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Title recommendations wanted
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Started by stephenlev,

36 posts in this topic

stephenlev

stephenlev

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I've posted a few times in this forum before - I used to read comics (X-Men and spinoffs, Akira, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Maus, etc) in the early 90's, then stopped reading when I went off to college, sealed my books up (with a letter to my future self) and then just opened them up a few weeks ago. Looking back at them is getting me curious to see what comics are like these days, and I'm looking for recommendations for a great current book. I'm not really into current Marvel/DC movies and probably less into superheroes, but would be interested if they were really well written with a fresh take. What's an unmissable, great title you would recommend I start with these days? Thanks!

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Cat

Cat

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Which characters do you like? Any you're particularly fond of, singles or teams? 

What sort of thing are you after? A grim dark story something lighter, something epic in scale, something much smaller, etc. 

The more info you can give us the more on-point out recommendations can be. 

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stephenlev

stephenlev

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On 8/29/2022 at 12:25 PM, Cat said:

Which characters do you like? Any you're particularly fond of, singles or teams? 

What sort of thing are you after? A grim dark story something lighter, something epic in scale, something much smaller, etc. 

The more info you can give us the more on-point out recommendations can be. 

No particular favorite characters, I was an X-Men fan, but not really attached to any of them now. I guess the best fit would be something really groundbreaking and literary that does something new with the format, the way Maus or Watchmen were when they came out. Beautiful art is a plus. 

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Cat

Cat

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On 8/30/2022 at 2:33 AM, stephenlev said:

No particular favorite characters, I was an X-Men fan, but not really attached to any of them now. I guess the best fit would be something really groundbreaking and literary that does something new with the format, the way Maus or Watchmen were when they came out. Beautiful art is a plus. 

You might enjoy runs like Joss Whedons, Grant Morrison's, or Jonathon Hickman's, if you want newish X-Men runs of any quality that weren't afraid to upset the status quo. The Whedon one is there because it's very new-reader friendly, very helpful. Be warned though, the Hickman X-men run, if you're collecting it in a collected format, is hell to maintain and keep as a full story. But that's a gripe for another day! It's also a story still in-progress, so could turn out to be terrible. 

A quirky title I enjoyed was called Dynamo 5 from Image. It was sort of a modern teenage Fantastic Four. The premise really worked. There was a Superman analogue protecting this city, had done for life. He was beloved by all. Then he was killed in battle. His widow goes through his finances afterwards and discovers things that are... off. She eventually finds out he had 5 different kids to various people. Each has inherited an aspect of his power. 

They mixed up the powers nicely. The team telepath is always an attractive loner girl? Well in this book it's the high school quarterback. Who got the superstrength? Oh look, it's the unremarkable looking emo girl. 

One to think on. 

One I enjoyed recently, and if you're a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is a graphic novel called The Last Ronin. It's about a period of time in the life of the last remaining turtle (please nobody spoil him on who that is, and don't look it up OP) after the other Turtles and ally' s were taken out, one by one. It's a story of history, of Revenge, of historical violence just because of a name, it's the Clampetts vs the McCoy's cranked up to 12. Good read. 

 

 

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kav

kav

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On 8/29/2022 at 8:17 AM, stephenlev said:

I've posted a few times in this forum before - I used to read comics (X-Men and spinoffs, Akira, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Maus, etc) in the early 90's, then stopped reading when I went off to college, sealed my books up (with a letter to my future self) and then just opened them up a few weeks ago. Looking back at them is getting me curious to see what comics are like these days, and I'm looking for recommendations for a great current book. I'm not really into current Marvel/DC movies and probably less into superheroes, but would be interested if they were really well written with a fresh take. What's an unmissable, great title you would recommend I start with these days? Thanks!

Brubaker-phillips graphic novels.  start with Incognito.  

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

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On 8/29/2022 at 6:07 PM, Cat said:

Be warned though, the Hickman X-men run, if you're collecting it in a collected format, is hell to maintain and keep as a full story

Yup.

Started out well, but ended up with too many titles and crossovers switching about between them, and patchy quality.  But, there is some good stuff in there, at least try the introductory House of X / Powers of X.

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

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On 8/29/2022 at 4:17 PM, stephenlev said:

in the early 90's, then stopped reading when I went off to college

You will be very surprised to discover how different Image Comics is today.

A publisher of many high-quality comic series. More variety than you see at Marvel and DC, but with the same A-list writers and artists. Sure you’ll find something of interest there. Lots of genres, not just super-heroes.

Have a look.

 

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stephenlev

stephenlev

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On 8/29/2022 at 2:48 PM, Ba'al said:

I can think of past titles that fit this bill but not any titles that are currently published. Maybe Echolands by JH Williams III?

Guess it doesn't have to be currently published - anything in the last 20 years honestly would work.

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stephenlev

stephenlev

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On 8/29/2022 at 1:07 PM, Cat said:

You might enjoy runs like Joss Whedons, Grant Morrison's, or Jonathon Hickman's, if you want newish X-Men runs of any quality that weren't afraid to upset the status quo.

 

 

I'm a big Buffy fan and had no idea that Joss worked on X-Men - that sounds fun!

Just ordered the first three volumes used from Abe Books - thanks for the recommendation!

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ADAMANTIUM

ADAMANTIUM

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On 8/29/2022 at 1:50 PM, stephenlev said:

Guess it doesn't have to be currently published - anything in the last 20 years honestly would work.

Immortal Hulk (old news by now) was up for awards and praised

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Zonker

Zonker

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  • Planetary by Warren Ellis is stretching just outside your 20-year horizon, but it is one of the best series I read from around the turn of the century.  Consistent art by John Cassaday (who also drew the Astonishing X-Men run mentioned above).
     
  • The most recently published comic I read that really impressed me was Tom King's Mister Miracle 12-issue series from 5 years ago.  Though I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending.
     
  • All-Star Superman is a 12-issue self-contained re-writing of the Superman mythos, pulling the best of the Silver Age story beats forward and giving them a modern polish.  I certainly consider the Frank Quitely illustrations to qualify as the "beautiful art" you are looking for, but some people have an odd aversion to Quitely's style, go figure. 
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Turnando

Turnando

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I have tastes similar to what you have described.  I'm looking for great works of art and writing.  

Maybe take a look at Image (the publisher).  Others too, there is a lot of good modern stuff out there.

Manhattan Projects, Space Riders, WE3, Orbiter, Prophet, God Hates Astronauts, Ed Piskor's stuff, Jesse Jacob's stuff, Descender, Low, 

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BS Damutantman

BS Damutantman

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There are a lot of indie runs that are popular right now that I don't know much about. I've seen Fables mentioned, which is an enjoyable non-superhero read. Cullen Bunn has done some great supernatural/horror series in recent years. Specifically, Harrow County is great, with really interesting art if you're looking for a slightly longer series. At the same time, Bone Parish is a good but short 12-issue series I read recently as a recommendation from my LCS. 

My other personal recommendation for something that isn't Marvel/DC is the Mignolaverse (Hellboy/BPRD). It's probably my favorite comic universe of all time. The storytelling is strong, the characters are interesting, and the art is solid throughout if you're into Mignola's style. There's been a lot published. This reading order makes it pretty straightforward if you're interested: http://www.multiversitycomics.com/annotations/hellboy-reading-order-2021/. 

Baltimore is also good from Mignola if you like the style/themes but aren't into specifically Hellboy.

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