Recommended graphic novels / comics

[Dogg Thang]

Yep, first time!

[Soundwave]

Yep, first time!

You'll hate it, it's terrible, worst comic ever.

You should send it to me to save you the horror of having to sit through it all

Neil

[Dogg Thang]

Just finished that Walking Dead Compendium 1. Wow, that was very dark and brutal. A very good read. As a long-time zombie movie fan, I found the opening parts very typical. Good, but typical. As the story went on, it began to come into its own and the characters really felt more real. Talky, but real. I got totally sucked into the atmosphere and the bleakness of the situation. I really felt like I was there and the storytelling was excellent.

And then they introduced the bad guy. Got to admit, I thought it sucked a little bit because of just how much of a bad guy he was supposed to be. It felt over the top, like Dick Dastardly and a whole bunch of Muttleys. A cartoon in what had seemed to be a very grounded setting.

But it didn't half lead to a tense situation and increase the sense of doom. And it developed into something pretty mind-blowing and horrifying. So it worked. A horrific end to the book. Tense, exciting, dark, nasty and very brave in places.

And it was an end, which I really appreciated. As I've mentioned here before, one of the problems for me with an ongoing comic is that it is exactly that - ongoing. So stories rarely end. Either the reader eventually loses interest or the comic goes crappy and gets cancelled. It seems rare that a comic will come to a complete satisfying end, like Sandman did. The Walking Dead didn't finish and is an ongoing comic obviously, but this compendium ended with a sense that this was a real ending to this particular story. It all played out. And I like that.

An absolutely awesome book. I have now ordered the second volume. Hoping it's as good!

[Super Grover]

I'm upto Book 7 so far.

There are certain events from the earlier books which still stand out for me, due to their intensity.

Does the author/s have have a predefined end point to the series? I could imagine that due to its overwhelming success there is the desire to possibly extend its storyline past it original intended conclusion.

Another week working away means my backlog is slowly increasing.

I remember a few pages back, I think it may have been 'Avery' mentioning the kickstarter for a Top Cow comic. Well it got funded and launched, with the first few issues being free. I got issue 1 which I read yesterday. Not bad at all. Not read the original series (from the 90's I think?), but this series is set in the future, with some of the original protagonists.



Now I've got a a soft spot for Frank Castle, and in this mini series, he's up against the Avengers. In essence, they (the Avengers) decide it's time to bring the Punisher in, as he's become too rogue after killing some innocent cops (allegedly). Whether at the end of this series it leads to the new Thunderbolts comic (which the Punisher is part of the team) I'm not sure, as by the time this series finishes I think Thunderbolts will already have started? Either way, a good read (I've read this issue twice this weekend).



Went a bit DC crazy (for some bizzare reason?!) and bought myself the first few issues of the well received The Flash, which has been part of the DC New 52 reboot.

[Soundwave]

Had a busy fortnight & went a mega spend again & have picked these up...well when I say mega spend the whole lot has cost me less than ?50 so not OTT






Any my Beta Ray Bill obsession contines with these 2...




That's alongside my usual pull list.

I really should stop buying & start reading.

Neil

[NeoDragoN]

Infinity Gauntlet! At last lol.

[Soundwave]

Infinity Gauntlet! At last lol.

Lol I know about time.

Worth waiting for though got it for ?8

Neil

[Dogg Thang]

Finished Walking Dead Compendium 2. Absolutely amazing and easily the second best comic I have ever read (the first being Sandman). My only wish is that the ending of the second compendium had felt as complete as the first. The first feels like it was always meant to be one huge volume whereas the second ends mid-story. Going to have to get the rest now. Not looking forward to catching up with the comics as getting it in monthly bite-sized chunks would be much more difficult. I may just wait for the volumes but, with 8 issues in each, it will be a long wait for each one.

Easy to see why the comic is so popular. But also makes me think about the insane dominance of the superhero stuff when there is so much the form can do well. Of course there is much more than the superhero stuff but they're usually really small from the little indies. The huge success of something like this would make me think the biggies should be trying for more variety.

[bash]

I read mark millar's supercrooks yesterday in Waterstones. I have to say it was pretty bloody good, think of it as a Oceans 11 meets Kick Ass. Apparently Millar has said he'd like Bradley Cooper as the main anti-hero. I could totally see it happening. Theres one "hero" in it who is masked up to the rest of the world but behind scenes and without the mask he blatantly has been based on Mark Strong. I would rather see this get made into a film than Kick Ass 2 tbh, its got great potential.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah, Supercrooks is shaping up to be pretty special. I like Leinil Yu's artwork - really solid characters.

I think I prefer Secret Service though as I love Dave Gibbons' art and I'm enjoying the story of a chav becoming James Bond. The opening of the first issue had me really laughing - check it out and you'll see what I mean! It pokes fun at 007 and Star Wars!

Finally finished Marvel's Fear Itself arc and it was a real plod. Thor's Dad is going to wipe the Earth as it's the only way to stop his brother and The Red Skull's daughter from bringing evil to Asgard (or summat) using evil versions of Thor's hammer that has transformed a handful of heroes and villains into unstoppable monsters hell-bent on destruction.

Iron Man goes to Asgard and makes some weapons and manages to stop them.

They spun this out over about 200 issues including the aftermath comics.

I quite enjoyed the Avengers Academy story as the kids seemed to have the most drama, but the rest was a bit of a chore to read. I was trying to get it out of the way ready for The Incredible Hulk but that's not very good either.

After decades trying to get rid of the Hulk, Bruce Banner is mysteriously split from him. The Hulk goes to live underground with the Mole People, leaving Banner to live in peace with his wife, Betty. They start by having a honeymoon on an uninhabited island, but then it turns out it was used for nuclear bomb tests and highly radioactive and Banner chose it to start doing research into turning into the Hulk again.

Living with Betty and being free from the Hulk is what Banner always wanted, so it makes no sense that he's turned into mad scientist, turning all the animals on the island into monsters in a quest to becoming the Hulk again like some Dr. Moreau loon.

A real let-down. I'm not even sure I want to know where they take the Hulk next in the upcoming not-a-reboot-but-seems-a-lot-like-a-reboot. It looks like the Hulk is powered down and wearing armour! Apparently the title Indestructible Hulk comes from Hulk and Banner working together instead of always at loggerheads.

I guess we'll see...

[H-Man]

The Walking Dead and Hellboy comics are up there with my faves, but Fables is as good as graphic novels get for me - it's brilliant. A little slow at the start - things didn't click for me until the 3rd volume - but if there's a better graphic novel series out there I haven't seen it!

[Dogg Thang]

Fables has been recommended to me a couple of times but I know nothing about it. I must check it out.

[bash]

Yeah, Supercrooks is shaping up to be pretty special. I like Leinil Yu's artwork - really solid characters.

Man, his artwork kicks ass in this setting, real gore without going too gratuitous and great poses/faces. I loved his **** on Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk, even if the story was a bit iffy.

I'll wait for Secret Service graphic novel with baited breath. Tis a shame about Hulk, one of my all time fave characters, when will Marvel stop effing with him and give him bare **** to smash like World War Hulk.

[Soundwave]

I think I went a bit mental last weekend at the LCS


16 comics & ?43 later I was walking out with this lot...









I'm being very very good & I'm waiting till I have the entire arc of Death of the Family to even start reading it...it's taking ALOT of willpower


Neil

[Dogg Thang]

I got and read The Walking Dead Volume 17. It has what for me is easily the nastiest, most brutal moments I have seen in the comic so far. It has actually haunted me since reading it a few days ago.