Help me out of my funnybook funk
February 8, 2009 7:22 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for new comics to read. I know it's been asked before, but things change. I want my subscription box to be fuller.
I want to read more comics, but I don't know what to look for. I'm especially looking for something fairly new, something still coming out monthly rather than something that exists only in collected/graphic novel form.
I don't like standard superhero comics, though I love to see them deconstructed, parodied and rebuilt in truly interesting ways. I'm a big fan of Terry Moore (Echo, Strangers in Paradise). I've read and enjoyed Y: The Last Man, Fables and Girl Genius. Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Blankets, Battle Angel Alita and Ghost In The Shell all have permanent spots on my bookshelf.
I'm just starting Persepolis, and I haven't tried Bone yet, so that one is on my list already. So what else should I read? I almost feel guilty going into my comic shop and having just two titles (not counting my kids' comics) in my subscription box.
Surely the hivemind will have suggestions for me.
I want to read more comics, but I don't know what to look for. I'm especially looking for something fairly new, something still coming out monthly rather than something that exists only in collected/graphic novel form.
I don't like standard superhero comics, though I love to see them deconstructed, parodied and rebuilt in truly interesting ways. I'm a big fan of Terry Moore (Echo, Strangers in Paradise). I've read and enjoyed Y: The Last Man, Fables and Girl Genius. Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Blankets, Battle Angel Alita and Ghost In The Shell all have permanent spots on my bookshelf.
I'm just starting Persepolis, and I haven't tried Bone yet, so that one is on my list already. So what else should I read? I almost feel guilty going into my comic shop and having just two titles (not counting my kids' comics) in my subscription box.
Surely the hivemind will have suggestions for me.
If you want inside baseball parody, you want Ambush Bug. Knowing the DC universe is essential though.
I also like Robert Kirkman who writes the Walking Dead series (zombies).
The Jonah Hex (western) series is good with an anti-hero. It's a bit gory though.
Universal War One is a great sci-fi comic, originally written in French and now translated to English.
Mice Templar the story of medieval mice knights fighting evil rats with much political intrigue. Good, but can be a little confusing.
If you are open to any superhero stuff I recommend Invincible by Robert Kirkman.
posted by Argyle at 8:08 PM on February 8, 2009
I also like Robert Kirkman who writes the Walking Dead series (zombies).
The Jonah Hex (western) series is good with an anti-hero. It's a bit gory though.
Universal War One is a great sci-fi comic, originally written in French and now translated to English.
Mice Templar the story of medieval mice knights fighting evil rats with much political intrigue. Good, but can be a little confusing.
If you are open to any superhero stuff I recommend Invincible by Robert Kirkman.
posted by Argyle at 8:08 PM on February 8, 2009
I work at a comic book store, and Umbrella Academy is a huge seller for us (also surprisingly good considering a dude from an emo band writes it).
For the more humorous side, have you read the Scott Pilgrim books? The 5th one just came out last week and they're all excellent, with some romance, some action, some music, and some video games. Pretty much my favorite all-time series. Also, for a more superhero-y title, have you tried Powers? I'm not into superhero books at all, really, but enjoy that a lot. I also like Runaways most times, though it's publishing more sporadically these days.
Love and Rockets is another classic you may want to try if you haven't yet. I'll probably think of a hundred more titles that are totally obvious, but I guess that's enough to start!
posted by leesh at 8:18 PM on February 8, 2009
For the more humorous side, have you read the Scott Pilgrim books? The 5th one just came out last week and they're all excellent, with some romance, some action, some music, and some video games. Pretty much my favorite all-time series. Also, for a more superhero-y title, have you tried Powers? I'm not into superhero books at all, really, but enjoy that a lot. I also like Runaways most times, though it's publishing more sporadically these days.
Love and Rockets is another classic you may want to try if you haven't yet. I'll probably think of a hundred more titles that are totally obvious, but I guess that's enough to start!
posted by leesh at 8:18 PM on February 8, 2009
Seconding the Kirkman books. Walking Dead and Invincible have me more excited about buying monthly comics than I have been in years. The anticipations I have for those two books reminds me of my days bicycling to pick up John Byrne's Fantastic Four off the rack on the day it came out.
I know you didn't ask for graphic novel recommendations, but you should read New Frontier and Kingdom Come if you haven't already. Oh, and All Star Superman.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:21 PM on February 8, 2009
I know you didn't ask for graphic novel recommendations, but you should read New Frontier and Kingdom Come if you haven't already. Oh, and All Star Superman.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:21 PM on February 8, 2009
I'd recommend Love and Rockets, too, except I'm not really excited they abandoned periodical format in favor of releasing graphic novel sized collections of all new material.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:23 PM on February 8, 2009
posted by MegoSteve at 8:23 PM on February 8, 2009
It won't help with your subscription problem, but Gunnerkrigg Court is a wonderful webcomic that just published a first volume.
posted by mail at 8:32 PM on February 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by mail at 8:32 PM on February 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
The 5th volume of Scott Pilgrim has just come out. It's a fun, lighthearted series about a fella having to "battle" the evil ex-boyfriends of his sweetheart. I've handed Pilgrim out to more than a few people and everyone has enjoyed it.
If you find yourself enjoying Persepolis, I'd suggest David B.'s "Epileptic". Some of the most beautiful cartooning around.
Lewis Trondheim has huge series planned for his "Dungeon" books- quite literally the story of the rise and fall of a fantasy world dungeon. Very silly but pleasant.
Jason Lute's second volume of "Berlin" also recently came out but it's been years in between the two books so it's frustrating read in that regard- but it is still a very good pre-WW2 Germany story.
I'm sure you've had this one suggested before but there's the old dame of "Love and Rockets" by The Hernandez Brothers. It's a frighteningly large and involved volume of work about a small town in Mexico and a small group of friends in California. If you liked Strangers In Paradise, you may like Hopey and Maggie.
Tezuka's "Black Jack" is finally getting re-published here in the states. Fine and weird medical dramas but pretty much all Tezuka is fine and weird.
Tip of the iceberg and all that. I'm sorry if I've given you only non-monthly books as suggestions but hopefully someone will offer more monthly suggestions if that's your aim. Good luck!
(On preview, MegoSteve is right- New Frontier is a beautiful, beautiful book. All Star Superman and The New X-Men also do very nice things to the "franchises".)
posted by cheap paper at 8:37 PM on February 8, 2009
If you find yourself enjoying Persepolis, I'd suggest David B.'s "Epileptic". Some of the most beautiful cartooning around.
Lewis Trondheim has huge series planned for his "Dungeon" books- quite literally the story of the rise and fall of a fantasy world dungeon. Very silly but pleasant.
Jason Lute's second volume of "Berlin" also recently came out but it's been years in between the two books so it's frustrating read in that regard- but it is still a very good pre-WW2 Germany story.
I'm sure you've had this one suggested before but there's the old dame of "Love and Rockets" by The Hernandez Brothers. It's a frighteningly large and involved volume of work about a small town in Mexico and a small group of friends in California. If you liked Strangers In Paradise, you may like Hopey and Maggie.
Tezuka's "Black Jack" is finally getting re-published here in the states. Fine and weird medical dramas but pretty much all Tezuka is fine and weird.
Tip of the iceberg and all that. I'm sorry if I've given you only non-monthly books as suggestions but hopefully someone will offer more monthly suggestions if that's your aim. Good luck!
(On preview, MegoSteve is right- New Frontier is a beautiful, beautiful book. All Star Superman and The New X-Men also do very nice things to the "franchises".)
posted by cheap paper at 8:37 PM on February 8, 2009
It comes in out in limited series that then end up as TPB's, but Red 5's Atomic Robo is just a flat-out load of fun with no angsty emo shit involved-- a robot built by Nikola Tesla and his military pals kick lots of ass. It's very straightforward.
Nthing Umbrella Academy. You might also like Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon's Casanova (link goes to interview with Fraction), a very pulpy, freaky sci-fi adventure story. 14 issues out so far, more to come later this year. (A lot of the weirder, funnier stuff comes out on odd schedules, sadly, so that might not help your pull any.)
Ed Brubaker's Incognito ought to be coming out fairly regularly, and is a look at a world where superheroes never diverged from their pulp origins. The first issue kicked so much ass that I cannot adequately describe it.
The best book I read all year last year, though, is already over and should be out in TPB soon-- Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura's I Kill Giants. Snarky grade-schooler may or may not be a legendary giant-slayer. Evocative art and pretty wrenching family drama. Really, really good.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:42 PM on February 8, 2009
Nthing Umbrella Academy. You might also like Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon's Casanova (link goes to interview with Fraction), a very pulpy, freaky sci-fi adventure story. 14 issues out so far, more to come later this year. (A lot of the weirder, funnier stuff comes out on odd schedules, sadly, so that might not help your pull any.)
Ed Brubaker's Incognito ought to be coming out fairly regularly, and is a look at a world where superheroes never diverged from their pulp origins. The first issue kicked so much ass that I cannot adequately describe it.
The best book I read all year last year, though, is already over and should be out in TPB soon-- Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura's I Kill Giants. Snarky grade-schooler may or may not be a legendary giant-slayer. Evocative art and pretty wrenching family drama. Really, really good.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:42 PM on February 8, 2009
Preacher and Transmetropolitan comes to mind first thing. Scott McCloud's "Zot!" recently came out in collected form, and it's a fun and surprisingly serious read.
Since you mentioned V For Vendetta and Watchmen, maybe From Hell is your cup of tea. Hard to say, though. Alan Moore has some very fun stuff like Promethea and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His take on the battle between Batman and the Joker, "The Killing Joke", is also great.
And speaking of really innovative superhero stories: "Arkham Asylum", in which the Joker invites Batman to the madhouse, is truly breathtaking.
posted by curagea at 10:04 PM on February 8, 2009
Since you mentioned V For Vendetta and Watchmen, maybe From Hell is your cup of tea. Hard to say, though. Alan Moore has some very fun stuff like Promethea and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. His take on the battle between Batman and the Joker, "The Killing Joke", is also great.
And speaking of really innovative superhero stories: "Arkham Asylum", in which the Joker invites Batman to the madhouse, is truly breathtaking.
posted by curagea at 10:04 PM on February 8, 2009
In terms of monthlies I'll also second Invincible - the later issues (it's still ongoing) are still fun, but the first couple volumes start off with a bang and are *great*, especially if you enjoy superhero deconstructions. Here's the first 13 isssues collected.
You might also want to check out Ex Machina, which has been one of my favorites for a while. It's set pretty much in the modern-day world, excepting the protagonist having the ability to talk to machines. It picks up from when he's retired from a (relatively unsuccesful) stint crimefighting, having been just elected as mayor of NYC. There's a godawful PDF-version of issue #1 but if this sounds at all interesting, consider picking up the TPB.
If you're a Battle Angel Alita fan, you might want to check out "Battle Angel Alita: Last Order", which is Yukito Kishiro's continuation of the series (still ongoing). It's on Volume 10+ - Viz is publishing English translations with Volume 11 due in April; the fan scanlations are up to Volume 12.
As a random suggestion, you might enjoy Hellboy / BPRD. There's a pretty regular flow of new titles (they usually take the form of semi-independent several mini-series) - the classic TPBs are phenomenal.
BTW, I wouldn't restrict yourself to current titles just to expand your subscription box. There are just too many great older/collected works that you might like (and might not know about). As an Alan Moore fan, you might want to see if you can track down say Miracleman (*still* out of prints due to rights issues, but the issues are floating around online). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Tom Strong are other Moore works that are both clever and fun in their own right. Other men-in-tights deconstructions include Kurt Busiek's Astro City series, and Grant Morrison's Animal Man. Planetary is IMO Warren Ellis' best work and is just chock full of awesomeness.
If you enjoy Persepolis, Art Spiegelman's Maus is an obvious recommendation. Along those lines I also quite enjoyed Jason Lutes' Berlin as well.
There are a lot of more personal auto/semi-biographical stories along the lines of Blankets. Recently I've really been digging Alex Robinson's stuff - you can start w/ Box Office Poison.
Personally, I enjoy collected works a lot more these days - a combination of not wanting to accrue more crap and preferring to read stories in >20 page segments.
posted by lhl at 12:10 AM on February 9, 2009
You might also want to check out Ex Machina, which has been one of my favorites for a while. It's set pretty much in the modern-day world, excepting the protagonist having the ability to talk to machines. It picks up from when he's retired from a (relatively unsuccesful) stint crimefighting, having been just elected as mayor of NYC. There's a godawful PDF-version of issue #1 but if this sounds at all interesting, consider picking up the TPB.
If you're a Battle Angel Alita fan, you might want to check out "Battle Angel Alita: Last Order", which is Yukito Kishiro's continuation of the series (still ongoing). It's on Volume 10+ - Viz is publishing English translations with Volume 11 due in April; the fan scanlations are up to Volume 12.
As a random suggestion, you might enjoy Hellboy / BPRD. There's a pretty regular flow of new titles (they usually take the form of semi-independent several mini-series) - the classic TPBs are phenomenal.
BTW, I wouldn't restrict yourself to current titles just to expand your subscription box. There are just too many great older/collected works that you might like (and might not know about). As an Alan Moore fan, you might want to see if you can track down say Miracleman (*still* out of prints due to rights issues, but the issues are floating around online). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Tom Strong are other Moore works that are both clever and fun in their own right. Other men-in-tights deconstructions include Kurt Busiek's Astro City series, and Grant Morrison's Animal Man. Planetary is IMO Warren Ellis' best work and is just chock full of awesomeness.
If you enjoy Persepolis, Art Spiegelman's Maus is an obvious recommendation. Along those lines I also quite enjoyed Jason Lutes' Berlin as well.
There are a lot of more personal auto/semi-biographical stories along the lines of Blankets. Recently I've really been digging Alex Robinson's stuff - you can start w/ Box Office Poison.
Personally, I enjoy collected works a lot more these days - a combination of not wanting to accrue more crap and preferring to read stories in >20 page segments.
posted by lhl at 12:10 AM on February 9, 2009
Hmm. Do Hellboy and BPRD count as standard superhero comics? I like to think not (no capes!), but anything by Mike Mignola is worth checking out IMO.
If you're a Buffy fan, you'll really enjoy Buffy Season 8 by Joss Whedon.
A little more off the beaten path is Age of Bronze, a retelling of the Trojan War by Eric Shanower.
posted by Shoggoth at 6:21 AM on February 9, 2009
If you're a Buffy fan, you'll really enjoy Buffy Season 8 by Joss Whedon.
A little more off the beaten path is Age of Bronze, a retelling of the Trojan War by Eric Shanower.
posted by Shoggoth at 6:21 AM on February 9, 2009
The aforementioned Walking Dead is fantastic, and there are nine trades to catch up on, so get going!
The other two books I read regularly are both by Brian Wood, DMZ and Northlanders. Both are great, of course. The former is (mostly) the story of a somewhat accidental reporter caught in the DMZ of Manhattan (yes, NYC) during a war between the United States and the "Free States of America" in the present/very near future. It's a quite-good rumination on the what-ifs of civil war in America, and the parallels to the war in Iraq are thought provoking.
The latter series (Northlanders) is a heavily-researched but incredibly entertaining look at the viking interactions with the British Isles in the first millenium CE. Each story arc follows a different set of characters: the first about a Varangian warrior returned to his home in the Orkney Islands, the second about a boy living through a viking raid on Lindisfarne, and the third (current) about a mysterious figure and his daughter marauding about the occupied Irish countryside. It's great stuff.
posted by The Michael The at 6:28 AM on February 9, 2009
The other two books I read regularly are both by Brian Wood, DMZ and Northlanders. Both are great, of course. The former is (mostly) the story of a somewhat accidental reporter caught in the DMZ of Manhattan (yes, NYC) during a war between the United States and the "Free States of America" in the present/very near future. It's a quite-good rumination on the what-ifs of civil war in America, and the parallels to the war in Iraq are thought provoking.
The latter series (Northlanders) is a heavily-researched but incredibly entertaining look at the viking interactions with the British Isles in the first millenium CE. Each story arc follows a different set of characters: the first about a Varangian warrior returned to his home in the Orkney Islands, the second about a boy living through a viking raid on Lindisfarne, and the third (current) about a mysterious figure and his daughter marauding about the occupied Irish countryside. It's great stuff.
posted by The Michael The at 6:28 AM on February 9, 2009
Nthing "Umbrella Academy" and "Walking Dead"
I think you'd really like Garth Ennis' "The Boys."
I'm really enjoying vertigo's current "Unknown Soldier" series. Mark Millar's "War Heroes" got off to a great start but has gone a few months without releasing the 3rd issue. Brahm Revel's "Guerillas" is EXCELLENT. "Ex Machina" is also quite good.
Even though "Preacher" is not still in print, you should read that.
posted by brandsilence at 10:01 AM on February 9, 2009
I think you'd really like Garth Ennis' "The Boys."
I'm really enjoying vertigo's current "Unknown Soldier" series. Mark Millar's "War Heroes" got off to a great start but has gone a few months without releasing the 3rd issue. Brahm Revel's "Guerillas" is EXCELLENT. "Ex Machina" is also quite good.
Even though "Preacher" is not still in print, you should read that.
posted by brandsilence at 10:01 AM on February 9, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by gryftir at 8:02 PM on February 8, 2009