Thanks in large part to this board, I've begun dropping by the comics section in my library. Now that I'm hitched I don't have to worry (well... as much) about the cute Villanova students looking at me funny as I walk by the study carols with that stuff in my hands.

Luckily, the first one I ever checked out was 'Watchmen.' Recently I saw Dr. No (? I think) refer to this as essential reading - I believe he said anyone who hadn't read it was not qualified to speak on comics.

What are the others? I'm never going to be someone who buys comics or posts on comics boards, but I do enjoy them and would like to make sure I have myself fairly well grounded in the art form.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

It's sort of the Citizen Kane of comics. It's just one of those works that pretty much everyone can agree is the gold standard (or at the very least, one of the gold standards) of the medium. After that things tend to break off a lot more and it really becomes more and more a matter of opinion. You'll generally hear people name drop books like Preacher, The Dark Knight Returns, Maus, and maybe even Sandman when they talk about comic book essentials. While I haven't read very much Sandman I can appreciate its status in comicdom, and I wouldn't really refute any of those as being great works.

There might be a few others I'd toss in there just because they're personal favorites but I really don't wanna throw the term 'essential' around like it's nothing.

I'd say Watchmen is a must read, after that read whatever. Let not forget comic are a medium not a genre so it really depend on what you're intrested in. Whether is superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, crime noir, mystery, romance, drama comedy etc. theres a comic out there for it. Think of your interest and go from there.

for sure.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

it's one of those books that is always recommended as being one of the most important of all time, but i think that's just because of the subject matter... because i thought the writing and art were actually bullshit

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

well even for people that might hate it I'd still say it's important to read.
I like it, haven't read it in ages though.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

I kind of shied away... most of the non-superhero stuff I've read hasn't been as exciting for me (Cages, 2024, Jinx).

Every TPB intro I read talks about how incredible it is... *shrug* I'll have to check it out, but for today I grabbed Bendis's 'Ultimate Spider-man' (can't remember who did the artwork).

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

that's his best work, IMHO

that and Powers, of course

see... i was shying away from listing explicitly superhero-oriented fare, but if you're open to men in tights (*pause*) then there's plenty of other stuff worth checking out

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

and I'm not about to spend dough on comics right now.

>that's his best work, IMHO

but maybe I'll check the inter-library loan system.

>that and Powers, of course

I don't know what this is... author?

>see... i was shying away from listing explicitly
>superhero-oriented fare, but if you're open to men in tights
>(*pause*) then there's plenty of other stuff worth checking
>out

Men in tights are fine (chicks in tights are finer)... but i didn't mean for this to be a list post of recommendations for me, but more of a 'what are the books every comics fan knows and should know?' type of discussion.

As far as personal tastes go, I love superhero shit... I just get annoyed when the original concept gets waylaid by all kinds of random shit.
-X-men, which is about mutants on earth and their fight for recognition, they go off to fight aliens, travel to other dimensions and shit
-all the multiple Earth bullshit in the classic DC books - this spills over into the Crisis stuff, which I've only skirted but don't intend to really go for
-folks dieing and coming back to life like it ain't nothing

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

>>that and Powers, of course
>
>I don't know what this is... author?

Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

>As far as personal tastes go, I love superhero shit... I just
>get annoyed when the original concept gets waylaid by all
>kinds of random shit.
>-X-men, which is about mutants on earth and their fight for
>recognition, they go off to fight aliens, travel to other
>dimensions and shit

i refuse to read any X book. i might be missing out on some good shit, but i don't care.

oh wait... i read District X

>-all the multiple Earth bullshit in the classic DC books -
>this spills over into the Crisis stuff, which I've only
>skirted but don't intend to really go for

y'know... i must have been one of the only people who LOVED that multiple earths shit. i was mad when DC killed off all the other earths!

>-folks dieing and coming back to life like it ain't nothing

see: X-Men

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>i refuse to read any X book. i might be missing out on some
>good shit, but i don't care.
>
>oh wait... i read District X

I read the X-men 'Up From the Ashes' book and was shocked at hos bad it was. This was from immediately after the Phoenix saga, maybe mid-80s, and I found the writing bad... I'm not much for commenting on art, but that wasn't great either.

That said, I just read a TPB of 'X-Force' and I thought it was great. Except for teh Wolverine guest spot... deus ex machina.

>>-all the multiple Earth bullshit in the classic DC books -
>>this spills over into the Crisis stuff, which I've only
>>skirted but don't intend to really go for
>
>y'know... i must have been one of the only people who LOVED
>that multiple earths shit. i was mad when DC killed off all
>the other earths!

Well... it's only popped up in a few of the books I've read. The first time it confused the heck out of me, so i did a little research on it and basically thought 'What the HELL were tey thinking?'

>>-folks dieing and coming back to life like it ain't nothing
>
>see: X-Men

Well... I also just read the Kevin Smith Green Arrow books, and there we have Hawkman, Green Arrow and Hal Jordan hanging out... and wait, what's this? Green lantern REBIRTH! oooooooo.... Do I sense a DC apologist? ha

I was also confused about what happened to Dick Grayson to make him into the Joker-wannabe in the Dark Knight Strikes Again. But I'm not very up on the back history there.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

was a pretty decent way of bringing Hal back, but then again he wasn't quite dead anyways, he was a ghost in the service of the spectre and his body was kept in the sun....
It's good though.

if you want to read a good X-Men book check out Astonishing X-Men. Whedon avoids bringing up too much of the insanely convoluted back stories. I don't bother with any other X-Men books, they confused the hell out of me as a kid.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

>was a pretty decent way of bringing Hal back, but then again
>he wasn't quite dead anyways, he was a ghost in the service of
>the spectre and his body was kept in the sun....

That's the kind of stuff that tends to make me lose interest. but in the end what matters is this, I guess:

>It's good though.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

even though i've always (well... at least 20 years anyway) been less interested in company loyalty than in just reading the books that i thought had great talent working on them. and DC always had the better talent (from the early 80s onwards)

Marvel's recently made a comeback by pilfering DC's best writers and artists (a major bitch move, IMHO) and most of the books i read these days are neither Marvel nor DC. but in my heart of hearts, i remain a DC guy.

>I read the X-men 'Up From the Ashes' book and was shocked at
>hos bad it was. This was from immediately after the Phoenix
>saga, maybe mid-80s, and I found the writing bad... I'm not
>much for commenting on art, but that wasn't great either.

hmmm...i never really read that era of X-Men. it was a time when i was hardly reading any Marvels at all (exept for maybe Iron Man, Power Man and Iron Fist and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man) but i know that at the time it was considered the state-of-the-art in comic book writing.

*shrug* go figger

>>y'know... i must have been one of the only people who LOVED
>>that multiple earths shit. i was mad when DC killed off all
>>the other earths!
>
>Well... it's only popped up in a few of the books I've read.
>The first time it confused the heck out of me, so i did a
>little research on it and basically thought 'What the HELL
>were tey thinking?'

LOL it's a long story... it started out innocently enough in FLASH #123 (1961), with a well-meaning story called "Flash of Two Worlds"

>I was also confused about what happened to Dick Grayson to
>make him into the Joker-wannabe in the Dark Knight Strikes
>Again. But I'm not very up on the back history there.

Frank Miller's Dark Knight stories don't take place in any established continuity. they don't have any real back story per se... just treat them as stand-alone "imaginary tales" or "potential futures"

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>Marvel's recently made a comeback by pilfering DC's best
>writers and artists (a major bitch move, IMHO)

hasn't it?
Not that I'm an expert - but I've read both Kavalier & Klay (yes, I know it's fiction - though some of the Escapist comics were really good) and a recent and excellent Stan Lee biography. And this seems to have been commonplace, going all the way back to the 1940s... artists working under pseudonyms for different companies, stealing artists back and forth, etc.

>hmmm...i never really read that era of X-Men... but i know that at the time it was
>considered the state-of-the-art in comic book writing.
>
>*shrug* go figger

Again... I kept thinking 'This is supposed to be CLASSIC stuff! The Morlocks... Madeleine Pryor... but it's just... blah.'


>LOL it's a long story... it started out innocently enough in
>FLASH #123 (1961), with a well-meaning story called "Flash of
>Two Worlds"

Yeah, I got all that stuff. Don't think I'll be interested in reading it though. but whatever.


>Frank Miller's Dark Knight stories don't take place in any
>established continuity. they don't have any real back story
>per se... just treat them as stand-alone "imaginary tales" or
>"potential futures"

That's kind of what I thought. I haven't read 'Dark Knight Returns' yet - that's another for the inter-library system.

I didn't think Kingdom Come was nearly as good as the Dark Knight Strikes Again - sure different stories, but it was impossible not to compare them...

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

>Not that I'm an expert - but I've read both Kavalier & Klay
>(yes, I know it's fiction - though some of the Escapist comics
>were really good) and a recent and excellent Stan Lee
>biography. And this seems to have been commonplace, going all
>the way back to the 1940s... artists working under pseudonyms
>for different companies, stealing artists back and forth,
>etc.

but i feel the situation today is slightly different because back then you just had a basic pool of guys who all worked in New York, taking jobs from whatever company would offer them. you even had studios that churned the material out wholesale. it was just the same guys over and over.

the last major talent drive in the comics was in the 1980s when DC Comics injected fresh blood into the industry: Executive editor Dick Giordano went to the Philippines to hire artists like Raphael Kayanan and Alfredo Alcala; editor Karen Berger went to the UK and came back with most of the writers and artists who would revolutionize comics for the next decade: Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, Alan Davis, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar...

DC was also in the forefront of scouting out upcoming creators in the field of independent comics and drawing them into the mainstream: Michael Allred, Edward Brubaker, Terry Moore, Gilbert Hernandez, etc.

during this time, Marvel was still pursuing their “Great Man/House Style” philosophy of comics, teaching all their writers to write like Stan Lee and all their artists to draw like Jack Kirby. during this time, a lot of the creators who had been in the Marvel Bullpen during the 1970s fled to DC where they received more creative freedom: Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, George Perez, John Byrne...

it wasn’t until the mid-to-late 90s when Marvel was not only artistically irrelevant, but also on the brink of financial disaster that they realized what DC had known for years: people make the difference. they would have to find some major new talents to revitalize their line. so what do they do? they go and raid DC stable of creators! and hey…. since writers and artists are essentially free agents, there’s nothing wrong with them going to do some work with Marvel if they want to. but Marvel isn’t satisfied with that; they want to monopolize the market by luring these creators away with exclusive contracts.

it’s just shady to me. and incredibly lame.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

In my mind, its Gotham Central with mutants. I have a general embargo on all the major titles from the big two for the immediate future (all superman, batman, x-men, Spider man titles and their related books)
Although I'm reading Arana and hudlin's run on Spider man.

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

or Birds of Prey, for that matter?

as for Arana... i just picked up a couple of issues of Amazing Fantasy last week... looks like some good stuff. Fiona Avery is a writer i'm gonna keep an eye on (i'm not sure if i liked her No Honor, though... but Rising Stars looks interesting)

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I guess I don't consider them part of Batman because of how thinly they are tied to him. Gotham central is about the cops, Birds of Prey is about the women. I realize that's somewhat of a cop out but I'm ok with it

Arana is definitely worth picking up. I grabbed the first two on a whim and was surprised how much I enjoyed them. This would be a great title to market to kids, if Marvel could get its head out if its ass. I didn't realize that Fiona Avery was writing the Rising Stars mini. Well, since Angeltown and Captain America and the Falcon ended and Ocean and Papa Midnight are on their last issues, I have space for new books. So far the only new addition to the roster is Desolation Jones

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

I don't know anything about him - the only book the library had was a very suspect-looking retelling of his origin, set as a 'romantic comedy'.

I should check the loan system for some of the Bendis titles then?

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

i wonder which one that was...

anyway... a good retelling of his origin woul be Frank Miller & John Romita Jr.'s "The Man Without Fear"

but as for the Bendis stuff... yeah, definitely check that out. start with "Underboss" then "Out," "Lowlife" and onwards from there...

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

a commie English prof i had last year taught it. The whole time saying how it turned comic books into real artwork.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

and it irks me

the idea is that comics became "serious art" only when they addressed the issue of the Holocaust... i don't think i can buy that.

hell, Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are the other two prongs in the "Comics Ain't Just for Kids No More" triumvirate... but seriously, what was so "mature" about DKR? i guess the extent to which it deconstructs Batman, maybe... but essentially it was just Dirty Harry with a cape.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I was reading Ronin the other day and Len Wein's quote on the back was "maybe they'll stop calling them "comic books" now." Which is funny because there's nothing incredibly revolutionary about that book.
TIME had a write-up about Spiegelman a few weeks ago written by Marjane Satrapi who was going to lengths to say they make cartoons, not comic books.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

A lot of comic book fans are middle aged men trying to fight the perception that comics are for children so they are looking for any reason to call it art.
Personally, anyone who considers the Da Vinci Code to be a literary masterpiece has no real business judging what I read. I read comics. Accept it or move on. I'm too old to be lying about my hobbies.

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

true enough.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

One of my boys hides his comic collection and his science fiction books from women until they've been on a couple of dates. Dude owns spider man shot glasses (which, by the way, I fully intend to steal) and yet he tries to pretend all that shit belongs to his roomate. Me, I leave it out. If she gets scared off by reading material, her issues are bigger than mine

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

the presence of comic books in The O.C. would legitimize reading comics as something normal guys can do. It's endearingly quirky damnit!

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

...but the comment about a girl's reaction to a comic book collection reminded me of this.

When I was in 9th grade (back in 1990) I had to write an in-depth report of some subject that interested me. So I chose comics, and how they have grown and evolved from the Golden Age to the 1990s. Yeah, general and corny, but I was in the 9th grade.

So I go to the comic book shop where I spent my $20 a week and schueduled an interview with some of the clerks. When the time comes, I go back into the back room where the clerks hang out and do the interview with one of the clerks who's supposed to be an expert on the evolution of comics. To break the ice, I ask him what it's like to work at a comic book store.

"Let me tell you, it's great," he says. "You will get more pussy than you can ever imagine. It's great. You go to parties and you talk to girls and they say, 'What do you for a living.' And you tell them and they're, 'Ooh that's interesting.' And then they take you home and the fuck your brains out. I mean they just fuck your brains out. It's great."

It was 15 years ago, and I'm guess I'm probably paraphrasing some of what he said, but I remember a lot of it pretty clearly. He went on for like 3 minutes with great earnestness and conviction about how much sex you can get if you work at a comic book store while the two other clerks in the room kind of stared at him incredulously. I thought it was a wee bit odd to start to respond to a question be a 14 year old interviewer who wanted to know his insights on how Spider-Man had evolved over the years, but hey, it certainly stuck with me.

To this day, I still wonder if I've made a mistake by not ever working at a comic shop.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

He was really, really serious. He said it with no apparent irony or winks at the other guys or whatever. He even got into a discussion with the other two clerks about it. Later, he mentioned something about having two kids with two different women, so that seemed to lend credence to his claim.

Maybe my bullshit dectector at the age of 14 was a little out of whack, but I can tell you itsure in the hell seemed to me like he wasn't trying to put me on.

I'm not saying dude doesn't get pussy from it, but I'm just questioning the quality of the pussy. Fat girls copping the recent issue of Oh My Goddess might not be something to brag about but if dude is getting his nut...

Mech

>Fat girls copping the
>recent issue of Oh My Goddess might not be something to brag
>about but if dude is getting his nut...

seriously, though... i have been seeing more and more "hot" chicks at the store of late.

not, like, Jessica Alba hot, of course... but more like Sara Silverman/Jessi Klein hot. which is definitely a step up...

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

The fact that they are in a comic shop, in and of itself, automatically gives them a couple of hot points. Sarah Silverman/Jessi Klein on the beach? Not hot. Reading comic books? Scorching.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

some high school skater chick who was going on and on about the O.C. with a dude that writes star wars comics.
I'm not counting the owners seemingly mute wife though.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

Are:
1. Dragged in there with their boyfriends (80%)
2. Buying toys / t-shirts for their kids (5%)
3. In tenth grade or below...

Mech

PS - That's right, I said it.

PPS - If you live in or visit Manhattan, the girl who works in the toy department at Forbidden Planet is hot; mulatto or something. But you know you can't hold a conversation with her cause when the majority of the time she sees you you're asking for back issues of Ultimate X-Men or if they're gonna get that Mazinger Z vinyl figure back in so you know you're instantly labeled geek. Plus, she was on some Chasing Amy shit, not gay, but wrote/illustrated one of those girly Love and Rockets comics and didn't seem to interested in superhero books. The only dude I ever saw her express interest in was this European guy who obviously was only in the store to say hello on some "Are we gonna fuck again?" shit.

PPPS - My friend, who occasionally posts on this board, was telling me how a lesbian was trying to feel her out by talking about the latest issue of Y the Last Man, which I got my friend into but she hasn't kept current with the story. If you read the book *MAJOR MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD* then you know the recent issues have been partially about the doctor and agent 355 fucking. So you know why it's funny that a lesbian would be using this to hit on a straight girl.

1) This happened like 15 years ago, so maybe working at a comic book store was a little more exotic and unusual.

2) These were chicks he met at parties, not at the shop. So maybe they genuinely found it interesting. However, they could have been Goony-googoo looking chicks. I didn't ask him. I was too busy trying not to crack up.

so i'm supposed to NOT read Promethea because i'm afraid of being judged as a moron by people who probably watch "Nanny 911"? puh-LEEZE...

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

Although when it comes to the realm of women, I'd strongly recommend you don't break out your Infinity Gauntlet on the first date. Mrs. Right might scare easy. Best to leave something like that for the 3 month mark or so.

My wife always knew I was a comic book fan on some level, but I don't think she truly grasped the dark depths of my geekdom until we had been together for about 2 years. We were chilling at my Mom's house and I was bored so I broke out some longboxes from under my old bed. I guess as a lifelong comic head I never stopped to think about how creepy polybags can seem to outsiders.

>I guess as a lifelong comic
>head I never stopped to think about how creepy polybags can
>seem to outsiders.

i've experienced that before... she finds out you read comics and she's not turned off... in fact, she thinks it's kinda cute.

then one day she realizes that you actually preserve them in mylar bags and lovingly file them in these white boxes that look a little like tiny coffins... all of a sudden you look like a serial killer in training!

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

The same thing happened to me once. I was moving out of the doms into an apartment for the summer and my girl was helping. When I started pulling out the comic boxes the look on her face was priceless. She stuck around though

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

You're so right about the bags and boards. Everytime I've ever tried to explain that to a girl it does go from a "cute hobby" to "what the fuck?". They just don't understand they only cost $0.15 and the boxes are only $4. Sheesh.

Personally, I look down on people who don't bag their comics.

Mech

was surprised at how good it was (though I felt the ending was a bit over-the-top, not in a good way) and how much I enjoyed it. Lucky choice, it turns out.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

though i guess i understand what you mean... the way it goes from being a very gritty, "realistic" and "street-level" story and then suddenly you're seeing this giant squid destroying New York City

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

>though i guess i understand what you mean... the way it goes
>from being a very gritty, "realistic" and "street-level" story
>and then suddenly you're seeing this giant squid destroying
>New York City

and not just that, but most of the deaths result from a 'psychic shock wave' or some shit which is never explained... it's just '... and the resulting psychic shock wave will kill millions...'

I was very disappointed when I read that... but in the end it was a minor detail.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

Moore's Watchmen sort of deconstructs superhero comics, and then Busiek's Astro City sort of puts them all together again. I've never read these two consecutively but something tells me they'd go well together. So if Watchmen was the last thing you read and you still need a superhero fix, try that.

will keep my eyes peeled. Thanks.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

and Strangers in Paradise

i get the feeling you might dig

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

will keep eyes peeled.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

crisi on infinite earths since it was done so wel and established so much regarding the modern dc universe.

of course anything by frank miller (sin city, dark knight returns).

what would be the equivalents in the marvel universe


return to your home citizens

madagascar titties- (c) phontiggalo the rap jiggalo

I would never, ever hit a woman....but i'll beat a bitch (c) wifey

De Poenschepper

:}
________________________________

Empty,
Running on
Bravado

-old titles/collections... it seems most everything starts off with the mid-80s when talking about comics that matter... is that just our age group?

-Or going way back we might reach to the Silver Age stuff... I've read the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series from the ca. 1970. Not bad. Haven't read much else from this era.

-Japanese books? I've read about the influence of Lone Wolf & Cub... anything special? (And the library has it, so I'll probably wind up reading it anyway)

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

i would say you need to read most of the stuff from the early Marvel Age… Amazing Spider-Man #1-50; Fantastic Four #1-60, probably the early Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil and Avengers (though not so much)

for manga: Lone Wolf & Cub, Akira, Tezuka’s Buddha and Phoenix, Usagi Yojimbo (even though it’s not Japanese)

also, Cerebus

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

IMO the best writing Stan Lee ever did. People still make characters today based off that Spider Man
As far as japanese stuff goes, I'd also reccommend Ghost in The Shell

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

...find a Spiderman trade titled "The Death of Gwen Stacy." I read that storyline when I was a kid and it's singularly responsible for making me fall in love with comics and why I still stop at the comic shop every Wednesday.

All of that early Marvel stuff is just great. My personal favorites are early Spiderman and Fantastic Four, but don't sleep on Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil...really any of those flagship titles - but *especially* Spiderman. They've got them all in collection form now, and they shouldn't be too hard to find.

It gets kind of tricky when you're talking about long running titles like this. Sure, I could tell you that Days of Future Past is a *must read*, but really it's only a *must read* if you give half a damn about X-Men lore.

Each and every title has its share of definitive runs, but I don't go so far as to classify them as 'essential' reading for all comic heads. It really all depends on what you're into and what characters you care about. Say for instance you read a collection of silver age Fantastic Four, I'd recommend looking into Mark Waid's recent run on the title. I believe it's all been compiled in hardcover collections, and it's really stellar stuff... if you enjoy reading The Fantastic Four, it's even better.

Oh and speaking of older titles, definitely look into The Spirit by Will Eisner.

>Oh and speaking of older titles, definitely look into The
>Spirit by Will Eisner.

All I've seen by him (haven't read it) is the... Children of God, or something like that - story about life in a tenement slum. Got me curious.

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

The only ones I've read are Lone Wolf & Cub, Akira, & Adolf. As much as I enjoyed each of those it's a wonder I haven't looked into more Japanese titles. But yes, I'd definitely recommend those three.

If your not afriad people will think your reading foreign porn or something...

Blade of the Immortal
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=46-978

Beserk
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-705

Battle Angel Alita
http://store.viz.com/product/GNVKH0010/b.BATTLEANGELA/s.FVK89Ltz

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
http://store.viz.com/browse/BATTLELAST/ALLPRODUCTS/b.BATTLEANGELA/s.FVK89Ltz

Black and White
http://store.viz.com/browse/BLACKWHITE/GRNOV/s.QwePERY7

Planetes
http://tokyopop.com/dbpage.php?propertycode=PLA&categorycode=BMG

Appleseed
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=44-855

Nausicaa
http://store.viz.com/browse/NAUSICAA/s.v3hhpIWk

Later...
Kwesi K.

All my anime friends say I made a big mistake by not downloading this

http://www.last.fm/user/Olu/
http://ghanageek.wordpress.com/

Both versions of the story are told a little differently.

While the manga is left a little wide open, the anime is a little more conclusive and includes a couple more characters that help flush out the main ideas behind both stories.

Later...
Kwesi K.

consider it read

Thanks

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct

...I'm assuming Black and White must be pretty damn good.

Mech

Finder
www.lightspeedpress.com

Preacher
http://www.dccomics.com/features/preacher_library/

Fables
http://www.dccomics.com/features/fables/

Stuff by Evan Dorkin:
Hectic Planet
http://www.houseoffun.com/hectic/index.html
Dork!
http://www.houseoffun.com/dork/index.html

Hellboy
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-743
and it's companion title BPRD
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=12-206

The Marquis
http://www.onipress.com/graphicnovels/gn.php?id=28

Later...
Kwesi K.

i picked it up (from the library) based on the above suggestion... i read the first trade: nice idea, but kinda corny. okay... read the second trade: could only get through 3/4 of it before throwing in the towel. i returned the third volume unread.

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

People were raving about it so I thought it was on some League of Extroardinary Gentlemen shit. It just sucks and I don't get it's popularity.

Mech

it reminds me of the kind of lame jokes drama/fantasy nerds would laugh at in high school

i mean, i can't remember ever groaning - actually audibly GROANING - so many times while reading something.

i'm really fucking biased against Bill Willingham at this point. i read some of his shit in the 80s (the Next Men) but now i don't want to read any more (which is a shame, because i wanna see what's happening in Robin of late)

also: i haven't seen artwork as bad as this in a comic since the golden age of Image. and even that wasn't as bad as this.

it makes me sad to think this is one of Vertigo's top sellers now... what is the world coming to?

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

a few weeks ago after hearing it was the best looking comic on the stands somewhere. I didn't get it.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

the covers are cool, but the interior art is ASS!

_____________________

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I wish I could remember what site said that so I can stop bothering with it.

_
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4TztqYaemt0
http://preptimeposse.blogspot.com/

...The Dark Knight Returns---Frank Miller
...Batman: Year One---Frank Miller
...Love and Rockets---Los Bros. Hernandez
...Y: The Last Man---Brian K. Vaugh (Find the trades, there are currently 4 of them, and read it from the beginning)
...Acme Novelty Comics/Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth---Chris Ware
...Eightball---Daniel Clowes(Any trades you can find, Ghost World, Caricature, David Boring, Lout Rampage, etc.)
...Maus I & II---Art Spiegelman
...Black Hole---Charles Burns
...Buddha---Osamu Tezuka

>...The Dark Knight Returns---Frank Miller

has been on the list, clearly

>...Batman: Year One---Frank Miller

Ditto

>...Love and Rockets---Los Bros. Hernandez

two votes for this one... will have to seeif I can find it.

>...Y: The Last Man---Brian K. Vaugh (Find the trades, there
>are currently 4 of them, and read it from the beginning)

Have read all 4... I'm not completely sold on it, but it's pretty good. Dude's a dumbass for not getting laid, though. I mean, c'mon, bro... get with the picture... gotta save mankind!

>...Acme Novelty Comics/Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On
>Earth---Chris Ware

Rings a bell - I think I read a review in someplace like Time?

>...Eightball---Daniel Clowes(Any trades you can find, Ghost
>World, Caricature, David Boring, Lout Rampage, etc.)

Library has Ghost World... not sure I want to read it after seeing the movie (which i liked a lot)

>...Maus I & II---Art Spiegelman

I guess I'll wind up reading these

>...Black Hole---Charles Burns

?

>...Buddha---Osamu Tezuka

Two votes for this, too... I'd love to read the original, but my knaji's probably too rusty by now...

-------
so I'm in a band now:
album ---> http://greenwoodburns.bandcamp.com/releases
Soundcloud ---> http://soundcloud.com/greenwood-burns

my own stuff -->http://soundcloud.com/lonesomedstringband

avy by buckshot_defunct