Comic Milestones/Must Reads
Okay, there's a few comics that stand out in every genre as being the pinnacle, the epitome of what comics can achieve. This is the place where well-read comic veterans can list the Great Ones for everyone else to check out and appreciate themselves. So I'll start, and break it down by genre so you guys can pick out what you like.
[B]Superhero[/B]
[U]Kingdom Come[/U] - This is the first real DC graphic I ever picked up, and the only reason I did pick it up is because of the absolutely amazing art done by the man, Alex Ross. It's a great tail about an ageing Superman trying to find his place in a world where almost everyone's a superhero. Really good stuff.
[B]Noir[/B]
[U]Alias[/U] - Before you think it, this series has nothing to do with the TV show of the same name. Penned by the superb Brian Michael Bendis, it centers on an emotionally screwed up private eye/ex-super heroine who's hired to solve all kinds of cases, sometimes involving other superheroes as well. Doesn't really belong in the "superhero" category because Bendis focuses on the lives of the characters in a much, much more realistic way than you'll ever find in a Superman or Batman comic.
[B]Manga[/B]
[U]Akira[/U] - Got to go with the best here. If you've seen the movie, you truly only know half the story. Katsuhiro Otomo really is the golden boy of all things anime/manga, and this is where he cut his fangs. Laden with all the gore and intense action you can portray in b&w, Otomo's tale of biker gangs in futuristic Tokyo only gets better with age. Luckily for us, Dark Horse recently published this huge series into five or six two inch thick graphics for you to get your hands on.
[B]Sci-Fi/Fantasy[/B]
[U]The Sandman[/U] - Gotta go with Gaiman on this one. What can I say? This man turns comics into literature. Pick up one of his novels(Neverwhere, American Gods...) or start at the beginning with the incredible Sandman series, which focus' on the Endless, the manifestations of the facets of reality: Dream, Destiny, Destruction, Death, Despair, Delirium, and Desire. It's very good stuff, and the artist rotation keeps the stories fresh and different as the plot evolves.
[B]Miscellaneous[/B]
[U]Johnny the Homicidal Maniac[/U] - This popular "underground" graphic was penned and inked by the talented Jhonen Vasquez. At first look it's just what every depressed, gothed-out, angst-ridden high school sophomore needs, a semi-goth look at a seemingly-unstoppable serial killer who only kills those who really deserve it, ex. those who tease him about his hair while he's eating at Taco Hell. Deeper inspection, however, reveals a lonely kid who just wants to understand why he's losing his mind....eh, it still sounds gothy as hell, and well...it is, but it's really good social commentary and self-depreciating goth too(think Type O Negative).
[COLOR=White]In the end, we all get lobotomies. - K[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Now I'm all alone. Kept the pain inside.
Wanna torch the world, cuz I'm breathing fire.[/COLOR]
[QUOTE=snuffy]so am i lame if i nominate chris ware's "jimmy corrigan: the smartest kid on earth"[/QUOTE]
No, but maybe you should elaborate as to why it's so great?
[COLOR=White]In the end, we all get lobotomies. - K[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Now I'm all alone. Kept the pain inside.
Wanna torch the world, cuz I'm breathing fire.[/COLOR]
ok, it's just so amazing because chris ware creates the character jimmy who is so identifiable to the saddest and most hidden parts of humanity. jimmy is also totally unlike me, who invents problems because i'm a spoiled cunt. buy the book. it's wonderful, enough so that i will compare myself to rotted genitalia
[QUOTE=Manic Oppressive]Okay, there's a few comics that stand out in every genre as being the pinnacle, the epitome of what comics can achieve. This is the place where well-read comic veterans can list the Great Ones for everyone else to check out and appreciate themselves. So I'll start, and break it down by genre so you guys can pick out what you like.
[B]Noir[/B]
[U]Alias[/U] - Before you think it, this series has nothing to do with the TV show of the same name. Penned by the superb Brian Michael Bendis, it centers on an emotionally screwed up private eye/ex-super heroine who's hired to solve all kinds of cases, sometimes involving other superheroes as well. Doesn't really belong in the "superhero" category because Bendis focuses on the lives of the characters in a much, much more realistic way than you'll ever find in a Superman or Batman comic.
[/QUOTE]
Alias for Noir? Eh...maybe..but..probably not. Don't get me wrong, I loved Alias, but I don't think it is the pinnacle of the noir genre. It's a definite must read. I think the best title of the noir genre is [I]Stray Bullets[/I]. There is no title out there more "noir" than this one. Read this dude's review [url=http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=692]here[/url]. Yes, this title will be hard to find because it was published independently, but it will be well worth your search.
yea, i agree, alias is an awesome series, but it's not noir.
sin city, i think, would be the defining work in the genre. stray bullets is good, but sin city is better.
Goldfish by Bendis is a better noir tale than Alias.
I think the Watchmen should be included in the superheros genre.
Unless this falls under miscellaneous, you should also have a historical and/or political/social commentary category so works by Harvey Pekar and R. Crumb can be included. And any comic that tells the true story of a Holocaust survivor with animal characters, like Art Speigelman's Maus, is definitely worthy of being at the top of the list of great achievements.
A Vendetta production. <3
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/Vendetta_M/batboy.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE=1]Sitting like a princess perched in her electric chair[/SIZE]
I secongd Maus and its sequel.
[QUOTE=Tuffy the Dump Truck]I think the Watchmen should be included in the superheros genre.[/QUOTE]
yea, but everyone says this... sure, it's a milestone, but i think Allan Moore has written better.
[QUOTE=NeilFarted]
I hate when people say the same old names over and over. Moore, Miller, and Gaiman. It's like a no brainer. I wonder if people have tried to read other comics because there has been other great stuff besides these three. I like these three writers, but if comics are going to grow and reach new territories then people have to discover other writers, artists, and titles. That could be a new thread; Good comics that have nothing to do with the big three. Come on people, expand your horizon.
yea, like Howard Mackie!
[img]http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~bryant/reilly/pictures/gallery/scarlet.gif[/img]
another thing; there are two parts to a comic (well maybe like four or five, but who pays attention to inkers, letters, and colors). the story and the art, so people better start praising the artwork.
some of my favorites;
Richard Corben (Banner, Cage, The End;Punisher)
Alex Maleev (Daredevil)
Pia Guerra (Y the Last Man)
Tim Bradstreet (Punisher covers)
[QUOTE=NeilFarted]yea, but everyone says this... sure, it's a milestone, but i think Allan Moore has written better.[/QUOTE]
I agree, Neil. Maybe I need to read Watchman again, but even though it was very well written, I don't understand why so many people praise it as Moore's defining work... when I think that From Hell and V For Vendetta tower over it.
Wanna have the pants scared off you in 90 seconds?
Watch 'Laundry Day', my new horror short:
Transmetropolitan - by Warren Ellis, art by Derick Robertson
"Filthy Assistants!"
Faust by Tim Vigil & David Quinn - artwork is amazing. Creepy claustrophobic and insane.
Love & Rockets by the Hernandez Brothers -c'mon. Alt culture, punk rock, sci-fi, Errata Stigmata. The characters are fucking great.
Hellraiser - various artists continue stories about Pinhead and his posse.
The artwork is very pretty the stories are so-so.
I haven't bought comics in a long time. These are just the ones i keep re-reading.
[QUOTE=Manic Oppressive]
(think Type O Negative).[/QUOTE]
that's right
"The Maxx" By Sam Keith, my favorite series of all time.
"Popbot" By Ahsley Wood is awesome
"30 Days of Night" was great
actually, nearlyeverything IDW is putting out is pretty kick ass
And though they are kind of the "known ones" you gotta read "Watchmen" "V For Vendetta" and of course "Sin City: That Yellow Bastard"
[QUOTE=Popcultjunkie]I hate when people say the same old names over and over. Moore, Miller, and Gaiman. It's like a no brainer. I wonder if people have tried to read other comics because there has been other great stuff besides these three. I like these three writers, but if comics are going to grow and reach new territories then people have to discover other writers, artists, and titles. That could be a new thread; Good comics that have nothing to do with the big three. Come on people, expand your horizon.[/QUOTE]
[I]I[/I] hate when you piss and moan every single time somebody dares to mention the classics. Seriously, shut the fuck up already and stop telling us how and what to post. Nobody cares what you think about any of this. You sound like the type who bitches whenever someone mentions Hemingway or Twain in a literature thread. If you don't like it then go the fuck away already.
Not everybody has read Watchmen or Sandman or the Dark Knight Returns. Those who have like to talk about them sometimes. If that bothers you, feel free to eat my shit.
It's not easy having a good time.
Even smiling makes my face ache.
[QUOTE=Ozymandias][I]I[/I] hate when you piss and moan every single time somebody dares to mention the classics. Seriously, shut the fuck up already and stop telling us how and what to post. Nobody cares what you think about any of this. You sound like the type who bitches whenever someone mentions Hemingway or Twain in a literature thread. If you don't like it then go the fuck away already.
Not everybody has read Watchmen or Sandman or the Dark Knight Returns. Those who have like to talk about them sometimes. If that bothers you, feel free to eat my shit.[/QUOTE]
live in your bubble. "the type"? I'm open to a discussion, rather than hide and be silent like you suggest.
Age of Apocalyspe.
I second Age Of Apocalypse.
100% by Paul Pope is written almost as well as it's drawn.
I would also like to suggest that no one on Earth buy Jim Mahfood's comics so he will just go away.
[RIGHT][SIZE=1][COLOR=Orange]"White people love Outkast." [/COLOR] [/SIZE][/RIGHT]
ok, you're completely fucking retarded. goodbye.
Spider-Man: Death Of Kraven
is probably one of my favorite storylines in comics.
[img]http://www.samruby.com/WebA/Web032_small.JPG[/img][img]http://www.samruby.com/AmazingSpider-ManL/AmazSpid294_small.JPG[/img][img]http://www.samruby.com/AmazingSpider-ManL/AmazSpid293_small.JPG[/img]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
Spawn vs the Heap (Spawn issue 73-74)
[img]http://www.spawn.com/comics/SPAWN/monthly/images/spawn_comic_cover_073_cl.jpg[/img]
Spawn vs Heap? A Milestone? Must Read?
bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhahaahahahahahahahahahah
I don't know about them apples Will?
The last couple of "must reads" have made me scratch my head.
Must reads are books that everyone should read, not just titles that you liked.
[QUOTE=Popcultjunkie]I don't know about them apples Will?
The last couple of "must reads" have made me scratch my head.
Must reads are books that everyone should read, not just titles that you liked.[/QUOTE]
Sorry that it's not some stand alone that everyone else loves, but I happen to like Spider-Man. Have you read the "Death of Kraven" storyline? It's truely a fantastic read. It pushed the bar a little back in it's day too. THe whole suicide thing pissed a lot of people off. I mean it's easy to write off the Super hero comics, but there's some good writing in a lot of them. Granted, at times, there was some hooky shit, but nonetheless, there was a lot of goodwriting [i]before[/i] ultra-violence like Authority and Preacher. I still recommend this book 100%.
[url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871356910/qid=1083441628/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4760311-6344628?v=glance&s=books[/url]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Lazlosdead/completeLazloSig.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=Popcultjunkie]I don't know about them apples Will?
The last couple of "must reads" have made me scratch my head.
Must reads are books that everyone should read, not just titles that you liked.[/QUOTE]
Shows how much you people know about comics.
The Heap is an (old school) comic character that first appeared in Air Fighters (later Airboy) Comics in 1942.
The character was pretty much reinvented (or reborn, whichever you prefer) by Todd McFarlane to fit in the Spawn realm.
So there, you still think I just named those issues cause I liked them the best ?
Okay, I dig your responses Lazlodead and Mirror Mirror.
Plus, I give both of you props for explaining your choices.
[QUOTE=MIRROR MIRROR]Shows how much you people know about comics.
The Heap is an (old school) comic character that first appeared in Air Fighters (later Airboy) Comics in 1942.
The character was pretty much reinvented (or reborn, whichever you prefer) by Todd McFarlane to fit in the Spawn realm.
So there, you still think I just named those issues cause I liked them the best ?[/QUOTE]
who gives a shit? Todd is still a shitty writer and the biggest achievement of his life was buying someone else's balls.
The Heap. Jesus Christ.
-------------------------------------------------
but Lazlo is right on the Kraven storyline. They tried to do a dark spidey story a few years after the Kraven one, but it couldn't come close.
hahahhahhahhahh
hahhahhahhahhahhah
ahahhahhahhahhaahha!!
!!
[QUOTE=NeilFarted]who gives a shit? Todd is still a shitty writer and the biggest achievement of his life was buying someone else's balls.
The Heap. Jesus Christ.[/QUOTE]
Wow what a statement,
[FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=5]WHAT A STATEMENT !!![/SIZE][/FONT]
There's no doubt you truly are da man dawg.
But honestly if you are older then twelve and you actually do have friends (besides your little pencil) then I'm very, very surprised.
wow. i expect this level of stupidity in GD. glad it's leaked over here. goodbye.
so am i lame if i nominate chris ware's "jimmy corrigan: the smartest kid on earth"