Recommended graphic novels / comics

[Brad]

Bought my daughter Buffy Season 8 Volume 1, Library edition. Huge and lovely. Hope she likes it! (She's watched every episode and is on a second watching now).

[prinnysquad]

Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples.

It's a beautifully-paced and imaginatively constructed exploration of parenthood set in a sci-fi universe. Two planets are at war, but have realised that if one is destroyed, the orbit of the other is wrecked. Rather than use it as a reason for peace, they 'outsource' their conflict to other worlds, whom they cajole into taking one side or the other. Two enemy combatants fall in love and have a child, causing them to be pursued by bounty hunters, journalists and opportunists throughout the Galaxy. The narrative is played out in real-time and through flashback scenes to establish background context. The child provides a narrative at certain points, looking back as an adult.

The art style and design are highly inventive - there's some whacked out characters and technology, but visible everywhere are things familiar to us (like washing machines). There's royalty with television sets for heads. There's a female assassin with the body of a spider. There's magic. There's violence. There's sex. There's some very touching moments, skilfully drawn and tenderly shown.

It's a great series.

[Soundwave]

Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples.

It's a beautifully-paced and imaginatively constructed exploration of parenthood set in a sci-fi universe. Two planets are at war, but have realised that if one is destroyed, the orbit of the other is wrecked. Rather than use it as a reason for peace, they 'outsource' their conflict to other worlds, whom they cajole into taking one side or the other. Two enemy combatants fall in love and have a child, causing them to be pursued by bounty hunters, journalistics and opportunists throughout the Galaxy. The narrative is played out in real-time and through flashback scenes to establish background context. The child provides a narrative at certain points, looking back as an adult.

The art style and design are highly inventive - there's some whacked out characters and technology, but visible everywhere are things familiar to us (like washing machines). There's royalty with television sets for heads. There's a female assassin with the body of a spider. There's magic. There's violence. There's sex. There's some very touching moments, skilfully drawn and tenderly shown.

It's a great series.

I keep picking that up & thinking I should give it a try...I've heard great things.

Plus it surprisingly cheap from places like Wordery or Speedy Hen

I've been moving away from Super Hero stuff lately & more into indie stuff the constant reboots & lack of anything new in the Hero stuff (to be expected after 70 odd years) just isn't doing it for me so things like Wytches, Outcast, October Faction have been much needed breaths of fresh air.

I've also started buying the Hardcover IDW collections for GI Joe, Transformers & Turtles which are the issues all printed in correct chronological reading order & have been great.

Been on a bit of a GN run lately & have read & enjoyed these in the last few months...

Morning Glories Volume 1
Green Arrow: Year One
Preacher Book 1
The Crossed volume 1

My Birthday next month & it's getting to point where all I'm asking for from anyone is the next volume in a series I'm reading lol

Neil

[prinnysquad]

Preacher is a superb series - the whole thing is excellent. I read Morning Glories 1 myself last week. It was pretty good - enough vagueness to keep me interested, so I've ordered volume 2.

I'm currently on Saga volume 4. I really recommend it, but don't expect masses of action and mayhem. It's a character piece.

A couple of months ago after a drinking session, I went to Travelling Man in Newcastle. Amongst the recommendations were Morning Glories, Sex Criminals, Saga, Fables and Crossed. So far, Morning Glories, Saga and Fables have proven to be very wise choices. Thing I like about Image trade paperbacks is that compared to Marvel and DC, they're dirt cheap.

[Soundwave]

Preacher is a superb series - the whole thing is excellent. I read Morning Glories 1 myself last week. It was pretty good - enough vagueness to keep me interested, so I've ordered volume 2.

I'm currently on Saga volume 4. I really recommend it, but don't expect masses of action and mayhem. It's a character piece.

A couple of months ago after a drinking session, I went to Travelling Man in Newcastle. Amongst the recommendations were Morning Glories, Sex Criminals, Saga, Fables and Crossed. So far, Morning Glories, Saga and Fables have proven to be very wise choices. Thing I like about Image trade paperbacks is that compared to Marvel and DC, they're dirt cheap.

Yeah I didn't really know what to expect with Glories but it was definitely interesting enough to make it worth the purchase.

I felt Preacher was pretty good but I also think it lost a lot of it's impact thanks to current trends & styles we have...I can appreciate that back in the mid 90's it was a revelation what with the violence & the undertones but since then things have obviously moved on & stuff like this is now 2 a penny & in some instances miles more severe (I'm looking at you Crossed) but it's got me intrigued enough to see where it goes & apparently the side arcs for ****face for example are brilliant so.

I'll definitely give Saga a go though, I'm not generally in for massive OTT action stuff these days...I have more than enough Marvel & DC stuff for that so longer ongoing series are much more my go to these days.

Yeah the prices for Image stuff is much nicer & means you can afford to try a series & not lose out if you don't fancy carrying it on (Like I did with Chew recently...man that's odd & I can't see the love for it if I'm honest)

I've heard good things about Sex Criminals & Fables as well & may grab Fables (Ferals is another one I fancy trying along with The Boys) but I'm really not sure I can go into a shop (even my LCS) asking for a book called Sex Criminals lol

I will advise though if you haven't already looked at Crossed to be VERY wary...it is by far & away the nastiest book I have ever read.
Now I on a slightly twisted side actually really enjoyed it & really got into the characters & wanted to see them survive & carry on but honestly unless you are comfortable with graphic sex, Rape, whole messes of OTT the violence & plenty of the swears then I suggest moving on & finding something else.
It really is way OTT

In fact if you fancy trying it then there is a free online version called Wish you Were Here which is on the Crossed website (these have been collected into TPB's as well now) which will give you a taste but the 1st few web issues are pretty tame compared to the 1st actual TPB

If you do fancy something new then I do recommend Outcast that's been going from strength to strength & has been picked up for a TV series too (Same with Wytches from what I read).

A few new books drop in the next couple of weeks too which I'll be getting...

Mythic
Injection
Sons of the Devil

All are Image & the premise for each sound really good.

Neil

[QualityChimp]

I really enjoyed Brian K Vaughan's "Y - The Last Man", although the ending wasn't what I'd have liked.
I didn't really give his "Ex Machina" much of a chance, so I may retry that.

I read the first run of Sex Criminals and found it underwhelming. Neither hilarious, exciting or particularly eventful. Shame, as it's a good scenario.

I'd started reading "The Bunker", but lost interest. It's a brilliant premise, but the artwork is really ugly. I was gutted when The Walking Dead moved from being drawn by Moore to Adlard, but at least his art is functional. The Bunker is a bit messy for the story it's trying to convey (IMHO). I might try to pick it up again.

I want to read the Ultron event at some point and I've not lost interest in Marvel, I just need the right stories to read.
To get some ideas, I picked up the Marvel Year by Year Chronicle for a fiver from W H Smith. Sweet!

I'm getting some other ideas from here:
http://comicsalliance.com/best-comic-books-2014-list/

EDIT: Yeah, Crossed is nasty. I read it and was thrilled by it (I hesitate to say "enjoyed"), but it felt a little empty, like there wasn't much purpose. Black Gas is a similar themed comic and is equally as gruesome, but tense. The "soggy biscuits" scene of Crossed and the character Neil mentioned were memorable, but I found the story of Black Gas better.

[randombs]

Back in the UK I'd get embarrassed reading things like Watchmen on the train but here in Japan I've no qualms about anyone getting an eyeful of Dr. Manhattan's atomic missile.

Having said that, I've yet to see anyone actually reading anything dodgy. Most of the time it's a normal-looking comic inside a thick volume with an unrelated sexy cover.

I love Watchmen. It's only my second read-through, though.

[QualityChimp]

Ah, interesting. What do you make of the ending? I much preferred the one in the comic.

[Soundwave]

I really enjoyed Brian K Vaughan's "Y - The Last Man", although the ending wasn't what I'd have liked.
I didn't really give his "Ex Machina" much of a chance, so I may retry that.

I read the first run of Sex Criminals and found it underwhelming. Neither hilarious, exciting or particularly eventful. Shame, as it's a good scenario.

I'd started reading "The Bunker", but lost interest. It's a brilliant premise, but the artwork is really ugly. I was gutted when The Walking Dead moved from being drawn by Moore to Adlard, but at least his art is functional. The Bunker is a bit messy for the story it's trying to convey (IMHO). I might try to pick it up again.

I want to read the Ultron event at some point and I've not lost interest in Marvel, I just need the right stories to read.
To get some ideas, I picked up the Marvel Year by Year Chronicle for a fiver from W H Smith. Sweet!

I'm getting some other ideas from here:
http://comicsalliance.com/best-comic-books-2014-list/

EDIT: Yeah, Crossed is nasty. I read it and was thrilled by it (I hesitate to say "enjoyed"), but it felt a little empty, like there wasn't much purpose. Black Gas is a similar themed comic and is equally as gruesome, but tense. The "soggy biscuits" scene of Crossed and the character Neil mentioned were memorable, but I found the story of Black Gas better.

I've heard good things about Y too & 100 Bullets so I'll have to investigate further.

Lol yeah the Biscuit bit still really sticks in my mind but not as much as the 2 page spread involving the family where the dad had the idea with the salt...that really sticks & I don't think anything will erase that from my mind
In fact just thinking about it now & I can picture almost fully & it still makes me wince.

So I actually ventured to the LCS today after a 2 week lay off & ?37 later lol
I did get issue 1's for Mythic, Sons of the Devil & Injection in amongst the usual DC stuff...thankfully though Convergence has finished this week so that's a few additional titles gone so shouldn't be too expensive from here on out.

If you do go for those new titles I mentioned they are nice & cheap.
Mythic was a $1.99 book & the other 2 were $2.99 which is much nicer than Marvels current $4.99 books & is actually one of the reasons I've dropped almost everything they do (Guardians will be going as well as that has just got ****) thankfully DC aren't quite as greedy & although some books are $4.99 (Convergence issue 8 for example) it's more the exception rather than the rule with them & I can swallow that from time to time but consistent books at that price becomes a bit much to bear.

Neil

[prinnysquad]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

Ages ago I bought a compilation - I think it was called First Taste - and it contained the first issue of Y. Seemed good. 100 Bullets seemed good too. I may pick up some more of them one day.

I've flicked through Crossed and found it fascinatingly gruesome. Blokes standing in a circle jizzing? Horsecock? Brutal murders of a family by the river? I almost don't dare to read it. It seems utterly filthy and in incredibly bad taste.

Preacher, I read about ten years ago. It just seemed incredibly entertaining. The violence was quite eye-opening at the time, but I think it was the story and the characters that were the real highlight. Jesse's story is interesting, and the Saint of Killers, arseface, and the fascists all feature heavily. If I went back to it, I hope it would still be a good read.

[Soundwave]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

Ages ago I bought a compilation - I think it was called First Taste - and it contained the first issue of Y. Seemed good. 100 Bullets seemed good too. I may pick up some more of them one day.

I've flicked through Crossed and found it fascinatingly gruesome. Blokes standing in a circle jizzing? Horsecock? Brutal murders of a family by the river? I almost don't dare to read it. It seems utterly filthy and in incredibly bad taste.

Preacher, I read about ten years ago. It just seemed incredibly entertaining. The violence was quite eye-opening at the time, but I think it was the story and the characters that were the real highlight. Jesse's story is interesting, and the Saint of Killers, arseface, and the fascists all feature heavily. If I went back to it, I hope it would still be a good read.

No problems buddy it's actually been really nice having a chat about them

Lol yeah Crossed is well out there.
If you want I could find out about costs to post it & I can let you borrow my copy.
It's pretty much as if Garth Ennis took everything he learned from Preacher & the Boys & then tried to see just how much he could get away with the gore & sex etc. it's just bonkers utterly bonkers

I think I'll definitely try the rest of Preacher, it certainly sounds like it carries on in the same vein.
I was a little gutted when I went to the London Super Comic Con in March as one of the comic stands were doing Buy one get one half price on all GN's & the Preachers were ?8 each but someone hoovered them all up as I was moving down the table

Neil

[QualityChimp]

Have either of you read the Punisher MAX series? Bloomin' brilliant.
It's not clear if it's set in the Marvel universe as no other heroes are ever mentioned, but during Civil War, Iron Man references some of the events in the MAX books.

Anyway, it's irrelevant. All you need to know is the series is created by and written by Garth Ennis (at the start), with some amazing cover art by Tim Bradstreet.


The first series got cancelled after #75 and was relaunched in 2010:
Series one
Series two

Both are great, especially the first series. Please check them out!

I really enjoyed The Boys, Soundwave, although it dragged a little towards the end. Just a little bit overlong.
Don't let that put you off though, because it's great.

[Soundwave]

Have either of you read the Punisher MAX series? Bloomin' brilliant.
It's not clear if it's set in the Marvel universe as no other heroes are ever mentioned, but during Civil War, Iron Man references some of the events in the MAX books.

Anyway, it's irrelevant. All you need to know is the series is created by and written by Garth Ennis (at the start), with some amazing cover art by Tim Bradstreet.


The first series got cancelled after #75 and was relaunched in 2010:
Series one
Series two

Both are great, especially the first series. Please check them out!

I really enjoyed The Boys, Soundwave, although it dragged a little towards the end. Just a little bit overlong.
Don't let that put you off though, because it's great.

I haven't read any Punisher full stop he's never really been on my radar but I will look into that MAX series.
I have seen many mentions of it on various forums though.

Thanks for the heads up on Boys.
I have seen it has a lot of volumes so it may take a while to get through it lol.

[randombs]

Ah, interesting. What do you make of the ending? I much preferred the one in the comic.

Me, too. But the film is among my favourites so clearly I don't mind that ending!

I was hoping both were filmed and that I'd get to see the comic-style one, too(I think there were even rumours to that effect), but it's ok because the comic is pretty much like a film anyway.

[prinnysquad]

Thanks for the offer Neil - much appreciated - but I already have my own copy! I bought it as part of the drunken binge :-) I've also got the first volume of The Boys lurking around too.

Now onto the 4th Saga book. The first page boasts a huge picture of a television-head squeezing through something... It took me ages to work out that it was an infant tv-head emerging from a big pair of flaps.