Comics, Graphic Novels and Manga

[red snow]

I find it funny that Bleeding Cool last week shared a video from a guy who stood up at a con and demanded Quesada resign as EiC, to much catcalling ... and now, hey, Quesada has moved out of EiC (but, he's moved up, not out, heh).

I think this is probably a good move from Marvel's POV, and all around. Quesada has had a tempestuous relationship with certain segments of fans of late, and this move helps put the EiC in a more favorable PR position while leaving Joey Q free to do pretty much what he's always done, which is figure out how to maximize Marvel's market share. The only real danger is if he keeps doubling down on mega-events and it eventually backfires, but so far it's doing okay. Reports that sales were way down in November were due to an error from Diamond and it looks like so far things are pretty steady.

Luckily for Alonso it seems that Spider-man's one more day story was soley Quesada's idea or at least Quesada bravely took all the responsibility for that train-wreck (I would have read BND but couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't "real"). Quesada still makes for a good PR guy and on the whole his decisions have clearly been good ones.

I'm sure it's a relief for comicdon as a whole if the November sales are inaccurate. It's still concerning that they haven't had any comics crack the 100K barrier for a few months though. I can remember in middle of last decade there were months where the entire top 10 were easily cracking it. I guess total sales are what's important but usually if the bestsellers aren't selling well then it's even worse for the rest.

The big test next year will be seeing whether sales of Marvel and DC's new mega-events do boost sales to levels that Blackest night and Secret Invasion/Dark Reign were. If they do then it's hard to fault them for churning them out as they tried taking a year off (although i'm not sure that Marvel's year of mini-events is really a year off) and the sales went down.

[Ran]

The Fear event and the death of one of the Fantastic Four (I think Bleeding Cool's speculation that it's

the Thing

is spot on) looks like it's got some media heat, at least. Shall be interesting to see how it goes.

Garlan,

Great recommendations, but I feel that you need a disclaimer on Neonomicon. Moore has said that he was in a very black, very misanthropic mood when he wrote this, and it shows. Oh, yes, it absolutely shows. It features a very brutal, extended rape sequence in the second issue, and it's simply not going to be for everyone. Not. At. All.

I should also mention that anyone who does pick it up should also seek out Moore's The Courtyard, of which Neonomicon is basically a sequel.

[haLobEnder]

Warren Ellis' Freakangels (Avatar Press)

Also available here as a web comic if people are interested in checking it out.

I got a few chapters in but stopped following it due to the sheer amount of other comics I have on the go. Eventually I'll start reading it again. Just wish Avatar Press trades were a more reasonable price so I didn't have to be glued to my computer to read.

Daniel Clowes' Wilson (Drawn and Quaterly)

Unless I'm missing something profound, the ending was disappointing to say the least.

Also, while I was reading this all I could think about was how this make a much better film than graphic novel. Just have Richard Linklater do his rotoscope thing with each scene being a different animation style, and get Philip Seymour Hoffman to repeat his Synecdoche, New York performance :P

Joe Casey's Butcher Baker, The Richteous Maker (Image Comics)

Any interest I had in this series was lost due to it's SPAM-like advertising campaign. I really got to wonder what the marketing guys at image were thinking. Er, are there marketing guys at image? :P

Great recommendations, but I feel that you need a disclaimer on Neonomicon. Moore has said that he was in a very black, very misanthropic mood when he wrote this, and it shows. Oh, yes, it absolutely shows. It features a very brutal, extended rape sequence in the second issue, and it's simply not going to be for everyone. Not. At. All.

I should also mention that anyone who does pick it up should also seek out Moore's The Courtyard, of which Neonomicon is basically a sequel.

It's funny, I've only picked up the first issue of Neonomicon and while more 'graphic' than most the mainstream comics out there, it didn't seem quite as depraved as some of Avatar's other stuff, such as Crossed. Apparently all that changed with the second issue however. All I've heard about the series since then is how completely twisted it is.

BTW, has anyone been picking up either of the George R.R. Martin series currently seeing print?

I was buying Fevre Dream in issues up until my LCS sold out of #5 before I had a chance to pick it up. Now I think I'll probably wait for the trade. Truth be told though, despite the talent on it, I was finding the pacing far too slow.

Doorways I bought the first issue of, but have decided not to follow further as I've already read the pilot script. If they come out with comics based on the subsequent scripts I may give it another shot.

[red snow]

The Fear event and the death of one of the Fantastic Four (I think Bleeding Cool's speculation that it's

the Thing

is spot on) looks like it's got some media heat, at least. Shall be interesting to see how it goes.

I really don't get the hype behind this Fantastic Four thing. It's only a couple of years since they last killed one of them off (I think it was Reed during the excellent Waid/Wieringo run) and it wasn't new then. Even Mark Millar played with the idea a year ago. Is there a member of the team that hasn't died before? Does anyone think this will be permanent or even last until the next FF lands?

I was thinking what woudl have turned out to be a surprise would be if the 3 actually referred to the number of characters dying so that there'd only be one regular one and 3 new members. Although they'd be Deadpool, Wolverine and Spider-man ;)

I should check out some of the trades of Hickman's run though as it seems to have been getting a fair amount of buzz even before the death-hype kicked off

[Gigei]

Preacher clearly wasn't to your liking.

For some reason, before I read it I thought it would be a mature adult comic. You know, like cool and edgy. Instead I got crass and juvenile. I'm just way past the age where a person whose face looks like an ass is funny just because he is there.

There were some laugh-out-loud moments though like when Cassidy meets an "Anne Rice-type" vampire in one of the side books.

I also thought Cassidy's characterization was pretty good

Yes, he does have the best characterization, IMO.

[red snow]

For some reason, before I read it I thought it would be a mature adult comic. You know, like cool and edgy. Instead I got crass and juvenile. I'm just way past the age where a person whose face looks like an ass is funny just because he is there.

There were some laugh-out-loud moments though like when Cassidy meets an "Anne Rice-type" vampire in one of the side books.

Yes, he does have the best characterization, IMO.

I think i got tired with this approach as he continued it with Marvel Knights Punisher and stretched it to breaking point with his Authority:Kev one-shots.

It's maybe worth trying some of Ennis' non-juvenile "mature" books. Punisher Max is supposed to be excellent (several people on this thread rate it) and I think some of his war stories were straight-cut. Probably best to avoid "the boys" though.

[Nephrite]

Any interest I had in this series was lost due to it's SPAM-like advertising campaign. I really got to wonder what the marketing guys at image were thinking. Er, are there marketing guys at image? :P

Are there marketing guys at any comicbook company? The teaser image schtick is a staple of ALL of them. It's the only thing they do beside making their writers and artists do their own PR in interviews and on twitter.

[kuroishi]

So, I'm going to the USA (New York) next week and I was wondering if I could get some comics/graphic novels recommendations from the board.

I'm mostly looking for good slice-of-life/autobiographical comics.

Here are a few things I've read and liked : Craig Thompson's Blankets, Alex Robinson's Box Office Poison, Daniel Clowes' Ghost World, some of Adrian Tomine's books too, though I couldn't provide a name. I've also liked Scott Pilgrim but that's not exactly the same thing :)

It'd be great having some idea of what to look for before getting there.

[Switchback]

I just found a copy of DC Showcase - Adam Strange Vol 1 at the second hand shop. I picked it up knowing nothing about the series. Looks like some good, old school sci-fi fun though. What am I in for?

[Dr Adder]

Everyone, avoid the Bendis reboot of moon knight it is going to be utter shite.

Can recommend fighting manga The Breaker. also Veritas.

in the web comic department I've been reading Girl Genius, Dungeons & Denizens, Guilded Age and Goblins.

[red snow]

Everyone, avoid the Bendis reboot of moon knight it is going to be utter shite.

Can recommend fighting manga The Breaker. also Veritas.

in the web comic department I've been reading Girl Genius, Dungeons & Denizens, Guilded Age and Goblins.

It does seem odd that Bendis is writing the new Moon Knight, when Brubaker is writing him in his secret avengers title. It would seem to make more sense and be less hassle editorially to have Brubaker write the title or place Moon Knight on one of Bendis' teams. The avengers roster changes every 12 months anyhow so we'll probably see the change occur after the next "big" event.

[Dr Adder]

and the new gimmick to make it "more appealing" to readers is that moon knights multiple personality disorder has been expanded so he takes on personalities of other heroes, i.e spiderman how the hell this is going to work I don't know cause with the exception of the punisher no other hero really does what moon knight does, and the new MPD is going to turn him into one of those "with great power comes great responsibility" losers. I want the guy who rips faces off, kills, maims and dishes out the pain to the people who had it coming.

[me399]

Has anyone read the Manga series "Pluto" yet. I have heard good things about it and was wondering if you all have read it yet.

[kuroishi]

Has anyone read the Manga series "Pluto" yet. I have heard good things about it and was wondering if you all have read it yet.

It's good. Have you read Urasawa's Monster or 20th Century Boys yet?

If you did and liked them, then you should like Pluto too.

And if you haven't read them, you should.

Pluto is a modern/"gritty" retelling of a Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy) story. It's a good SF story in my opinion.

[me399]

It's good. Have you read Urasawa's Monster or 20th Century Boys yet?

If you did and liked them, then you should like Pluto too.

And if you haven't read them, you should.

Pluto is a modern/"gritty" retelling of a Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy) story. It's a good SF story in my opinion.

I have never read any Manga before, ever. I did read the first book of "Deathnote" and then I just watched the cartoon so this would be the first manga I am thinking about trying.

[kuroishi]

I have never read any Manga before, ever. I did read the first book of "Deathnote" and then I just watched the cartoon so this would be the first manga I am thinking about trying.

Your first manga? Well, then I guess you could do much worse than Pluto. Maybe Monster (by the same author) could be a better entry point, it has a very "occidental" feeling to it.(due in large part to it taking place in Europe). Depends on the type of story you like. Monster is a murder/thriller story while Pluto is SF.

[Noroldis]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before in this thread, but I've found the Drowtales webcomic to be one of the most lavishly illustrated comics I've ever seen. Not only is it free, but it's updated daily, with 1,492 pages as of this post. Oh, and in case you're worried from the comic's name that the story involves some angsty renegade drow ranger clone of Drizzt do'Urden, I can assure you that's not the case.

[manmiles]

I have never read any Manga before, ever. I did read the first book of "Deathnote" and then I just watched the cartoon so this would be the first manga I am thinking about trying.

I'd have to recommend 'Akira' as well, I think Dark Horse have just reprinted it. But be warned, it comes in six volumes each one the size of a small to largish phone book. Visually, the anime film is amazing, but there's so much more plot in the manga that makes it a huge, fantastic beast to read. My love for anime and manga comes and goes, Akira is still one of the best comics I've ever read.

[Kosciuszko]

So I have been reading Soul Eater Not! as it comes out. This is a spin-off of the popular Soul Eater... some call it oriented towards girls, I really don't think so. The main characters just happen to be girls in it. Definite yuri vibe throughout but not in a bad way.

It only has two chapters out right now but I enjoyed each. It has a lot more about Soul Eater's world compared to the other series, much less a case of a person born and raised into that world, like Maka was and more of a character set that has no idea what the world of Weapons and Weapon Technicians are all about.

[haLobEnder]

I have never read any Manga before, ever. I did read the first book of "Deathnote" and then I just watched the cartoon so this would be the first manga I am thinking about trying.

Give Blade of the Immortal a try. Assuming you've come to these forums because you like ASoIaF, it would probably appeal to you. It's a low fantasy series taking place in feudal Japan, and features all the staples of ASoIaF: gritty violence, dirty politics, pubescent girls killing a lot of people...

Oh, and it inspired me to learn about the Ainu.

I picked up 5 volumes of Essential X-Men the other day. Haven't cracked them open yet but it looks like I've got A LOT of reading ahead of me :P