She liked the movie Constantine, but to me John Constantine is late eighties Sting.
August 25, 2011 7:03 PM Subscribe
Recently introduced my generally-not-graphic-novel-reading sweet babboo to Sandman and she was quite taken with it. I suggested she might also like Hellblazer, but I have read so little of the series I wouldn't know where she should start if she wanted to pick up a collection or two. Suggestions?
Bonus if you help me get into Swamp Thing from the Moore years,
I have been away from the comics scene for many years and in any event, I have put only one skill point into Literature (Graphic Novels). Beyond the biggies that were biggies twenty years ago -- Watchmen, Sandman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Maus, The Dark Knight Returns -- I am not well-versed in this stuff. I did read about a hundred issues of Hellblazer about two decades ago, but if I went to a comics store, I would just be pulling random collections off the shelf. Suggestions for where to start?
I have been away from the comics scene for many years and in any event, I have put only one skill point into Literature (Graphic Novels). Beyond the biggies that were biggies twenty years ago -- Watchmen, Sandman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Maus, The Dark Knight Returns -- I am not well-versed in this stuff. I did read about a hundred issues of Hellblazer about two decades ago, but if I went to a comics store, I would just be pulling random collections off the shelf. Suggestions for where to start?
As for Hellblazer, I would probably start with the first trade paperback, Original Sins. It explains how he ends up with demon blood. You might want to skip to the Garth Ennis run starting with dangerous habits after. I found some of the books in between, most notably The Fear Machine to be kind of a slog.
There is a pretty handy site hellblazertrades that you should check out.
Even though I have read a ridiculous amount of Hellblazer it is a pretty big let down after Sandman. So I would also suggest Books Of Magic And Promethea.
There are not that many Moore Swamp Thing trades, you really should read them all. The first issue of the first trade of the Moore run completely re-examines the Swamp Thing origin story, it is pretty much a must read.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:25 PM on August 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
There is a pretty handy site hellblazertrades that you should check out.
Even though I have read a ridiculous amount of Hellblazer it is a pretty big let down after Sandman. So I would also suggest Books Of Magic And Promethea.
There are not that many Moore Swamp Thing trades, you really should read them all. The first issue of the first trade of the Moore run completely re-examines the Swamp Thing origin story, it is pretty much a must read.
posted by Ad hominem at 7:25 PM on August 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
If she liked the myth stuff from Sandman, seriously, your next step should be Hellboy. I've been reading through them, and they are fantastic. Hellboy, BPRD, they all combine into one ongoing story that includes fantastic little bits of old myths, combined with some amazing, newer ideas. The art is great, too.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:26 PM on August 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 7:26 PM on August 25, 2011 [4 favorites]
Well if you read the first hundred issues, then you know the Dangerous Habits storyline. I'd start there, but then again, it sounds like you and I were reading at roughly the same time.
If she gets stuck on anything or wants more in-depth discussion of the character, there is a pretty good Constantine forum.
posted by sardonyx at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2011
If she gets stuck on anything or wants more in-depth discussion of the character, there is a pretty good Constantine forum.
posted by sardonyx at 7:27 PM on August 25, 2011
The only warning I'd have about the Books of Magic (and I've only read the first series) is that it helps to have an idea of who the players are in D.C.'s mystical universe. It's harder to take away the subtle points of the series if you don't know who the Phantom Stranger, for example, is.
posted by sardonyx at 7:30 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by sardonyx at 7:30 PM on August 25, 2011
I enjoyed Sandman but found Watchmen far too depressing. If her tastes are similiar to mine, she may enjoy Bone, Fables and/or Flight.
posted by valoius at 7:47 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by valoius at 7:47 PM on August 25, 2011
The Fables series is really great. It'd be especially accessible to someone not terribly familiar with graphic novels because she's probably familiar with many of the characters in the collection (although perhaps not how the characters are portrayed).
The last couple of trade paperback collections have been a little iffy, but the first fourteen or so are really interesting and enthralling.
posted by Fister Roboto at 7:49 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
The last couple of trade paperback collections have been a little iffy, but the first fourteen or so are really interesting and enthralling.
posted by Fister Roboto at 7:49 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Neil Gaiman's Stardust would be an excellent choice, too. But maybe go away from Vertigo and think of things like Persepolis?
posted by empath at 7:55 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by empath at 7:55 PM on August 25, 2011
If you want Moore's Swamp Thing, you want the American Gothic arc.
posted by sardonyx at 8:04 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by sardonyx at 8:04 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]
Check out Y: The Last Man. The Rabbi's Cat is also really fun and not comic-booky.
There are also some really really great, more 'serious' graphic novels out there like Persepolis, Fun Home, Blankets and everything by Joe Sacco.
posted by gnutron at 8:11 PM on August 25, 2011
There are also some really really great, more 'serious' graphic novels out there like Persepolis, Fun Home, Blankets and everything by Joe Sacco.
posted by gnutron at 8:11 PM on August 25, 2011
You might also check out The Walking Dead. There's the AMC series, but it diverges pretty widely from the book. I'm up to issue 55 now, and it's amazingly drawn and written. Also intensely bleak and dark. Good stuff. I'd also say Y the Last Man is worth a go. 100 Bullets is pretty great, but maybe not in the same vein, more of a gritty noir (with lots of bloodshed). If you can find it (you might have to resort to torrents), The Maxx was pretty damn amazing.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:44 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by Ghidorah at 8:44 PM on August 25, 2011
Stardust, Fables, and Y: The Last Man are all great. Stardust is a short-story standalone thing. Y is wrapped up and all done. Fables is ongoing and pretty immense now. Still decent.
posted by jlunar at 8:45 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by jlunar at 8:45 PM on August 25, 2011
I don't want to make any assumptions, but the first arc of Hellblazer is much more 'pure' horror than Sandman.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:04 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:04 PM on August 25, 2011
Get some Grant Morrison in there. I like his work on Doom Patrol and Animal Man.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:05 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:05 PM on August 25, 2011
I like Sandman and I like Finder even more, fwiw, though it's slower moving. They aren't all that similar but it's worth a shot.
posted by small_ruminant at 9:46 PM on August 25, 2011
posted by small_ruminant at 9:46 PM on August 25, 2011
I'm surprised that no one has recommended Preacher yet. It's self contained so you can read the story end to end without worrying about a whole universe and it's probably one of the best stories ever written (comic or otherwise). It is, however, more violent and dirtier than Sandman but if she's down with Tarantino level of dialogue and mayhem then I can't recommend anything better.
(Aside - I used to work in a comic shop, when people came in looking for something to read I would give them volume 1 of Preacher and tell them that if they didn't like it I would give them a full refund. I never had one returned and nearly everyone came in within a week to buy more.)
posted by caliban at 11:52 PM on August 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
(Aside - I used to work in a comic shop, when people came in looking for something to read I would give them volume 1 of Preacher and tell them that if they didn't like it I would give them a full refund. I never had one returned and nearly everyone came in within a week to buy more.)
posted by caliban at 11:52 PM on August 25, 2011 [2 favorites]
I always wind up recommending Preacher, but now I'd add The Boys to that. I started out reading Sandman and The Tick (which is awesome but very difficult to find for a decent price) and went from there to the Dark Knight. In between I've also started 100 Bullets and Y: The Last Man but Preacher is the series I keep coming back to.
posted by tracicle at 12:05 AM on August 26, 2011
posted by tracicle at 12:05 AM on August 26, 2011
Sandman fan here, also out of touch with the current scene, and FreakAngels is the first graphic novel I've enjoyed in a long time - bonus points for being free on the web, so you can read snippets at work for a quick post-apocalyptic London fix.
posted by Chichibio at 3:57 AM on August 26, 2011
posted by Chichibio at 3:57 AM on August 26, 2011
Fables! Some of the batman graphic novels/collections are really good nowadays. Opening a whole nother can of worms... but manga? They have everything from kids books to fighting ones to comedy to porn. Everything, basically.
posted by Jacen at 6:13 AM on August 26, 2011
posted by Jacen at 6:13 AM on August 26, 2011
I liked Sandman, but not so much the horror/gore aspect of it. (Didn't like Preacher at all or 100 bullets.) I loved Fables, Girl Genius (ten volumes so far, ongoing online publication), Powers, Y, Castle Waiting, and Megatokyo (also online). All worth checking out. If she's okay with superheroes, Incorruptible (awesome) and Irredeemable (good) are nice (but even more superheroey than Powers).
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:49 AM on August 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:49 AM on August 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
There was also a (in my opinion) fantastic spinoff series from Sandman, Lucifer which follows the fallen angel's life after the end of The Sandman series. The series turned me into a Carey fanboy, and I've been devouring his work ever since. (Unwritten looks fantastic as well, but I'm only read the first trade, so I don't know how it progresses.)
posted by Hactar at 12:18 PM on August 26, 2011
posted by Hactar at 12:18 PM on August 26, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Moore's Swamp Thing is the same, I forget what issue he started with but the last time I looked the TPBs were still in print, so just grab the first one.
posted by Bonzai at 7:25 PM on August 25, 2011 [1 favorite]