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 Post subject: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:34 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
I can't be the only one that reads them around here.

I got back into them in a very big way around March and have been doing a lot of catching-up since. I tend to skip monthly singles in favor of trades and those wallet-raping .99 comiXology sales, but I do have a few titles I follow monthly: Batman/Incoporated/& Robin, Legends of the Dark Knight, the excellent new TMNT series from IDW, The Walking Dead, and I'm thinking of replacing the just wrapped AvX with Detective Comics now that Layman is writing. Some of the new Marvel NOW! stuff sounds interesting as well, but aside from Posehn and Duggan's Deadpool series I'm probably going to wait a few months to see how it's turning out and for trades to start showing up before diving into it.

But as I said, I've been on a bit of a manic rush through various back stuff. Amazing Spider-Man from Big Time to Spider-Island (though I plan on trying to catch up before ASM 700), Maximum Carnage, All-Star Superman and Red Son, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Demon in a Bottle, Claremont's original X-Men run (what I can find of it), tons of Batman stuff (just wrapped Morrison's multi-title run from Batman & Son to Batman, Inc), TWD, Marvel 1602 and 1985, and some other stuff I can't remember off hand. I'm currently working through Chew, volume 1 of Locke and Key, Uncanny X-Force, Morrison's JLA run, and Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF runs. After some of those are finished I'm thinking of finally tackling Sandman in preparation for Gaiman's new mini and Powers, which I grabbed a bunch of during a .99 sale last month.

I've moved almost exclusively to digital primarily because of the convenience factor, but it doesn't hurt that books look as good as print (if not better) on an HD tablet display. I do pick up the occasional trade though, mostly Spawn hardcovers and Marvel Masterworks UXM stuff. I hate how much space trades can take up, but I do still enjoy looking at a shelf full of books (comics or otherwise).

So what's everyone else reading, and how are you doing it? Digital, trades, singles, a mix?


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:00 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:19 pm
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Location: Massachusetts
Last thing I bought was the Orc Stain trade. Don't really buy much, mostly old collected volumes/trade paperbacks. I do still have a subscription to Heavy Metal Magazine.

My roommate and one of my old high school buddies are the two guys that keep me up to date. Sometimes I borrow stuff from them. I just don't have room or money to buy much anymore. But the interest is still there...

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:32 pm 
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Location: Shermer, IL
While the funds are a bit tight, ive been torrenting classic series that I missed or was overwhelmed by the sheer volume (sandman comes to mind)
I was buying singles, mostly of artists that I dig (templesmith, wood, burrows....)

I've never gotten into Superhero stuff, so that saves a lot of time and effort. I'm sure that Ive missed out on a lot of cool stuff in the last couple of years.

I am, however, looking forward to this project:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/44flood/lust

It'll be nice to see Ben get some stuff out there again.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:53 pm 
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Fables! Love the crap outta Fables. I only read trades and they're on book 16 or 17 and worth every dime you'll spend.

Check out Preacher as well. Ultra violent and ultra crazy story.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:58 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
RalphSnart wrote:
Last thing I bought was the Orc Stain trade. Don't really buy much, mostly old collected volumes/trade paperbacks. I do still have a subscription to Heavy Metal Magazine.

My roommate and one of my old high school buddies are the two guys that keep me up to date. Sometimes I borrow stuff from them. I just don't have room or money to buy much anymore. But the interest is still there...

Might want to look at digital, especially if you have a tablet. That'll help with the space issue, at least. ComiXology runs .99/issue sales regularly which, while obviously not free, help make the price of entry much more reasonable. Except when they put 70 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man on sale at once. Then you furiously curse them out while inputting your credit card info. And then you do it again when they put the other 60 on sale 2 weeks later.

Mr Neutron wrote:
While the funds are a bit tight, ive been torrenting classic series that I missed or was overwhelmed by the sheer volume (sandman comes to mind)
I was buying singles, mostly of artists that I dig (templesmith, wood, burrows....)

I've never gotten into Superhero stuff, so that saves a lot of time and effort. I'm sure that Ive missed out on a lot of cool stuff in the last couple of years.

I am, however, looking forward to this project:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/44flood/lust

It'll be nice to see Ben get some stuff out there again.

I sympathize with the torrent sentiment. I really hate the idea of having to use it, but it was pretty much my only option for a couple titles. ComiXology has been pretty great for about 95% of the old stuff I've wanted to track down, and probably 3% of what I haven't found there I could find in trades. But some stuff is nigh-impossible to find, and I don't have the patience (or money) to hunt around in boxes of back issues at shops hoping to find them and most likely coming up empty anyway.

I know you said you've skipped superhero stuff, but if you like Templesmith's art you might want to check out the standalone 3 issue Legends of the Dark Knight story he did art for recently. Very fun read, and his art was a great compliment to its twisted nature.

Severed Ed wrote:
Fables! Love the crap outta Fables. I only read trades and they're on book 16 or 17 and worth every dime you'll spend.

Check out Preacher as well. Ultra violent and ultra crazy story.

I have heard nothing gleeful praise for Fables. The only things keeping me from checking it out are money and my backlog. I've a birthday coming up, not to mention Christmas, so I might send out not-so-subtle hints for those books.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 10:03 pm 
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Location: Massachusetts
Time is another factor, like as in I don't have enough time to read all this stuff even when I get it. I been meaning to get some of the 90s Judge Dredd stuff that I remember being really awesome back then. Also I got the first three Irredeemable trades and then kind of forgot about the series. That shit was pretty good too. Like Neutron I tend to stay away from trad. superhero stuff, except for the Marvel "Essential" and "Masterworks" Avengers stuff, which I've been finding real cheap at the local store and Amazon.

One of my friends gave me a stack of stuff a few years ago that blew me away, "The Incal", being one of them, and some of that Jodorowski Metabarons stuff. Also a lot of the older 2000 AD stuff, Nemesis the Warlock and the ABC Warriors. People in this country don't even know about that. I wish I'd gone beyond Dredd and the British Transformers back when I really cared about comics, but better late than never.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 11:41 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:27 pm
Posts: 193
While not recent, I just finished Warren Ellis's The Authority, which was a fun take on arch-typical superheroes. Super violent and innovative, with some super powers that are kinda fucking out there.

Also, couldn't recommend Y The Last Man any higher. Doomsday scenario where every living thing carrying the Y chromosome dies out, leaving only females of any species except for one man and his pet monkey. The same author, Brian K Vaughn, has an on-going title called "Ex-Machina" about a superhero who prevents the second tower from being hit on 9-11 and then gets elected mayor of NYC.

Also, on the more standard fare, Grant Morrison's run of X-Men was fucking awesome, as was Joss Whedon's which picks up right after Morrison's.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 12:54 am 
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Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:07 pm
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Location: Shermer, IL
audiodork wrote:
Also, couldn't recommend Y The Last Man any higher. Doomsday scenario where every living thing carrying the Y chromosome dies out, leaving only females of any species except for one man and his pet monkey.


Seconded. I teared up at the end both times I've read it. Also second the Fables recommendation.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 2:00 am 
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
I've been out of the comic following business for a while. And I find that sad.

Awesome thread.

Anyone a Sam Keith fan? The Maxx was a favorite of mine.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:08 am 

Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:59 am
Posts: 138
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Mr Neutron wrote:
audiodork wrote:
Also, couldn't recommend Y The Last Man any higher. Doomsday scenario where every living thing carrying the Y chromosome dies out, leaving only females of any species except for one man and his pet monkey.


Seconded. I teared up at the end both times I've read it. Also second the Fables recommendation.


Yup, definitely recommend Y The Last Man as well. And Fables too :)

I'm also not into the superhero stuff, though I did enjoy Batman Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns (apart from the appearance of Superman...).

Other stuff I would recommend:

The Walking Dead: a lot better than the tv series, and also a lot darker; it gets very heavy in some places
Chew: great art, and a cool food related concept
Fables

And as far as series which are finished:

Preacher
Transmetropolitan
Watchmen
Sin City
The Sandman
The Killer
Blankets
Habibi
From Hell

At the moment I'm reading DMZ, and I like that one as well (and I think it's a finished story). I'm also reading on a tablet (a Toshiba AT100), which I bought primarily for reading comics, and I'm very happy I did. Would definitely recommend this to others as well.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:18 am 

Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:06 am
Posts: 1137
Location: Zurich
I read comics up till age 15 when my family moved far away from any shop that sold english comics. It was all about The Groo, The Maxx, Spawn, The Punisher, Wolverine, Mad Magazine, Fluid Glacial and Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal Magazine back then. The super hero stuff I only read coz friends were reading it and never really got into it - even to this day. But I was already developing an unhealthy relationship with fucked up European artists/writers like Moebius, Serpieri and Jodorowsky along with tamer books like Gaston, Tintin, etc. back then. L'Incal really messed with my head.
Then a couple years back, after having gone through a nearly 10 year dry spell, I started reading old collections that I had missed in my teens as CBR files on a laptop: Preacher, Sandman, Cerebus, Transmetropolitan and a shit ton of other stuff. I took up monthly subscriptions again at the local comic store - just like I had when I was a kid. And a lot of it I still download and read on the iPad.

Monthly purchases I've been with pretty much since the beginning include The Goon, The Walking Dead, Fables, DMZ, Scalped, The Unwritten, Sweeth Tooth, Locke & Key, Stephen King's The Stand, Prophet and a couple others.
Books I've purchased after the fact are Cerebus Vol. 1 - 5, entire Bendis run of Powers as monthlies (one of the best Ebay scores I ever made), Watchmen, Bone and some others.

And I download the following monthlies: Northlanders, Hellblazer, Chew, Invincible, Ferals, Planetoid New Deadwardians, Planetoid, Conan the Barbarian (Brian Wood), Revival, The Strain, Crossed (which I kinda hate myself for reading - total torture porn in comic form) and some others.

I'd buy more, but I'm slowly running out of space for the monthlies and in this day and age of instant digital satisfaction I can't muster the patience for TPBs.


Also, I've recently started to get into super hero comics. I've read all the big batman stories of course, and some other DC graphic novels. Read up on a lot of X-Men since ol short and hairy is a fond memory from childhood. Uncanny X-Force is some awesome reading as is Ellis's run on Astonishing X-men. Read the whole Marvel Civil War, and some other big story arcs.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:34 am 
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Location: Chicago, IL
Totally forgot! Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing redefined how I view comics. And sex with plants.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:42 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:27 pm
Posts: 193
I was kinda underwhelmed by Blankets. I thought the artwork was beautiful but the story was boring and meandering. Standard coming of age fair, done decently, but nothing special. Not quite sure why it is so highly recommended. I Kill Giants, i thought was better done in dealing with the "growing up fucked up" kinda vibe. Very different comic though.

I haven't read Habibi yet, though it's on my list.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:45 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:27 pm
Posts: 193
Anyone looking for a fucking amazing one off, check out mark millar's Red Son, most interesting Superman comic (I find superman terribly dull).

Basic premise is, superman's rocket lands on earth moment's earlier, and he's raised in Soviet Russia as opposed to America.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:57 pm 
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^^ Seconded. Red Son is one the best Superman "What if's..." I've read.

Of the many highlights of that one-off were the covers. Superman in pravda style posters.

Image

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:52 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
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I really liked Red Son as well. Interesting spin on the character, and Luthor is just delightful throughout. I've never had too much interest in Superman as a character either, so my readings of him have been pretty limited. But the stories I have read have all been really enjoyable. I really liked Superman vs. The Elite which had a pretty badass ending, and he's been really fun to read during Morrison's JLA run. Also well worth reading is Morrison's All-Star Superman. It's a good distillation of the character and makes a strong case for the being the "if you only read one Superman story..." story.

Glad to see other people reading Chew. It's a very fun and genuinely funny title with a rather unique premise that feels like the type of story that could only work as a comic. For those not familiar, the FDA outlawed chicken after bird flu became a thing and now the FDA is the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet. The title follows the exploits of its newest recruit, Tony Chu, who happens to be one of the only cibopaths on the planet (he gets psychic impressions from the food he eats). Great art that is some of the most expressive of any on-going title. I dare anyone to not love it after reading the first issue, which is free on comiXology. I think I'd probably rate it as my favorite on-going title, though the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book from IDW is a strong contender.

Speaking of, if you've ever been a fan of the TMNT franchise then you really need to check out the new TMNT book (and accompanying micro-series, or at least the Don issue and especially the Leo issue). It reads like a huge love letter to what came before it, which I'm sure is due to Kevin Eastman being part of the writing and art teams. It has some new takes on some familiar concepts from previous iterations that work surprisingly well. The concept behind the origin of the turtles is mostly the same, but also a little different, but none of the changes are as egregious as Michael Bay's "turtles from space!" The changes to the origin, as well as to other familiar elements, are all enjoyable and easy to get past and start rolling with.

I'm just getting acquainted with Locke and Key, having just finished Welcome to Lovecraft, but it's a very compelling read so far. It reminds me a bit of the first season of American Horror Story, but simply better in every way. Anyone interested in dark, psychological fantasy horror would be well served by looking into it. For those digitally inclined, comiXology has the first trade for the paltry sum of $5, which consists of the first 6 issue arc.

/ez wrote:
Also, I've recently started to get into super hero comics. I've read all the big batman stories of course, and some other DC graphic novels. Read up on a lot of X-Men since ol short and hairy is a fond memory from childhood. Uncanny X-Force is some awesome reading as is Ellis's run on Astonishing X-men. Read the whole Marvel Civil War, and some other big story arcs.

If you're looking for some more current X-Men, Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men is quite possibly the best X-book going. It's a tossup between UXF and WatXM for me, but I find WatXM to be a bit more consistent.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:52 pm 
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I'm going to check out Chew. Thanks for the heads up(s).

Hellboy and BPRD are two of my absolute favorites. So eerie and Lovecraftie. A must for fans of dark horror with some humor.

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:41 am 
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Thanks for the TMNT update. I'm all over it...

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 4:28 am 

Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:06 am
Posts: 1137
Location: Zurich
Bullio wrote:
If you're looking for some more current X-Men, Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men is quite possibly the best X-book going. It's a tossup between UXF and WatXM for me, but I find WatXM to be a bit more consistent.


I'll check it out, thanks.

Severed Ed wrote:
Hellboy and BPRD are two of my absolute favorites. So eerie and Lovecraftie. A must for fans of dark horror with some humor.


I never really could get into Mignola, even after having read most of Hellboy and some B.P.R.D. However I did recently take up a subscription to Baltimore which has been pretty awesome so far.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:19 am 
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Red Son was awesome, I think about it all the time, especially the end!

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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 7:31 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:25 pm
Posts: 1041
If I only I'd thought to post about TMNT last week when there was a .99 sale on the first 10 issues. Ah well, it's still worth it at $2 a hit. IDW has also been rereleasing the original Mirage series in color, which is probably the 4th or 5th time that series has been colored over the years. But the preview pages I've seen of IDW's new colorization look really good.

I haven't read anything aside from the Spider-Island tie-ins, but Remender's Venom series is supposed to be a lot of fun and in the same "covert black ops" vein as Uncanny X-Force. Anyone that likes UXF would probably do well to check it out.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:26 am 
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Location: Germany
I am a total DC/Vertigo-fanboy, its like the HBO of comics for me: Sandman, Preacher, Y: The Last Man, 100 Bullets etc. Currently its Scalped and of course Fables. I only read trade paperbacks, single issues are over way too soon.
I am sure that there is other good stuff out there but I am lacking time and funds to check out everything.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:27 am 

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:27 pm
Posts: 193
jmucke wrote:
I am a total DC/Vertigo-fanboy, its like the HBO of comics for me: Sandman, Preacher, Y: The Last Man, 100 Bullets etc. Currently its Scalped and of course Fables. I only read trade paperbacks, single issues are over way too soon.
I am sure that there is other good stuff out there but I am lacking time and funds to check out everything.


Have you read much of Unwritten? I caught the first two volumes and couldn't decide if I was into or not. Does anyone know if it picks up or is worth going back to?


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:34 am 

Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:06 am
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Location: Zurich
It's not bad. It has its brilliant moments but in general in often leaves me feeling that I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.


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 Post subject: Re: Comics
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:48 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:27 pm
Posts: 193
/ez wrote:
It's not bad. It has its brilliant moments but in general in often leaves me feeling that I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop.


That's generally been my take and I've been hesitant to drop more cash on it.


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