So here I am, never having really got into or read any comics, always I guess having that "comics are for kids" mentality in the back of my head. Then I hear they're making a Firefly comic, and I figure well Firefly is cool, I may as well grab that, and lo and behold it was quite good. Then I see Batman Begins and I hear of this Frank Miller Batman comic called Batman: Year One which partially inspired the movie and I thought well that might be worth a read, so I picked it up and it too rocked. Then just the other day I picked up another Frank Miller Batman, The Dark Knight Returns, and what do you know, also rockin!

So now my eyes are opened to this whole new world of modern comics, an untouched collection of epic narrative so vast I've spent most of today just trying to get some idea of where I want to start. I'm really digging Batman so far, I didn't realise the Batman world had so much in it, so I'm thinking of grabbing some more of them (though, definately the more modern stuff, post Frank Miller, not the camp 60's and 70's stuff), but also just in general, I was wondering if anyone had opinions on what some people's "must read" tradepaperbacks or graphic novels are. I've been scouring through Amazon.com and various other sites reading reviews on what people think is hot and what people think is not, but theres a ridiculous amount of stuff out there, so I'm sure I've probably only scraped the surface.

I've got a long list of Batman graphic novels and TPBs which sound good or have received favourable reviews, but not much outside of that. So far on my list I've got Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross's "Marvels", Alan Moore's "Watchmen", the obvious choice of Frank Miller's "Sin City" novels, and I've got a few from the guy behind Babylon 5, JMS (namely Supreme Power and Rising Stars).

So if you've got any suggestions for awesome stuff to grab, Batman or otherwise, post it up! I need to equip myself properly if I'm going to venture into this brave new world, I was in a comic book shop the other day, and when you dont know what you're looking for, its a pretty damn daunting place :P

x-men comics rocked when i was a young'un

JMS run of spiderman.
Batman - long halloween, hell most Batman arepretty good.
The Darkness and witchblade (good for some comic cleavage) are alright.
Read a few punisher v5's, thats good for some gore/carnage, so is wolverine.
Superman/Batman
Superman batman generations (i think thats what it was called, basically a series of comics spaced 50 years or so apart with superman, batman, and others goes on over a millenia or so)
Death of superman run was alright, at least you'll now know what it was all about.

Thats all i can think of atm.

last edited by Bah at 01:26:02 17/Aug/05

Death of Superman would have been much better if superman didn't get better.

Some of the X-Men was very excelent, but it got a bit gay here and there.

If you want some lighthearted entertainment, Lobo is always a crowd pleaser. If you want some classic Japanese comix, I have the first half of Lone Wolf and Cub.

real life comics <- thats my comic book

Yeah, Long Halloween is on my Batman list already :) After taking a look at the JMS Spiderman run, looks like one I'll have to grab too. I dont really know anything about Spiderman outside of whats been in the movies, but it sounds pretty cool.

Death of Superman, thats not a bad idea, I'd prolly get that out of curiosity, just to actually see how the shiznit goes down.

My only experience with Witchblade was watching a few episodes of the TV Show they made it into, and it didn't seem very good =\

Kinda steered clear of X-Men, cos it seems like the sort of really complicated universe you couldn't easily get into without buying a s***load of them so you know all the bazillion and one characters and know whats going on. I'm still a poor student, so its not like I can afford to go out and buy a mountain of comics :(

Witchblade was watching a few episodes of the TV Show

Comic and tv show dont have a lot in common, except a few basic premises. Not saying its a great thing, but its alright. Darkness can be pretty funny with the darklings and stuff.

Kinda steered clear of X-Men, cos it seems like the sort of really complicated universe you couldn't easily get into without buying a s***load of them

Yeah and all that lame crossover crap comics seem to pull like "Be sure to catch x,y,z oh and dont forget a,b,c", like death of superman was in about four different comics, and they just put a number in the corner to make it "easy" to follow the main story arc. But if you stick to story arc compilations you can avoid that for the most part

so its not like I can afford to go out and buy a mountain of comics :(

*cough*me either

Also on spiderman, check out the marvel knights version of it.

last edited by Bah at 03:27:47 17/Aug/05

i thought this thread was going to be about the legendary qgl comic.

i was born and raised a MAD boy

im still programmed to fight anyone who buys/reads Cracked

Sandman Series, Transmetropolitan Series, V for Vendetta, From Hell, Maus.

Go to Comics Etc. in the city and ask any of the staff what they would recommend for someone new to graphic novels. Drop a few of the names above and ask for similar styled novels. I know a few of the staff there personally and usually they are really friendly and helpful.

Those titles listed above aren't your usual superhero comics though (superhero is what you seem to be currently into). If you want to stick to superhero themed comics, try the Ultimate series' (x-men, spiderman, etc.). Or try The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and realise why the film deserves to be forgotten.

i thought this thread was going to be about the legendary qgl comic.

I thought it was going to be a thread about how to become an e-comedian.

Like Tree said, the Ultimate series (X-men etc.) is a good place to start for some of the major marvel brands as its a series reboot. This means that you won't miss heaps of backstory. Although in some of the Ultimate series, some things have been changed which some fans whinge about.

Another thing is that if you like a particular comic (e.g. Frank Miller stuff) then look around for other books done by the artist (like 300). Of course, you'll find that most of the style is the same across books done by the same author.

I don't mind the Garth Ennis stuff (Preacher, Welcome back Frank) but it can get a bit over the top.

Those titles listed above aren't your usual superhero comics though (superhero is what you seem to be currently into).

Nah, I dont have my mind set on just super hero stuff, so those are some good suggestions, thanks. I had looked at the Sandman series, and it seems to be praised by everyone, but it didn't sound too interesting just from reading a few synopsis' here and there. I guess theres more to it than I figured.

I've been into Comics Etc a few times, haven't really asked anyone there for advice though, I was afraid of coming off as the penultimate noob. I now know what non-computer literate people must feel like in a computer store :P

If you can find a copy, get Doug TenNapel's Creature Tech. Doug's the guy who created Earthworm Jim and The Neverhood.

OK

These are a few titles series that are worth checking out:

Cerebus- classic b+w comic about an aardvark by Dave Sim

Bone- b+w series, unique artwork great story by Jeff Smith

Usagi Yojimbo- another b+w series, centres around a ronin (travelling samurai) rabbit by Stan Sakai


Hellboy- Mike Mignola's weird excursion into the world of hell, Nazi's and wise- cracking superheroes.

Kingdom Come- the DC universe reinvented. Awesome artwork.

Daredevil- various artists/writers have contributed over the years, but most notably the Frank Miller years were some of the best. Miller's stint at the helm of DD involved Elektra. Forget both these movies, the comics are definately some of the best ever written.

Batman- various artists and writers. In particular check out The Killing Joke, Year One, Year Two, The Cult, Legends of the Dark Knight, and the Detective Comics series. You've already mentioned Dark Knight Returns.

Spawn- Todd McFarlane. Nuff said.

Swamp Thing- Alan Moore. For mature readers.

The best idea is to have a look at some artist/writers you like ie. Frank Miller and then search for other worj that they've done. Some to check out are:
Neil Gaiman, JM DeMatteis, Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, and Ted McKeever.

Also it's worth checking out comics that are on a particular label. The two main ones are obviously Marvel and DC, but there are a few really great smaller labels that put out great stuff. Check out Dark Horse, 2000 AD and Image.

If you want a laugh, check out Sergio Aragone's (former artist/writer for Mad magazine) Groo. It's a pisstake of Conan and it's quite funny.

Gimme a yell if you want to know more.

Dead pool

The illustrated release of Terry Pratchett's "Eric" is pretty funny... illustrated by Josh Kirby.
Ages ago I had a series of french graphic novels by someone I can't remember called "RORK"... about a crazy interdimensional wizard trying to solve the mysteries of the universe :P~~ Awesome artwork.
Also, good ol Heavy Metal magazine... I was a sub for over 7 years & have a room full of them :D Some real mind-blowing artwork... amongst a whole lotta crap :P

Judge Dreed and other 2000AD comics are awsome.

I used to work at Comics Etc (mainly in the Card section) and i can fully recomend these.
The absolute MUST read is a TPB called WATCHMEN. It is the pinicle of mature comic book reading. I truly cannot say enough good things about this paperback.
Anything from DC Vertigo, particularly
Sandman - Doll's House
Sandman - Season Of Mists
Death - The High Cost Of Living
House Of Magic - the first ones are better.
Lucifer (if it is in TPB yet)
Black Orchid (old but good)'
Watchmen - because it deserves a second mention
Some more mainstream DC titles include
Green Lantern - Emerald Dawn
Green Lantern - Emerald Twilight
DCU - CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
DCU - Kingdome Come (just for the artwork alone)

These would be a good start to anyones foray into the DC/Vertigo comic world. I could never really get into Marvel, mainly because i depsised the 100,000 various x-men titles at the time. Someone else could perhaps guide you to the various good bits Marvel produce (i am sure they are there somewhere)

http://www.animeanytime.com.au/catalog/images/absolute-boyfriend-manga-1.jpg

Recommended

Yep, Kingdom Come and Watchmen are both already on my list, in fact Watchmen is going to be the next one I grab as soon as I have some money :)

Usagi Yojimbo- another b+w series, centres around a ronin (travelling samurai) rabbit by Stan Sakai

Is that the Samurai Rabbit that was in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

If you liked Jeramiah then youll like 'Y - the last man' its the only comic ive ever read and its f***ing awesome.

All the men in the world suddenly die and its about this one guy who survives, its pretty cool. Its made by DCcomics so there is no constant hot lesbian/last man with all women sex which means it can focus on the story instead. Check it out.

Sandman isn't for everyone as it can be daunting to get into, but it has some of the best short stories/story arcs I have ever read in any literary medium.

I was expecting Watchmen to be something amazing but it came off a little dated. For its time it must've been pretty groundbreaking but having read it only recently (few years) its concepts and themes were very familiar. Very well written though.

I feel Sandman is the best series out there. Granted it is volumes long but it encompasses so many concepts and themes and it is so eloquently written and illustrated. Once again, some of the story arcs are truly beautiful and evoke emotions other graphic novels don't dare try. It is a truly fantastic and epic journey, not your orcs and elves kind of fantasy but the real meaning of the word. It explores archetypes like Death, Dream and Destiny as they interact with one another and with humanity and its quirks.

I should stop... anyone please look into Sandman. Nothing comes close to its originality and ability to provoke thought and wonder. You might even learn and realise a few things about life and living in the process...

Corny? Yes, but true...

I used to read comics in my early teens, they were/ are awesome. But you duders take it pretty seriously.

Khel - Why on earth would you be intimidated by someone who works in a comic book store?? Has QGL made you that afraid of being labeled a "noob"?

as QGL made you that afraid of being labeled a "noob"?

Sadly, I think so :(

http://maxe.ausgamers.com/images/ninjacover.jpg

I have no idea what this comic is called, or what its about. I bought it in some anime shop in the valley cos it had a ninja on the front.

Check out that ninja tho but!

The Crow graphic novel rocked.

DCU - CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

Ah, so this is what everyone is talking about when they say "pre-crisis" and "post-crisis". Looks like I'll have to grab this at some point just for the sake of continuity, saw a copy of it in Comics Etc yesterday actually but I had no idea what it was.

Crisis was the first time any of the comics decided to use a "RESET". While it is almost commonplace these days, this was a new and grand undertaking of it's time.
The continuity of DC comics was becoming a nightmare. EG: Earth Prime, Earth 1, 2, 3, Earth X, Earth Q and so on. Even "our" own real earth existed there, but all the heroes were comic book characters only.
Usually each one of these earth's had a "Superman" and "Batman" even a "Lex Luthor" (On Earth 3 our superheroes were villians and it only had Luthor as the hero, Earth X was where WWII never ended.) Each of these earths stood in the same place in timespace but vibrated at slighty different frequencies. The number of earths were infinite
While this lead to an equally infinite amounts of possible stories it was a horror for any new reader to catch up, many stories had 1, 2 or even 3 Superman's teaming up to take on a menace. Also many of the characters were so powerful (RE: Superman) that they were almost equally unmanageble.
So, simply put, they decided to destroy all the multiverse and power down some of the heroes. They also killed off a few in the proccess (no hints)
After the dust had settled there was only one earth, 1 set of heroes and the new DCU.
Pre Crisis - Post Crisis.
Simple huh??

i used to collect those street fighter and mortal combat comics ...

i collected those fleer ultra 94 and 95 x-men cards too ...

Bought Watchmen yesterday, its pretty good so far, I'm liking it.

And I also know where Jigzie's sig came from now :P

I now know what non-computer literate people must feel like in a computer store :P

but unlike computer illiterate people, you can do some reaseach online and not look like a total noob even if you are one.

i got off comics for awhile but got re introduced this year when i found "y - the last man"

bassically about the last man alive in a world filled with women, really interesting read.

then i got into preacher. again another great series

transmetropoliton, one of the best series ive ever read. *you would love it khel*

fables also really f***ing sweet

and then planetary, awesome stuff that is so hard to explain, bassically each issue has some kidn of old school movie theme or something and explains the origin of science fiction in its own science fiction universe.

to me those are really the only comics worth investing in at this stage of my slow journey of discovery.

bassically about the last man alive in a world filled with women, really interesting read.

sounds like a plot from a porn flic

Yeah, I saw some Preacher comics in a store the other day, looked interesting. Not interesting enough to really top my list at the moment, but definately a "worth a look some time" interesting.

Transmetropolitan sounds pretty awesome though, just looked it up then, I think I'll definately have to grab at least the first volume and give it a test drive. Written by Warren Ellis too, I haven't read any of his stuff yet, but he seems to get plenty of praise for his work.

yeah warren ellis is the s***, and transmetropoliton is one of his finest works, get the first one it will sell the rest of the series to you and you will beg for more.