Comic Recommendations - What do you suggest?

[TheIronRuler]

Hey there Escapists. I've recently been introduced to a lovely little shop that deals with comics... I picked up a few titles I recognized, and now I want to come again and purchase some more books. Can you help me out in deciding what to pick?

Here are the books I already own:
V For Vendetta
The Killing Joke
Y The Last Man
Watchmen
The Authority (V. 1)
Unknown Soldier

I've been told about the Hellblazer series (I've had a man-crush for John Constantine ever since I discovered he existed), but I don't know where to begin with the story since the store doesn't currently have Volume 1.

What should I get next? I like it how action, suspense and drama merge together in one volume... The Authority's art is a incredible. Y The Last Man is a long-ass road-trip that touched my heart. I think that nearly all of my comics are from the Vertigo label, but I'm open to any and all comics, as long as they're good!

 

[Zontar]

A good 4 parter is "Marvels" (yes, it's basically Marvel but with an "S" at the end for the title). It's basically a story which follows a reporter who has a front row seat in the Marvel universe as the first Human Torch and Namor appear, and shows the worlds reaction to it all from the everyman point of view, then goes into the more outlandish entries making their entry onto the scene, and goes all the way up to "the day Gwen Stacy Dies" story arc (that's not a spoiler, that's the name of the comic arc everyone uses these days). The writing is superb and the photorealistic art style (which ironically used Patrick Steward as the template for Charles Xavier 6 years before the first X-men movie) is very well done, making each panel look like a painting.

Easily one of the best things Marvel ever made.

There's also Superman Red Son, an elseworld story where Superman landed in the USSR instead of the US, and I just can't say much else apart from it is a great story with an ending that will stick with you.

 

[Queen Michael]

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso is awesome.

Here's the basic plot: A man named Graves visits people that have been wronged in some way. He gives them information about who's responsible, proof that this information is accurate, a pistol, and one hundred untraceable bullets. Until you've shot the person that wronged you, you have a carte blanche that gives you the right to shoot anyone you want with these bullets. But once you've killed that person, they're just ordinary bullets.

For some time, that's all the comic's about. But after a while, the comic starts digging into who Graves and his associates are. It's got excellent dialogue, artwork that I love, and a plot that requires you to use your brain. It's highest on my list of my all-time favorite comics. (Though that's because the list is alphabetical.)

 

[jademunky]

Here are the books I already own:
V For Vendetta
The Killing Joke
Y The Last Man
Watchmen
The Authority (V. 1)
Unknown Soldier

If you are a fan of Vertigo, I would suggest reading Sandman.

If you were looking for superhero comics, you might want to buy the digital download of Superior Spider-man. I was skeptical of the premise (Peter Parker dies and his body is taken over by Doctor Octopus) but it is really enjoyable.

I also notice that half your list is by Alan Moore. You might, in that case, check out his run on Miracleman. Marvel Comics started republishing it. It is a bit of a slow buildup for the story to really get going but when it does.....

 

[Vault101]

Let me just bring this out again....

Spoiler: Morning Glories

[img/]http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1300401645l/10088114.jpg[/img]

Morning Glories, a super natural mind bending mystery....a mysterious private school that only accpets students born in certain months to be used for some unknown purpose...

Spoiler: Saga

[img/]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51udPuzbqWL.jpg[/img]

Saga- a star wars like world that represents our own, about two parents from Waring worlds who hook up and have a baby...

Spoiler: Locke & Key

[img/]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Joehilllockekey.jpg[/img]

a family moves into an old familiy home which holds secrets from the past....in the form of magial keys that "open" more than doors

Spoiler: Preacher

[img/]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx6JDFr9dhM/UClzlimTxcI/AAAAAAAAAFY/BlSE1L-8sgs/s1600/Preacher%20vol%201.jpg[/img]

The story of a Preacher his ex girlfriend and Irish Vampire friend and their quest to find god

Spoiler: Queen and country

[img/]http://ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/queen_country_011.jpg[/img]

Female James bond in a much more grounded world...

Spoiler: Pretty Deadly

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/prettydeadly_vol1.jpg[/img]

a supernatural western about deaths daughter,

Spoiler: east of west

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/EOW_TRADE_01.jpg[/img]

sort of a western...ts about death (similar to pretty deadly) I lost track of what was going on in this one but the art is gorgeous

Spoiler: Revival

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/revival-vol1-web.jpg[/img]

Revival, on one day in one small town all the dead come back to live....but do they come back right?

Spoiler: Lazarus

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/LAZARUS_TPB.jpg [/img]

a dystopian where only a few families control all the wealth in a post apocalyptic future...protagonist is the families "lazurus" she does not die..

Spoiler: Bedlam

[img/]http://thecomixverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/bedlam-vol1-cov-web.jpg[/img]

is evil something you're born with or can it be cured? an ex super villan (a psychotic version of the joker) is "cured" and now must settle into a normal life

 

[deathbydeath]

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso is awesome.

This.

Let me just bring this out again....

I take it someone recently acquired the Humble Image Comics Bundle?

As to my own recommendations, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run is pure gold.

 

[Vault101]

I take it someone recently acquired the Humble Image Comics Bundle?
.

heh, nah...I just happen to read a lot of image...since they put out the most worth reading if you're not into the big two

 

[klaynexas3]

Wasn't there one of these recently?

Anyway, anything from Evil Ink is pretty good, though since it's only now just coming out, I'd recommend Translucid.

I don't know really much else. I'd like to get into comics, but I'm not doing a great job at it.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Nextwave: Agents of Hate
For all intents and purposes it's a loving deconstruction of just how silly the Marvel universe is. Mainly a comedy series but still worth a read for the snappy dialogue.

Powers
A comic series focusing on the ground level operations of the Homicide Detectives working in a city plagued with Superheroes. It suffers slightly from the need to rely on off brand superheroes but since the overall focus is on the Detectives it's not a huge strike.

All Star Superman
I'm not a big fan of Supes but this series made me at least take an interest. All Star Superman is pretty much am out of continuity crash course in the overall concept of Superman. My only complaint is that it toys with the idea of a more relatable if not sympathetic Lex Luthor but then just goes full bore with his usual sociopath schtick.

 

[RealRT]

Mark Waid's Daredevil (that's 2011 and 2014 runs on Daredevil), full stop. Awesome with a capital A.

 

[Vault101]

Powers
A comic series focusing on the ground level operations of the Homicide Detectives working in a city plagued with Superheroes. It suffers slightly from the need to rely on off brand superheroes but since the overall focus is on the Detectives it's not a huge strike.

whats wrong with off brand superheros? it really doesn't make any difference, ESPECIALLY if said reader isn't interested in superheroes in the first place, same goes for The Boys and Bedlam

if it did use "actual" [footnote/] which when you think about it these superheroes aren't any less valid then their mainstream counterparts[/footnote] superheroes it would then be owned by either DC or Marvel and be subject to all the problems of those brands...plus they couldn't really do anything with them unless it was an "alternate take' but really who wants to deal with all that bullshit?

 

[Azure23]

Let me just bring this out again....

Spoiler: Morning Glories

[img/]http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1300401645l/10088114.jpg[/img]

Morning Glories, a super natural mind bending mystery....a mysterious private school that only accpets students born in certain months to be used for some unknown purpose...

Spoiler: Saga

[img/]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51udPuzbqWL.jpg[/img]

Saga- a star wars like world that represents our own, about two parents from Waring worlds who hook up and have a baby...

Spoiler: Locke & Key

[img/]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/Joehilllockekey.jpg[/img]

a family moves into an old familiy home which holds secrets from the past....in the form of magial keys that "open" more than doors

Spoiler: Preacher

[img/]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx6JDFr9dhM/UClzlimTxcI/AAAAAAAAAFY/BlSE1L-8sgs/s1600/Preacher%20vol%201.jpg[/img]

The story of a Preacher his ex girlfriend and Irish Vampire friend and their quest to find god

Spoiler: Queen and country

[img/]http://ifanboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/queen_country_011.jpg[/img]

Female James bond in a much more grounded world...

Spoiler: Pretty Deadly

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/prettydeadly_vol1.jpg[/img]

a supernatural western about deaths daughter,

Spoiler: east of west

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/EOW_TRADE_01.jpg[/img]

sort of a western...ts about death (similar to pretty deadly) I lost track of what was going on in this one but the art is gorgeous

Spoiler: Revival

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/revival-vol1-web.jpg[/img]

Revival, on one day in one small town all the dead come back to live....but do they come back right?

Spoiler: Lazarus

[img/]http://d138hkes00e90m.cloudfront.net/release_images/LAZARUS_TPB.jpg [/img]

a dystopian where only a few families control all the wealth in a post apocalyptic future...protagonist is the families "lazurus" she does not die..

Spoiler: Bedlam

[img/]http://thecomixverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/bedlam-vol1-cov-web.jpg[/img]

is evil something you're born with or can it be cured? an ex super villan (a psychotic version of the joker) is "cured" and now must settle into a normal life

Holy shit you ninja'd like all of my recommendations, someone likes Image comics huh?

Yes, everyone needs to be reading Saga, and Pretty Deadly, and Chew, and Bedlam, and actually most things coming of out Image these days are pretty killer.

Also you have to check out the rebooted Prophet, the original was one of the dumbest characters ever conceived of by Rob liefeld (and that's really saying something), but the reboot is this huge epic with multiple storylines and one of the coolest and most original sci fi universes I've ever seen. It's a treat and the art is fantastic too, they do that thing where each character or storyline gets their own graphic style and artist and they're all great. I'd also throw in recommendations for Robert Kirkman's love letter to superheroes; Invincible. If you love spiderman but think that Marvel has butchered the character over the last decade then maybe Invincible is for you! It's essentially the story of the son of the post powerful being on the planet gaining powers and then. . . .it's a long running series in the vein of the walking dead with a singular continuity and permanent character death, it's as visceral and gory as if superman actually punched someone but it's always there for a purpose, the writing is consistently top notch (what else would you expect from the big K?) and characters actually change and grow up in as best an approximation of time as can be given. Thats what I like about Image, no shareholders to please, no status quo to maintain, just creator owned books with the writers and artists doing what they want. It's creative enterprise as it should be.

 

[Objectable]

Empowered, a social commentary on the importance of role models, self-esteem and its direct link to sexualization.
Plus, its dam hilarious.

I also recommend the two modern day Transformers Comics, More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Powers
A comic series focusing on the ground level operations of the Homicide Detectives working in a city plagued with Superheroes. It suffers slightly from the need to rely on off brand superheroes but since the overall focus is on the Detectives it's not a huge strike.

whats wrong with off brand superheros? it really doesn't make any difference, ESPECIALLY if said reader isn't interested in superheroes in the first place, same goes for The Boys and Bedlam

if it did use "actual" [footnote/] which when you think about it these superheroes aren't any less valid then their mainstream counterparts[/footnote] superheroes it would then be owned by either DC or Marvel and be subject to all the problems of those brands...plus they couldn't really do anything with them unless it was an "alternate take' but really who wants to deal with all that bullshit?

I could have worded my objection a bit better. The Superhero genre suffers a from the fact that all the good power sets are already taken. I accept that it makes it difficult to write up a good new hero without borrowing a bit from the heavy hitters of the genre.

The problem Powers ran into is that they seemed to actively make their off brand heroes into obvious plays on established characters.

For example Triphammer AKA Not Iron Man.

For a serious toned Police drama this kind of thing runs the risk of coming off as parody.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Kevin Smith run on Batman was pretty good (Batman: Cacophony and Batman: The Widening Gyre)

It's also set to be the last Batman story of the old DC Universe, as soon as he finishes his arc. (Shut up, I know)

Plus Poison Ivy gets Batman stoned in it...

 

[Auberon]

If you enjoy Authority, pick up Warren's Stormwatch run for the backstory. If Sandman, pick up Lucifer but read at very least Season of Mists for the backdrop of his solo series - it's very much more comprehensive with the tighter story, where Sandman veers off and returns to the overall arc of Morpheus.

 

[Muspelheim]

I don't know how you feel about anthropomorphised characters, but I'd recommend the Blacksad series, by Juan Diaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido. They might be a bit difficult to find, but it's worth keeping an eye out.

In brief, they are noir detective stories about the titular private eye Blacksad, set on the American East Coast in 1940-50-ish (as befits a noir detective story, really). While the plots aren't exactly breaking new ground, they're well written and executed. Like most crime dramas, you can more or less sing along if you have some experience with the genre, but they work very well. It's the sort of stories when you don't mind that beats are familiar, I suppose. The "Father Brown" effect.

As for the artwork, the anthropomorphisation of the characters might make or break it, but the artwork is really damn gorgeous, executed with muted water colours. It's the sort of comic when you can sit for ages just admiring the scenery. It's scenery and views we've all seen before, but it still looks marvellous.

It's bordering on furfaggotry in internet terms, but it stands perfectly well nonetheless.

-

As for more recommendations, I don't know if it's up your alley either, but I do suggest keeping an eye out for Joe Sacco's work.

Basically, he is a journalist-cartoonist, and did two stints in Bosnia, leading to the books The Fixer and Safe Area Gorazde. While... Not exactly light material, they are damned fascinating reads, and well presented. It's documentary comics rather than fictional ones, but it might be worth a look, too.

Also, there are the historical works of Jacques Tardi, a French cartoonist who amongst other things have done several chilling books on The Great War (such as It Was the War of the Trenches) and the Paris Commune. Like Sacco's, they aren't exactly cheerful stories, but I've got the impression that you are a history enthusiast, and might like them.

Oh! And there is also The Incal, by Moebius & Jodorowski. It's a science fiction comic epic and the collected book is thick enough to beat an ox to death with.

It's a space opera of the usual sort; a lowly nobody is wisked away by circumstance from a life in grey ennui amongst concrete housing blocks to a universe-saving quest beyond the furthest stars. The plot is... Stodgy, is the best word. Interesting beats, but it's too big and cumbersome to make up for its predictability and lack of dimension. But the pictures are pretty. Very, very damn pretty, in fact, and it's worth taking a look just because of them, in all honesty.

(So pretty that the film The Fifth Element took quite a few notes, in fact)

 

[V4Viewtiful]

Read Hellblazer, I won't go into detail with my suggestions

Black Orchid

Sandman

Arkham Asylum

Street Fighter (Udon)

The Long Halloween

Tale of Sand

Avenger/JLA

JLA Tower of Babel

The Crow

Sonic the Hedgehog and Megaman

Criminal series (especially last of the Innocent)

Spider-man 2099

Batman: Death in the Family

The first few trades of the old Nightwing series.

Batman: No Mans Land

The Dark Knight Returns

Batman Year One

Batman Black Mirror

Spider-man: Back in Black

Wonder Woman (Brian Azzerello)

Turf (Aliens, vampires gangsters)

Young Avengers (Kieron Gillen)

Detective Comics: Batwoman

The Invisibles

Transmetropolitan

The Stuff of Legend (Toy Story with the Boogie Man)

Spider-man: Blue


Jonah Hex :Justin Grey Jimmy Polmiatti:

Stray Toasters

Lobo

Lucifer

Saga

Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself and the one after that with Sif


Um, that's all I can recommend from memory.

 

[ChristopherT]

I'm just going to name some comics I like,

Morning Glories
Hotwire Requiem for the Dead and Hotwire Deep Cut
the Stephanie Brown Batgirl issues
the Runaways
Uncanny X-Men Volume 3 (what I've read of it thus far anyways - up to the Battle of the Atom)
Batman Mad Love

Morning Glories is about a group of students entering a new school, who find out they all share the same birthday and the faculty doesn't mind killing a few students here and there, and there's mystery, and intrigue.

Runaways is about a group of teens who discover their parents are super villains, so they runaway from home, soon to become a rag tag group of super heroes.

Hotwire is about agent Hotwire, a sort of exorcist who usually spends time whacking low level ghosts who appear in wifi fog, but bigger ghosts are on the horizon. Also her new partner doesn't care for her, no one really does on the force.

 

[TheIronRuler]

I went to the comic store... a lot of the stuff you mentioned wasn't there (the bloke at the register insisted they would get a new delivery wednsday), but I still got the following:
Invincible Vol.1
Astonishing X-Men Vol.1
The Ultimates 1
Sandman Vol.1
Hellblazer Vol.1

...A lot of firsts, eh? I'm reading Hellblazer at the moment and I'm digging the writing. The Art isn't in the same scale as modem ones like The Ultimates, but still it manages to pull through with some bizarre and disturbing imagery fit for a Constantine comic.

Anyway, I'm looking to get League of Extraordinary Gentlemen next, as well as All-Star Superman, Batman The Long Halloween, Authority (I'm waiting for the paperback), Preacher... Saga isn't even remotely in stock, I checked. I can't believe they piled on two other comics I didn't even consider getting (Invincible and Astonishing X-Men)... At the end my purchase was ok, I got a little discount on account of me being a soldier.