full of ideas. And, for that matter, Kurt Busiek's Astro City, which is broken up into distinct stories that don't cross over into one another, so you can stop wherever you want.

Edited by Ran, 03 January 2010 - 11:45 AM.

[Deluge]

Gigei, on 03 January 2010 - 10:12 AM, said:

fables - very sweet. I do not like Jack so I have not read the spin-off.

The spinoff is an interesting case. I actually thought Jack was alright in the main comic, but the spinoff made me detest him. Sometimes he gets what he deserves, sometimes he doesn't, but he's always an asshole trickster-hero, and is really, really funny. Seriously, it's worth checking out.