Anyone currently reading comics?

[Gorse]

though I've heard good things about the Ultimates

I’d be interested in hearing these good things, too, if anyone has something to say… I wouldn’t mind getting into the current Ultimate continuity.

 

[Zerodelgato]

I’d be interested in hearing these good things, too, if anyone has something to say… I wouldn’t mind getting into the current Ultimate continuity.

The Spider-Man run is fantastic, we get to see actual older Peter with a family. We get a new Mayday, no spider girl with her unfortunately

 

[ATenderLad]

The eternal issue of ongoing episodic comics. It's why I usually stick to standalone graphic novels or tradebacks of specific arcs in runs, I can pretend that the continuity is in a vacuum easier and just enjoy the story by itself more (hopefully); some are easier than other of course. One of my favourite Batman stories is Hush which was a run in the regular Batman series, but it isn't doesn't have many specific continuity connections so you can read it without really being left in the dark.

On another note, I'm thinking of reading Kingdom Come for the first time after the 6 issue Clone Saga miniseries- I have plenty of knowledge of Alex Ross's art specifically in the story, but I've never actually read it. Anyone recommend it, or have some thoughts?

I love that Hush is basically one of the "Batman story archetypes" now, they do a Hush-style boss gauntlet every few years now. (Truly, Knightfall did it first to introduce Bane, but the broken spine tends to overshadow the rest.)

Kingdom Come is beautiful, but you're expecting that. It's somewhat unique, still, a generational story of golden age characters dealing with the rise of violent anti-heroes of the 90's, filtered through the lens of the Biblical End of Days. That's an odd framing, but it gives the absolutely dynamite quote in the first issue, "The Meek shall inherit the Earth....but God didn't account for The Mighty."

I'll avoid details or anything, except to say that the comics industry absolutely didn't change course from the growing violence (obviously), so it's a bit dated perhaps. Still, I really can't say enough for the artwork. It isn't just that Alex Ross illustrates, it's that he had free reign to design the characters as well. He revised and changed existing characters (like a Planetary Guardian Green Lantern, a knight in emerald armor), and outright creates a number of legacy characters to populate the near future.

(The story might not be toooo praiseworthy, Alan Moore had written a Twilight of the Super Heroes and pitched it to DC back in the day, and Kingdom Come is very obviously repurposing that material. I've never heard whether or not that was done with his blessing. His version revolved around Constantine instead of The Spectre and a random pastor, though.)

Only the new Ultimate Spider-Man ATM, though I've heard good things about the Ultimates

The Ultimates isn't bad, if a little slow moving. Getting the band back together, that sort of thing. The last few issues have heated right the hell up though, the books definitely growing on me.

 

[ConanTheDestroyer]

The eternal issue of ongoing episodic comics. It's why I usually stick to standalone graphic novels or tradebacks of specific arcs in runs, I can pretend that the continuity is in a vacuum easier and just enjoy the story by itself more (hopefully); some are easier than other of course. One of my favourite Batman stories is Hush which was a run in the regular Batman series, but it isn't doesn't have many specific continuity connections so you can read it without really being left in the dark.

On another note, I'm thinking of reading Kingdom Come for the first time after the 6 issue Clone Saga miniseries- I have plenty of knowledge of Alex Ross's art specifically in the story, but I've never actually read it. Anyone recommend it, or have some thoughts?

I do the same thing where I read certain stories pretending that they are their own thing, plus it makes it easier to ignore some of the bad runs and stories that mess with the stories that came before. It's why I like to think that J. Michael Straczynski's Spider-man ended at ASM #500, which had a great ending.

And I would recommend Kingdom Come too, the art is fantastic and its only 4 issues. It kind of did what civil war would do years later. Plus I love how Superman is drawn in the series, one of my favourite designs for him.

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2024

Thought I should share my collection after seeing all of the great ones you guys have, though its nowhere near as impressive.

 

[Ikagura]

The eternal issue of ongoing episodic comics

This is why I enjoy standalone-ish stories (like The Killing Joke).

Even for mangas nowadays I prefer one shots or short stories.

 

[Yousef]

Hate to say this but my return to marvel might be via Rivals.

 

[Octopus]

Hate to say this but my return to marvel might be via Rivals.

It's okay, they got me too. I've spent maybe slightly too many hours in the game so far.

Thought I should share my collection after seeing all of the great ones you guys have, though its nowhere near as impressive.

It's not about the size, it's how you use it that counts.

 

[davshap]

Absolute Batman
Absolute Superman
Dark Knights of Steel : Allwinter
Batman : Dark Patterns
Batman : Dark Age
Lobo (2024 one shot)
Aliens vs. Avengers

 

[davshap]

Hey I'm not above it, I play a match or two whenever I have time lately.

Batman: Dark Age is an interesting one, and Allred's artwork is always a draw for a book. I thought the last book by that team, the Superman: Space Age mini-series, was unmemorable, but this has been a big step up.

The Marvel Xenomorph stuff has been solid lately, but I haven't started that crossover yet. Is it good?

(But Absolute Batman and Superman, and no Wonder Woman? Those page layouts are dope as hell!)
View attachment 5192


Oh, random, but if anyone is looking for a new read, I somehow haven't mentioned this yet.
View attachment 5193
The 6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton is about one of the funniest damn comics I've ever read, and maybe my favorite book I read last year. It's about a fictional kinda-sorta Chuck Norris dying, and a handful of the traumatized co-stars he's left in his wake are, to their own surprise, the only people who give enough of a shit to find out who killed the bastard. It's got therapeutic biker gang fights, a Stunt War ("It's war, but with stuntmen"), and Karate Intrigue! It's also just six issues, or one fantastic trade paperback. If you see it peeking at you at Borders or your local bookstore, give it a saucy wink back and take 'em home with you.

Aliens vs. Avengers is impressive, fascinating and mysterious.

 

[Jbranham]

Reading the new tmnt comics by IDW. I am also reading the fist of the north star Manga to compare it to the anime and I was shocked to see the differences between the Manga and the anime.

 

[ATenderLad]

Going over some of the new books I grabbed today, finally started reading a new series called, drum rolllll, Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre.

You ever wish The Great Gatsby had a slightly different ending?

Beats reading the book in high school.

 

[Octopus]

Going over some of the new books I grabbed today, finally started reading a new series called, drum rolllll, Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre.

You ever wish The Great Gatsby had a slightly different ending?

View attachment 5292

Beats reading the book in high school.

Fascinating, I've always been curious about the Godzilla comics. There's the 70's series I have digital copies of maybe I'll read through, but that one you posted definitely has intrigued me.

 

[ATenderLad]

Fascinating, I've always been curious about the Godzilla comics. There's the 70's series I have digital copies of maybe I'll read through, but that one you posted definitely has intrigued me.

This one's definitely fun, the premise is every public domain character exists in the same world, basically League of Extraordinary Gentleman...but also Godzilla.

Oh, another great book currently, Wonder Woman! The current series has been running for a little over a year, I mostly bring it up because today's issue is Detective Chimp vs. America's Secret King...in the style of Columbo.

PERFECTION!

 

[Yousef]

Hmmmmmm I feel this place Is a good place to post a really long rant I’ve been having in mind. Surprisingly not related to either marvel or dc.

 

[ATenderLad]

Hmmmmmm I feel this place Is a good place to post a really long rant I’ve been having in mind. Surprisingly not related to either marvel or dc.

Skin that smoke wagon, let 'er rip.

 

[Rayfox-Ryan]

I have read some of the Comics and Manga that are available at the Library I go to

 

[ATenderLad]

I have read some of the Comics and Manga that are available at the Library I go to

Libraries are great like that....and I've just remembered I need to return this book on the making of Cleopatra and other blockbuster disasters, so thank you!

Random spreads from a book I've been reading because I can-

I love Jordie Bellaire's pencils and retro coloring, and I'm pretty partial to Diana's hair here.

 

[Pinballbuzzbro]

@ATenderLad Excellent write-up! This is why I just read comics about giant robots punching each other.

I really do feel for Spider-Man fans, because I know One More Day was a massive, controversial thing, too. From the standpoint of Marvel's editorial team, though, I'm sure the idea of "happily married, responsible adult Peter Parker" doesn't seem too appealing as a selling point for their children's comic book.

I'm not really familiar enough with the character to understand whether or not this makes sense narratively, but I hope the current team is able to resolve things in a way that doesn't drive their fanbase too nuts. Peter's Spider-Man seems to be getting the shaft a lot, nowadays...

It's not even just the comics anymore, Spider-Man in general when it comes to Peter Parker is just in a completely miserable state rn

-Movie scene is a mess with the 4th MCU film reportedly going through development hell with Sony wanting to turn it more and more into a crossover movie
-Spider-man 2 was rushed out the door for the game awards and as a result has a dissapointing story and several infuriating softlocking bugs
-The new friendly neighborhood spider-man show is looking to be more of the same, not doing anything to stand out

Only silver linings right now are the AMAZING new Ultimates comic run with him and the fact we might get shattered dimensions(aka the BEST spider-man game, ermmm i wont be taking no for an answer I'm simply correct on this UwU) back for official purchase on Steam.

 

[ATenderLad]

It's not even just the comics anymore, Spider-Man in general when it comes to Peter Parker is just in a completely miserable state rn

-Movie scene is a mess with the 4th MCU film reportedly going through development hell with Sony wanting to turn it more and more into a crossover movie
-Spider-man 2 was rushed out the door for the game awards and as a result has a dissapointing story and several infuriating softlocking bugs
-The new friendly neighborhood spider-man show is looking to be more of the same, not doing anything to stand out

Only silver linings right now are the AMAZING new Ultimates comic run with him and the fact we might get shattered dimensions(aka the BEST spider-man game, ermmm i wont be taking no for an answer I'm simply correct on this UwU) back for official purchase on Steam.

To be fair, if they didn't do another MCU Spider-Man it'd probably be a blessing, they've managed three boring movies and counting.

 

[Octopus]

shattered dimensions(aka the BEST spider-man game, ermmm i wont be taking no for an answer I'm simply correct on this UwU)

That is an incredibly correct statement full of truth, Shattered Dimensions is a nearly perfect game. I'm excited if there's potential to get a rerelease on it, I haven't heard about that at all.

I also was curious- what's everyone's top 5 comics? I'm dropping the hard questions here. I'll drop mine, I've been thinking a lot about this lately which is what prompted me to want to ask this. It can be specific issues if that's the case, or a run or graphic novel as long as it's a comic book or a manga even- if you're brave, go for 10.
1. Ultimate Spider-Man. What else needs to be said.
2. Batman: The Long Halloween. To me it's the best Batman story for a whole bunch of reasons. It shows the detective side, while Batman is stoic and gritty in it he's not necessarily 'dark' or anti social which a lot of adaptations lean maybe too far into (I love when he goes back and gives Grundy a turkey dinner after encountering him, it's a nice little gesture), and the mystery part of it is very well written and paced. It's also full of so many memorable lines and narration, Jeph Loeb is one of my favourite writers.
3. Deadpool and Cable. Its the perfect mix of humour and drama, as written by the fantastic Nicieza. It's also the last time that Deadpool was more or less an actual character before he got flanderized, at least to me. There's some pathos and character to him in this- he's still funny, but there's some actual tragedy to him as a good chunk of the early story involves his worsening brain damage from his healing factor and the ramifications of it and him trying to deal with it. Also, as someone said earlier in the thread, "G.I Jesus" Cable is also fantastic of course and the only version of the character I've ever really enjoyed. So many good moments for both characters in the run.
4. The original 80s Moon Knight solo run. I love me some Moon Knight, and while he does have some fantastic modern stories and runs I do enjoy, I personally love the original ones for the different vibe, being before the whole "schizophrenia, or is it?" stuff that's taken over his character to me.
5. Daredevil: Yellow. Maybe I just have a thing for Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb, but they are of course amazing so it's understandable I think. Yellow just takes the top 5 spot over Born Again for me because of the vibe, I love how it straddles the line between the gritty Daredevil and the more brighter stuff from the early years of the character.
6. Daredevil: Born Again. Once again, what else needs to be said about this.
7. Punisher: Girls in White Dresses. Part of the Punisher MAX imprint/continuity, its about Frank being asked to investigate and 'solve the problem' in a Mexican border town that's had it's women being kidnapped by human traffickers. I was torn on putting the whole Punisher MAX run here, but decided on this instead as it's my personal favourite Punisher story. Dark, violent, and has some really strong characterization and character moments for Frank. Really recommend it.
8. Watchmen. I know, an expected answer but it has to be on here somewhere.
9. All Star Superman. I think it's the definitive example of what Superman should be, and has so many classic moments- not to mention some obviously solid writing from Morrison. I love Luthor in this, and the final interaction between him and Clark is perfection of their characters. Bring back the good natured 'too pure for this world' Superman, please people.
10. Danny Rand Iron Fist. I'm breaking my vague rules and just saying a character, I couldn't narrow it down for him so I just had to say 'Danny Rand Iron Fist'. I will simp for him on a moment's notice and have no regrets.

 

[Gorse]

what's everyone's top 5 comics?

Mate, you’ve dropped 10! I’ll let you off the hook this time, but let’s keep our noses clean going forward, hm?

Here are mine — I’ve specifically listed comic books and not comic strips, of which my list would be completely different. I’ve also left off manga and webcomics for sheer purity. Without further ado…

#5: Love and Rockets: Heartbreak Soup. I just got into LaR this very year, and I was so glad I did — these comics are awesome. I haven’t read any of the other sub-series, but the Palomar story is just like watching a telenovella — characters and their world grow, hate, and love one another, and everything is always extremely entertaining.

The black-and-white art is great — it would lose a lot of personality in colour — and I just like being in the setting of 1950s-1970s rural Mexico. I quite literally said “Aaaawww…” when I saw one of the girls in this grow up and have kids of her own, which should be recommendation enough.

#4: Sonic the Comic. For those who don’t know: this was the UK’s original Sonic series published by Fleetway that ran for about six years in the 90s. During that time, the writers took the character and his world in a really weird, insane direction, but I think it totally worked, and I love a lot of the original concepts introduced. (The Metallix are effing based as hell, gyatt!)

Much of the artwork sucks, but when it’s good, the world really comes alive in a way no other Sonic series does. The English understand this character much more than Americans do... maybe even more than the Japanese.

#3: Doug TenNapel’s Gear. It’s Evangelion with cats, and for my money, ol’ Dougie can plant his foot straight up Hideki Anno’s bot-bot any day. I really love how this book plays so much with the comic format — in addition to having beautiful artwork, characters and scene elements spill out of their panels and leap through gutters, interacting with the actual “reality” of the comic in very cool ways I’ve never seen anyone else do.

I remember so many little one-page vignettes from this — TenNapel really crammed a lot in six issues. I could see people who don't like cute characters brutally dying or heavy-handed religious symbolism disliking it, but if you're OK with those things, this is a great read. Awesome villain, too.

#2: The Crab with the Golden Claws. Every Tintin album is fucking phenomenal, start to finish, but I'd rank this one as the "best" purely by merit of having the most recognizable iconography, an exceptionally-good story, and some of the best characterization I've ever seen in a fictional work. I love how smoothly every plot point is introduced and feeds into one another – it's a really fun, rollicking adventure, and what it lacks in complexity it owns in pure, classic spirit.

ALSO: If you've never read this – or even if you have – check out the adaptation Nelvana did in their 90s Tintin animated series. It's a great, accurate retelling of this in a fully-voiced cartoon form, and lends a unique appeal to Hergé's writing.

#1: Bone by Jeff Smith. This series was my childhood distilled into a nine-volume set. It has my single favourite premise for any media ever — cartoon characters get lost in a serious world and are swept up in adventure — and everything, from the cast to the dialogue to the scenery, is dripping with sincerity and appeal.

It’s gorgeously-drawn, funny, charming, exciting, and has some truly phenomenal character design. I love this series like little else, and I want to live in its beautiful world. Jeff Smith never really did anything besides Bone (excluding little spinoffs here and there), and I honestly think that's for the best. Highly recommended for all ages.

 

[Octopus]

Mate, you’ve dropped 10! I’ll let you off the hook this time, but let’s keep our noses clean going forward, hm?

Sometimes you just got to break your own rules, you know?

Sick list, it's nice to see some more non-superhero stuff (I'm basic, I know). I've always had Bone on my radar but have never gotten around to reading it- maybe I'll give it a go finally.

Also, was that Freeway Sonic the Comic the wild one? I've only seen out of context pages like this one where Tails seemingly almost JFK's Robotnik:

And I'm never sure if it's from that earlier Freeway series or the more modern Ken Penders written stuff.

 

[Yousef]

Shit I promised a very big rant two days ago and I haven’t delivered yet… gotta work on that

 

[Gorse]

Also, was that Freeway Sonic the Comic the wild one?

Yes, although that page is taken out of context for comedy purposes – it's a fantasy scene that's an active parody of the JFK assassination played for laughs (and it's part of the Tails-focused back-up strip, not the main storyline). The real comic is weird in a more "insane dimension-hopping 90s-British-pop-culture-referencing Red Dwarf-influenced-sci-fi" way, with ghost pirates and Spice Girls and evil alien fish. StC has nothing to do at all with any other Sonic comic – it was developed entirely independently in England.

I'd definitely recommend it if a weird take on Sonic sounds at all interesting to you – it's nothing like the games, any TV show, the movies, or any other comic. It's essentially an original story that just happens to feature Sonic, Robotnik, etc., and only adapts certain elements from the games sparingly. The back-up strips included in the magazine for other Sega IPs, like Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and Shining Force, are also known for being excellent comics in their own right.

I've always had Bone on my radar but have never gotten around to reading it- maybe I'll give it a go finally.

You definitely should! The series just got a massive hardcover collection in colour if you're ready to take the plunge. (Definitely get it in colour if you can, the colourist did a phenomenal job under direct supervision of the original artist.) It isn't too long, and is a completely unique take on high fantasy that no other comic or cartoon has ever compared to. (And they've certainly tried!) If you just want to give it a quick, non-committal try, the first volume is on Amazon for $10, and at that price it's an impulse buy.

 

[Yousef]

Mate, you’ve dropped 10! I’ll let you off the hook this time, but let’s keep our noses clean going forward, hm?

Here are mine — I’ve specifically listed comic books and not comic strips, of which my list would be completely different. I’ve also left off manga and webcomics for sheer purity. Without further ado…

#5: Love and Rockets: Heartbreak Soup. I just got into LaR this very year, and I was so glad I did — these comics are awesome. I haven’t read any of the other sub-series, but the Palomar story is just like watching a telenovella — characters and their world grow, hate, and love one another, and everything is always extremely entertaining.

The black-and-white art is great — it would lose a lot of personality in colour — and I just like being in the setting of 1950s-1970s rural Mexico. I quite literally said “Aaaawww…” when I saw one of the girls in this grow up and have kids of her own, which should be recommendation enough.

#4: Sonic the Comic. For those who don’t know: this was the UK’s original Sonic series published by Fleetway that ran for about six years in the 90s. During that time, the writers took the character and his world in a really weird, insane direction, but I think it totally worked, and I love a lot of the original concepts introduced. (The Metallix are effing based as hell, gyatt!)

Much of the artwork sucks, but when it’s good, the world really comes alive in a way no other Sonic series does. The English understand this character much more than Americans do... maybe even more than the Japanese.

#3: Doug TenNapel’s Gear. It’s Evangelion with cats, and for my money, ol’ Dougie can plant his foot straight up Hideki Anno’s bot-bot any day. I really love how this book plays so much with the comic format — in addition to having beautiful artwork, characters and scene elements spill out of their panels and leap through gutters, interacting with the actual “reality” of the comic in very cool ways I’ve never seen anyone else do.

I remember so many little one-page vignettes from this — TenNapel really crammed a lot in six issues. I could see people who don't like cute characters brutally dying or heavy-handed religious symbolism disliking it, but if you're OK with those things, this is a great read. Awesome villain, too.

#2: The Crab with the Golden Claws. Every Tintin album is fucking phenomenal, start to finish, but I'd rank this one as the "best" purely by merit of having the most recognizable iconography, an exceptionally-good story, and some of the best characterization I've ever seen in a fictional work. I love how smoothly every plot point is introduced and feeds into one another – it's a really fun, rollicking adventure, and what it lacks in complexity it owns in pure, classic spirit.

ALSO: If you've never read this – or even if you have – check out the adaptation Nelvana did in their 90s Tintin animated series. It's a great, accurate retelling of this in a fully-voiced cartoon form, and lends a unique appeal to Hergé's writing.

#1: Bone by Jeff Smith. This series was my childhood distilled into a nine-volume set. It has my single favourite premise for any media ever — cartoon characters get lost in a serious world and are swept up in adventure — and everything, from the cast to the dialogue to the scenery, is dripping with sincerity and appeal.

It’s gorgeously-drawn, funny, charming, exciting, and has some truly phenomenal character design. I love this series like little else, and I want to live in its beautiful world. Jeff Smith never really did anything besides Bone (excluding little spinoffs here and there), and I honestly think that's for the best. Highly recommended for all ages.

HELL YEAH I love sonic the comic.I adore asshole characters and sonic does fill in for that.
He’s so savage.

I love how writer Nigel weighed in on this particular strip, I believe this was meant to showcase Sonic’s inability to express that he cares for porky.
That’s all well and good, but cmon, it’s just hilarious how mean he is for no reason. For a guy who loves chili dogs, he sure has no chill.