Comic Novice

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blahginger

coffee ninja
Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
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I really do not know anything about comics, but occasionally I am intrigued enough to go to the comic store with the full intention of "getting into" something. Unfortunately it never seems to happen...I am too overwhelmed by the selection and end up with nothing. I am looking for a recommendation for something that might get me interested. To give some parameters, I would rule out *standard* super hero or horror stuff (but am open to something different) In general I am a science fiction/space opera fan. Long Epics with good characters. I would be looking more for story than for art. Any direction would be appreciated.

Thank you
 
X-MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, that's the only comics I ever read, I used to have a spiderman comic with kull in it, and it was great. I don't know really, maybe someone else will be more helpful.
But seeing that there will be recommendations made, can I ask where you can get comics from? I'm always looking for a good X-men, spiderman comic, but I can never find one? What shops sell them in england?
 
Go and have a look through the graphic novel/tradepaperback section of ur shop. These are complete story arcs collected together rather than the chapter by chapter pamphlet approach used in comics. Also some back issues of comics are simply too explensive to consider (at least for me), so trade paperbacks are a godsend (also ur not forced to buy the comic in the fornight after it hits the shelves in case u miss a chapter- trades are around months to years after 1st being released).
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I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to know what's so good about comics:

Watchmen- not many people would argue with me in saying that it's the best comic book story ever written. Great characterisation. Top notch plotting.


Will post more later- but been up for 36 hrs straight
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Gabbador- i get my comics from forbidden planet- go do a google seach for forbidden planet scotland, to find ur nearest store. If u can't get to a comic book store locally, u may want to try www.comics247.co.uk - not the same as flicking thru a few comics and deciding (not to mention u have to pay a little bit for postage), but it's better than nothing- and just about all the spiderman books on the shelves in the last few months are decent - i still like Ultimate spiderman the best.
 
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Two of my favorites are Preacher and Starman--excellent writing, characterization and artwork!
 
Here's SFX's recommended top 30 comics of all time from May last yr

OK- I'd contend some of these- it's just a matter of finding what u like. However I found this list quite helpful whilst getting back into comics last yr. Ok there's decriptions next to the lists in the mag, but I'm not typing all that out, not to mention the copyright stuff. Most are available in trade paperback form, except no. 2.

30. Batman: The Long Halloween
29. A Superman for all seasons
28. Will Eisner's The Spirit
27. The Ballard of Halo Jones
26. Zenith
25. Judge Dredd: the cursed earth saga
24. Hellblazer (not specific about the story arc)
23. Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Denny O'Neill
22. Saga of the Swamp Thing (Alan Moore)
21. The Invisibles
20. Kingdom Come
19. Preacher
18. Spiderman (not specific but implying the early stuff u can find in the spiderman essentials trades)
17. Sandman
16. The Authority
15. X-Men (not specific- but raves on about the Claremont and Byrne stuff- X-Men essentials vol 2 contains most of it)
14. Justice League of America (Grant Morrison stuff)
13. Starman
12. Batman: the Killing Joke
11. Planetary
10. Justice League International- whilst Kevin Griffen was artist
9. V for Vendetta
8. The Fantastic Four- the stuff u can find in the essentails collections
7. Captain Britain
6. Dr & Quinch
5. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
4. Batman: Year one
3. Watchmen
2. Miracleman (you will not find this in trades- unless u pay a bomb for them)
1. Daredevil: whilst Frank Miller was writer- found in Daredevil visionaries: Frank Miller volumes 2 and 3 (1 is just with Miller doing the sketchwork). The main book mentioned is Miller's trade- Daredevil: the man without fear.


Top 10 currently on release (remember this was May last yr- things have changed since then)
10. Ultimate X-men
9. Captain Marvel
8. 100 bullets
7. Green Arrow
6. Superman
5. Ultimate Spiderman
4. The Authority
3. Powers
2. The fantastic four
1. Planetary

Top 10 'Adult' comics.trades
10. Will Eisner's Contract with god
9. Palestine
8. Akira
7. Lone Wolf and Cub
6. Understanding Comics
5. Torso
4. From Hell
3. Fortune and Glory
2. Safe Area Gorazade
1. Maus
 
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So much for not overloading u with information.
Flick thru some of the trades, and decide if they're ur cup of tea. Read thru a few pages- some will hook u with the dialogue straight away- consider those ones.
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Also try this:
http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/

This is a link to the previews of most comics coming out in the coming week (basically the 1st 3 or 4 pages of each comic)- u can get a general feel of what the comic's about that way, and lets u get the feel of the art and the dialogue. I'd stick to the trades, but u may want to get the feel of some of the 'proper' 22 pages with 10 page of ads comics (trades normally don't have ads breaking up the story)

One of the better review sites is:
http://www.thefourthrail.com
 
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Get thee to a comic-book store and find DC's AWESOME Kingdom Come, with painted art by Alex Ross. Marvel also had a variation on that as well, with a series with the name (I think) of 'Marvels.' Both are incredibly well written, although the former stands out in my mind as the superior product.
 
Always nice to see someone with great taste in comics. I haven't read Marvels, but Kingdom Come was and is still my personal favorite. One of the most incredible storylines I've had the pleasure to read. And of course, Alex Ross' equally incredible painting skills. . .

Oddly, I can't for the life of me remember who wrote the bloody thing. Was it Busiek?
 
Ah, that's the one! I can now picture his name on the cover! Thank you oh Rarified Rabbit.

Hmm, we gots us a gopher, a dragon and a rabbit. . .
Quite the zoo going on here. . .
 
Do you know is the Kingdom Come novel was any good? I was tempted to purchase it, but I don't see how any comic could ever really translate well to novel format.
 
People on other boards have said stick to the comic- it loses something in novel form
 
Watchmen.
Killing Joke.
Invisibles.
Tom Strong.
Try anything by Grant Morrison and Alan Moore to start with.
 
Originally posted by fluffy bunny
People on other boards have said stick to the comic- it loses something in novel form
Click to expand...

The visual appeal, perhaps?
 
Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who posted thier thoughts. Today is the first chance I had to go out to my local store and found out that it was closed on Mondays, so I went to the backup store.

[gabador]: I am not in England but FYI we have a couple local shops here in Evanston, IL

Stars Our Destination
and Comix Revolution

I ended up at Comix Revolution but could only find certain titles mentioned in these posts. In fact, besides the standard superheros mentioned, I only found The Preacher, 100 Bullets and The Invisibles. (Possibly I was not looking in the right places as this place had tons of stuff) I think my other store will have more titles based on my look though their front window.

From the few I had to choose from I went with The Invisibles. Hopefully will get to read it and check out the others sometime soon. Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks Again
 
blahginger,

Being in to sci-fi/space opera, I have a hunch that you might enjoy a couple of titles being published by Crossgen which fit this category: Sigil, Crux, and Negation. I think it would be easier for you to go check out the trade paperbacks of these rather than have me try to explain the plot to you. Crossgen is doing a lot of stuff outside of the standard superhero genre. They've also got a couple of good fantasy titles (Scion and Sojourn), a mystery title set in a Victorian England-like world (Ruse), a samurai epic (The Path), and a kung-fu HK cinema type title (Way of the Rat). All of these are well written, well drawn, and the inking, coloring, and printing are outstanding.

Good luck to you.

PS The ongoing Star Wars series from Dark Horse is also very enjoyable.
 
The visual appeal, perhaps?
Click to expand...
Probably has a lot to do with it. Waids a great writer, but Ross's artwork . . . WOW.
On the other hand, I have noticed that among the crew I work with at school, that though they all like and read comics, few if any, like to read actual books. Too much effort for them I suppose.
 
another beginner question

Thank you Warewolf I will add these to the list.

One thing that I get hung up about when looking at comic books is the fact I will be joining the story line mid way through the plot. Is it common to have to buy up 6 or 7 previous issues once you figure out that a certain story is good?
 
Originally posted by Carmichael

Probably has a lot to do with it. Waids a great writer, but Ross's artwork . . . WOW.
On the other hand, I have noticed that among the crew I work with at school, that though they all like and read comics, few if any, like to read actual books. Too much effort for them I suppose.
Click to expand...


Have patience my good friend. Comics will one day lead them to books. It was the same with me. Then again, I was reading both at the same time, but you can always hope.
 
I completely agree with the trade paperback route - that's almost all I buy anymore. Even when a miniseries (like Wolverine Origin or the new Dark Knight) comes out that I would like, I wait for the TPB form - the entire story in one book, no digging into my boxes, etc. Granted, they don't have the "collector potential" but who cares. That said, some of my favorite TPB runs are:
Preacher
Starman
Astro City
Hitman
Batman - Red Rain and Rhas Al Ghul trilogies (I guess these are acutally graphic novels, and not TPB)
Also, the Mercenary (by Segrelles) graphic novels are pretty neat.
 
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