whats a good read on the shelves today?

[blowout]

giving a few new books a try at the moment after about ten years of not buying new stuff, just wondered what you guys think are consistently good titles at the moment...................

 

i am trying out ASM, daredevil, incredible hulk and 100 bullets...........

[Rickdogg]

Powers by Image(First 2 story arcs were good, 3rd was decent)

Ultimate X-men (Issues 1-6)

Ultimate Spidey

Rising Stars

 

Get the trades so you don't have to pay back issue prices

[fantastic_four]

Preacher is the best series I've read in the last 10 years. It ran for 66 issues, and you can usually pick the whole run up fairly cheaply on ebay. I think I bought the whole run and some miscellaneous Preacher one-shots for $75 about a year ago.

[aardvark88]

Planetary Inc, Dark Horse tpb reprints of Lone Wolf & Cub, Maxim mag, CBM, Comic Artist mag, Jack Kirby Collector mag, Road & Track.

[Kevin Boyd]

The Ultimate line is pretty good - especially Ultimate Spider-Man

Planetary is my personal favourite.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Green Arrow

JSA

Flash

Hawkman

Tom Strong

Amazing Spider-Man

Incredible Hulk

Avengers

Fantastic Four

X-Force

Daredevil

100 Bullets

Y - the Last Man

Savage Dragon

Captain America

Spider-Man/Black Cat

 

and the completed series:

 

Preacher

Starman

Ennis Punisher

 

Kev

[Guest]

Planetary is very good but hasn't come out in quite a while now. I am also really enjoying the Ultimates.

 

For completed series, you can't go wrong with picking up trades of Sandman and Starman. Starman was a personal favorite of mine. It lasted 80 issues and I think the TPB's are up to around #50.

[hogations]

I wish Ellis and co. would get Planetary rolling again. I just picked up the first three trade paperbacks of 100 bullets. I'm about half way through and it's hard putting them down. I think Howard Chaykin's intro blurb in trade #2 sums up the series very well. A great read!

[comicinvestor-migration]

I like Planetary as well, but I still feel that it represents all that is wrong with comics today. Playing on nostalgia and hooking the dwindling number of adult collectors, instead of really going in an entirely new direction.

 

It seems that creators (Jeph Loeb anyone?) and companies seem to be a in a "rehash/revamp/re-explain the Silver Age" mode, like some bohemiam nightmare.

 

[Kevin Boyd]

Cassaday said that he's getting back to work on it again. At least one issue is already done. DC decided to wait on releasing the finished one until at least three issues of Planetary were in the can, and since Cassaday had committed to six issues of Captain America he had to finish them first. Since all of them are done - but only four have been released to date - he's already back to work. Things were slow before because Ellis hadn't written anything, but I think he's either caught up or in the midst of writing them again.

 

So we will probably see Planetary resurface again early next year.

 

While there are many in-jokes and slight resemblances to other comic characters and concepts I find the series is strong enough to stand on it's own merit and I've given it to non-comics people to read and they've enjoyed it immensely. It's sufficiently non-superheroic enough to interest older readers.

 

It was optioned for a TV series, so while I'm not sure what's happened to that, someone thought it was a concept worthy of a wider audience beyond this gaggle of aging comic-fans.

 

Side note: there will definitely be a Captain America hardcover reprinting those six issues with some other classic Cap stories - unsure what though at this point. I think it is being scheduled for December.

 

Kev

[Kevin Boyd]

Yeah, and people love it. Those Loeb and Sale series are extremely successful and of interest to old readers and new. When I met Loeb in Philadelphia in May the lineup was all over the map age-wise.

 

Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Superman for All Seasons, Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue are all big hits so it is no wonder that they will keep at it with Hulk: Grey and both DC and Marvel would try to find similar projects from other creators.

 

While retro, they are complete stories with well-written, classic representations of the characters... versions that are not mired down by the continuity that plagues the monthly titles.

 

Kev

 

 

[Comic_Diva]

I know that everyone has their favorite modern title. I suggestion Ultimate Spider-man or Ultimate Xmen. Powers is a great read.

 

For the truly literate, pick up Alias, of Marvel Max it is a fantastic series.

[comicinvestor-migration]

"Yeah, and people love it. Those Loeb and Sale series are extremely successful and of interest to old readers and new."

 

Hey I buy some of it like Planetary (not that Loeb drek though), and I'm the first to admit that nostalgia sells and re-treading classic characters is a quick way to make a buck.

 

Then again, it's a horrible trend to get so enamoured with the "glory years" that you cannot escape it and continue to live in the past.

[hogations]

I really don't think Planetary is anything like I've read in the past - no comparison really comes to mind. Sure, a couple of the characters are obvious copies (like the Doc Savage fellow), but the stories themselves are original and refreshing - and I really like the 'global' aspect about it. To me, this series has nothing but a positive impact on the hobby (although it's not for kids, and it needs to ship on a regular basis).

 

Nostalgic? Astro City would be a much better example - but I also think that's a superb series that everyone should give a try.

[comicinvestor-migration]

I didn't say Planetary was copying Silver Age books, just that it plays up on the same nostalgic ties that Jeph Loeb and his ilk do when writing one of their inane What-If stories.

 

Like I said, I do enjoy Planetary, but to say that it doesn't offer yet another angle of the "glory years" of the comicbook superheroes must not be reading the same book I am.

 

But when you're entire demographic is made up of adult collectors, giving them something old and familiar, yet with a new riff, can be a lucrative business.

[Darthdiesel]

• Wizard Magazine!
• CBG
• Ultimate Spider-Man
• Alias (MAX)
• Ultimates
• Daredevil - Bendis issues 26 on
• Hulk - Bruce Jones issues 34 on
• Top Cow Books - great art only, Only decent TC to read: Rising Stars by Straczynski
• Tomb Raider, Fathom and Witchblade are in decline
• Marvel TPBs - the bigger the compilation the better buy it is

[blowout]

....reading you loud and clear darth...................

[blowout]

...i have just picked up the ultimates and alias ............giving them a try, also just read the first Preacher TPB, wow that pretty heavy stuff............

[chrisco37]

Keep reading Preacher...Like FF said, it is the best book in the past 10 yrs. (my fav of all time!). You will not be able to put it down. I've given my trades to people who aren't even into comics and they were blown away. I can't say enough (check out some of my old posts) about this book. If you like it, I would also suggest the Ennis/Dillon run on Hellblazer (also available in trades). It's a great story with some great characters (you'll love John Constantine - he's kind of a take no [!@#%^&^] guy, like Jesse Custer). Also, 100 Bullets is a fantastic read. Enjoy the rest of Preacher (it just gets better and better).

 

Chris

 

 

[sborock]

Fables by DC/Vertigo, Black Panther and Captain Marvel by Marvel, Ruse by CrossGen, and the Three Fingers graphic novel by Rich Koslowski (best original graphic novel I have read in years).

[delekkerste]

I have never been an Avengers fan, but I love The Ultimates. Also, I picked up the latest Avengers

yesterday just because it's Geoff Johns' 1st issue and it is ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. Check it

out.

 

Also, I have traditionally been a Marvel Zombie, but the new CrossGen books are so good that

I am hooked on Sojourn, Ruse, The Path and even Way of the Rat. Their product is every bit as

good, maybe better, than most of what Marvel puts out.

 

Also, the rebel in me loves living vicariously through Harry Kraft, Howard Chaykin's anti-hero with

the "WTF" attitude in Vertigo's "American Century" series.

 

Gene