The Comic Book/Manga Readers Thread

[player1]

Well, since we've started talking about what scifi we all read, and what our favorite anime shows are, I figured we might as well branch out into the art of the graphic novel, comics, comix, and manga/manhwa. I could ask what your favorite is, what you're reading now, what you think the best of all time is and a whole bunch of other leading questions, but I think I'll just leave it open to discussion.

I've been collecting comic books since about 1965, when I started with Batman and Tarzan. In the early 70s I became a Marvel fan. In the 80s I collected black-and-white and independent stuff, as well as manga like Megazone 23. In the 90s I bought everything, branching out into more art comics and stuff like Acme Novelty Library. Of course, I've always loved classic comics like Pogo. The stuff I've been into, and the stuff I've supported, is way too numerous to mention. I don't buy anywhere near as much as I used to, but I still subscribe to a few monthlies, just to qualify for a discount at my favorite store. The monthly stuff is pretty mainstream, since the really good independent stuff doesn't come out regularly enough to keep any kind of schedule (as well it shouldn't).

Anyway, if you'd like to discuss comics, I'd be interested to know what you read and what you like.

Cheers!

[Atom Eve]

I read, literally, every single DC and Marvel comic that comes out each week. I'm currently enjoying Geoff Johns work on.. well, everything he's writing in DC right now, and the new Blue Beetle has been a really fun read. In Marvel, J.M.S.'s run on Thor is going great, Nova is a fantastic read lately, Cable and Deadpool just ended awesomely (though it still ended ), and Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America has been nothing short of amazing. Outside of the big two, though, I've recently been loving Invincible (obviously), The Walking Dead, Y the Last Man (such a good ending), American Virgin (though that ended REALLY weakly), DMZ, The Exterminators, Dynamo 5, the newest Conan series, and Local.

Some of my past favs that have been concluded for a while or are graphics novels are Transmetropolitan, Demo, Red Son, DKR (naturally), Superman: Secret Identity, 52 (was such a great weekly, being replaced by the imitator-series Countdown was a disservice), Watchmen (of course), Blankets (probably my favorite graphic novel ever), V for Vendetta, Kingdom Come -- really, I could probably go on like this for paragraphs.

Comics are kinda my life.

I don't really go in for manga, though I have all of the english Sailor Moon manga, have read Ghost in the Shell, and have been known to tentatively enjoy One Piece.

[E-Mxp]

Actually only Yotsuba&

[player1]

@Atom Eve: You're either the coolest chick ever, or a dude.

Glad to hear somebody else can enjoy the mainstream stuff. All the stuff you listed is good reading, and almost inspires me to write back an equally lengthy list. Wow, I haven't read every comic that comes from Marvel and DC since 1972, and back then I had to do it in the drugstore, standing next to the spinner rack. You must live at home, and/or have a large disposable income. So many comics come out now that I can't afford to get them all and still pay my bills. Plus, I wouldn't know where to store them all. I've got nine full long boxes and just bought a tenth today (the pile of bags full of series was getting too tall to stand without sliding over). As a matter of fact, I just got back from there (I know, who goes to a comic book store on a Tuesday?), it's a nice sunny day outside (perfect comic book reading natural light is streaming in through the windows) and it's time for a bag-and-board session (I love the feeling of starting a new long box, deciding what order I want to keep the current titles in).

When my dog isn't sitting on my lap sleeping, I'll get up and list some of the titles I'm currently getting, and some of the recent GNs and hardcovers about comics that I've bought.

P.S. I've got a pretty sizable pile here from the library, too. Do you like Trondheim?

P.P.S. Like every comic geek, you must either write or draw. If you know that much of current continuity, you should be writing the stuff (while you can still afford to keep up with it).

P.P.S.S. I have only read a limited amount of manga, mostly when I lived in Hawaii, and a little when it was still a new thing, after I moved back to the mainland. When there became a glut, I just couldn't afford a new hobby, and the Japanese stuff seemed as limited to me (schoolgirls & giant robots) as I'm sure our stuff seems to them (superheroes and equally militaristic skiffy).

Excelsior! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

[Bajsefar]

I love Transmetropolitan.
Would like to dig further into the surely huge mountain of fantastic comics, but i can not afford it... Yet atleast. :p
Read the sandman comics as a kid, and loved it, read watch men at school (they have a whole section for cartoons at school library.) And thought it was okay, although a little comfusing..
Read something called 'Amy Racecar' and was amused. Oh yeah, does 'Battle Pope' pop bells for any of you?
WANT TO READ MORE! :p
But comic books have been of lesser interese to me until recently, so i have not managed to absorb very much.

Do you live in Trondheim, Player1? In that case, are you norwegian? Would never have guessed that if it's true.. :O

[player1]

Sorry for being obscure Bajsefar. I was referring to Lewis Trondheim, creator of Dungeon (among other cool stuff like A.L.I.E.E.E.N.). I totally forgot that's also the name of a city. Nope, I'm American, as you can probably tell by the accent.

Never read Transmetropolitan. I couldn't afford it, and had already read enough grim-and-gritty stuff to choke an industrial shredder.

I remember Battle Pope. Have you ever read SCUD: Disposable Assassin, Warrior Nun Areala, Reid Fleming: World's Toughest Milkman, Milk and Cheese, or Megaton Man?

I also dug the Sandman stuff, but I couldn't afford to collect it. I bought the Kirby 2nd series off of a spinner rack in the early 70s, when he went from Marvel to DC.

Watchmen was a great book, but if you're not used to the conventions which Moore and Gibbons are reinventing, much of it may be lost on you (I think you have to spend your allowance on superhero books for a couple of tween years to really get it). It would be like understanding Martin Luther if you weren't a Catholic (the one and only kind of Christian, at the time, or just about anyway), back in the 16th century. I also enjoyed Flex Mentallo, and I'm still waiting for the finale to Rich Veitch's King Hell series (outstandingly gritty, and almost has a Cracked/Eerie feel to the art).

Check out a book called Louis Riel, that's a good read. It's by Chester Brown, who also did Yummy Fur.

As you can see, although I have fairly pedestrian taste, and am a child of the 60s (thus a superhero fan), I've read enough of The Comics Journal to develop some snobbery, too. Speaking of highbrow comics, if you feel like being really impressed and slightly bemused while also being somewhat depressed and fully confused, check out Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library. He's as important to comics as Jack Kirby, Charles Schultz or Walt Kelly: a true giant.

@Atom Eve: Y, the Last Man was definitely one of those books I wish I could've afforded and gotten in on, back when it started. I've heard such good things, I'm going to have to get the collections of it from the library.

@E-Mxp: Nice looking stuff. Thanks for the link.

edit'd due to dog-on-lap syndrome

[Atom Eve]

Battle Pope! I absolutely love everything Robert Kirkman writes, so of course I know Battle Pope.

And, as to how I read everything: I personally buy the stuff that I really enjoy/want to read, my girlfriend buys most of the other stuff, and everything else I shamelessly pirate scans of and burn to DVDs.

I've never read anything by Trondheim.

I write (a little), I'm getting a journalism major in college. I also doodle a lot, but I've never took it seriously.

I highly recommend Y. Even when it's at it's lowest, it's still fairly high. Brian K. Vaughn seldom goes wrong.

And I know plenty of chicks who are into comics, though few as much as me. My older sister is even more obsessed that I am, though, and is currently trying to get a foothold in the industry.

[PIE]

I've read a bit of manga.. probably would have been more interested in comics if i had access to them.

I haven't read anything that has really blown me away though.. The Akira series was going pretty well until Vol 3 became impossible to find. I have every other book except for 3 which I can now not seem to get and its pretty annoying.

I'm working my way through the robot series which is a collection sort of orchestrated by Range Murata (Last Exile), the art is astounding though the stories clearly take a back seat to it and sometimes don't even make any sense and simply are there for there to be something for the art to be about.

I didn't care for the watchmen.. it got really hyped and then started putting me to sleep. It would have made a better book but i guess that wouldn't really make a lot of sense. The pirate story really just started irritating me.

I started reading the buddha series by Osamu Tezuka (astro boy) and have to say it is pretty good but overall not really blowing me away. Apollo's Song was better.

I've read some other stuff.. but nothing even slightly worth noting.

[player1]

Battle Pope! I absolutely love everything Robert Kirkman writes, so of course I know Battle Pope.

Seen it, was buying a million Image and Verotik comics at the time, iirc. Now I have to google Robert Kirkman.
 

And, as to how I read everything: I personally buy the stuff that I really enjoy/want to read, my girlfriend buys most of the other stuff, and everything else I shamelessly pirate scans of and burn to DVDs.

Anytime I'm really into something, I realize that there's someone who is way more into it than I'll ever be. It's cool that you can keep up with it. That's why I usually try to get related books, or things that are self-contained, or just a few things that happen to line up with my personal and off-kilter tastes.

I've never read anything by Trondheim.

I learned about him from TCJ. Some of his stuff is quite good. I highly recommend A.L.I.E.E.E.N., it was like a trip back to Where the Wild Things Are, read as a five year-old. I rarely get that same frisson at this point anymore.

I write (a little), I'm getting a journalism major in college. I also doodle a lot, but I've never took it seriously.

Well, Hemingway got his start in journalism, so I'd say that's a fairly useful style to learn if ever do decide to start writing comics or prose. I've written some of SF stories, and even gotten some rejection slips from one of the Big Three magazines. UKLG said she had to try for ten years. I'm heartened by Isak Dinesen's remark: "I write a little every day; without hope, without despair." To paraphrase Lem: A cow eats grass and makes milk; I read science and make science fiction. Except in my case it would probably be that I read crap and write schlock.

I highly recommend Y. Even when it's at it's lowest, it's still fairly high. Brian K. Vaughn seldom goes wrong.

Luckily my library has a lovely collection of comics, comix, GNs, TPBs and the like. And a brilliant online hold system.

And I know plenty of chicks who are into comics, though few as much as me. My older sister is even more obsessed that I am, though, and is currently trying to get a foothold in the industry.

I know a few women who are into comics, but few who read that much mainstream. Most are artcomics readers, manga/anime fans, casual comics readers who get a couple of books, and one friend of mine is a diehard Superman mythos completist. Good luck to your sister, it can be a tough field to break into.

I'll make a list of what I'm currently subscribing to and try to defend it when the dog wakes up. He's been sick for about a week, so I'm glad he's comfortable and quiet right now. Even though he's back in my lap... (and I'm trying to balance the laptop on the arm of the couch and type one-fingered).

[mooseberry]

I read mainly DC and Marvel, and my all time favorite series/hero is of course, spiderman.

[Atom Eve]

I read mainly DC and Marvel, and my all time favorite series/hero is of course, spiderman.

I feel sorry for you, then. Enjoying Brand New Day? Because I ain't.

[mooseberry]

I read mainly DC and Marvel, and my all time favorite series/hero is of course, spiderman.

I feel sorry for you, then. Enjoying Brand New Day? Because I ain't.

Others of course,  but that's just what I have the most of.

[player1]

@Atom Eve: I see you've read both Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns. Have you also read Bratpack? I consider it the third part of the DC grim-and-gritty 80s anti-hero triptych, even though DC passed on it, and Veitch published it independently.

[Atom Eve]

Bratpack was alright. I think the same basic idea has been done better, since then, though, which is something that I wouldn't say for Watchmen or DKR.

[player1]

It was very "of its time", for those of us raised on 1960s Legion of Super-Heroes, Jimmy Olsen, and Teen Titans (espescially the twelve-cent stuff, and the stuff with the checkered banners).

[mooseberry]

"It's still 10 cents"

[player1]

I remember when they went up, it affected my budget.

Well, I filled up half a long box, just with the current stuff. I have to subscribe to a few titles, just to keep my discount, for when I want to get a fifty-dollar hardcover, or drop $200 on collector stuff. Anyway, let's take a stroll through my mainstream buying habit, and see what kind of pamphlet comics I'm buying of late. Here they are, in no particular order (just the way they were stacked up in bags):

Title/Publisher: Note

Elric/DC: Love Elric. Michael Moorcock is the ultimate distillation of REH, ERB, CAS and Jack Vance, with enough HPL, OAK, Carter & deCamp and Leigh Brackett thrown into the mix to be really fun to read, if you enjoy the genre. Walt Simonson art. Mini-series.

Mystery in Space/DC: Nostalgia. Mini-series, not locked in for 400 issues. Jim Starlin. Crusty old title revived. Not impressed. Didn't totally suck, but no The Prize, to be sure.

Uncle Sam/DC: One of the few characters/groups I've ever tried to get all appearances of is Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. I'm a Plastic Man fan, and I dig some of the more obscure, underused characters. Like Captain Marvel, DC acquired them from another company. Mini-series. Read a couple. Hrm...

Shazam/DC: The Monster Society of Evil mini-series. Jeff Smith (creator of Bone, just like the overbearing FC blurb screams). I like the DC Captain Marvel for the same reason I like Plastic Man. It's not a superhero comic. It's a satire/parody/pastiche/sendup of a superhero comic. Done well, it can be fun. Haven't read this yet.

Steven Colbert's Tek Jansen/Oni: I assume it's a tie in with Lady Nocturne and Alpha Squad VII, but I'm patiently waiting for the rest of them to come out...

Maintenance/Oni: I like scifi, I like monsters, I like a weak premise if it's humorous and the art is "of a piece" with the writing. Need number 4, haven't read any of it yet.

Conan/Dark Horse: I usually will support a Conan comic, if it doesn't suck and I can afford it. Also, I live in the town where they publish Dark Horse, so I have to get something from them, as long as I'm going to subscribe to something. So many spinoffs, it practically counts as two monthly titles.

Yuggoth Treasures/Avatar: I like pulp/steampunk stuff, especially Lovecraft & Clark Ashton Smith, and I like Alan Moore. Piling it up, for when I'm in that frame of mind.

Halo GN Preview/Marvel: Bought it for a friend who loves Halo, but he moved away, and then moved again, so I'm holding on to it. Anybody read the graphic novel?

The Death of the New Gods/DC: Nostalgia. Jim Starlin, doing what he does best: crossing heroes over into immortal/demigod status. He did it for Captain Marvel and for Warlock, so why not for Orion? 1972 all over again. The Golden Age of Comics is 11, and that's how old I was when Kirby went from Marvel to DC. Like I said, nostalgia.

The Spirit/DC: Love the Spirit. Love Darwyn Cooke. Best homage/update I've seen yet. Read one issue, wasn't disappointed. Lots of Spirit in my collection.

Wonder Woman/DC: Good art, by the Dodsons. Currently written by Gail Simone, as is Atom. Pretty enjoyable. Got sucked in by the renumbering/relaunching just about the time I was about to lose my discount, because all the independent stuff I'd ordered had failed to show up. As long as I need to carry some monthly titles, worth buying. Handled right, a great character. Seen some great storylines, in decades past. It's about time DC gave this character the icon status she currently enjoys. Thanks to Dini/Timm and Alex Ross for that (and the marketing staff).

Wonder Girl/DC: Figured it might be a tie-in. Mini-series. Manga-esque art style, and crayola colors. Nice when I'm in the right frame of mind and the sun is shining just right. Haven't read it yet. Good for a Sunday morning or a Tuesday afternoon.

The Atom/DC: See Wonder Woman above, re: renumbering and need for monthly discount. Fairly consistent, scifi, always liked the Atom/Ant-Man characters, even though they can get pretty limited. Gail Simone. The art style goes with the tone of the material. Enjoyable fluff. Also nostalgia reasons.

Justice Society of America/DC: Jumped in at the same renumbering turnover at DC. Alex Ross covers. They could do so much more with these characters, but I also read this for the nostalgia buzz, and because there's no way I could buy all the JLA stuff.

Ultimate Human/Marvel: Malibuverse-looking. Warren Ellis and Cary Nord. Known quantities, so the quality shouldn't be too bad, and the book will actually ship. Looks cool. Mini-series, to be read some sunny afternoon.

New Avengers/Marvel: I really, really needed to start taking some monthly titles and this had some great characters in it, a really interesting lineup, plus I like a team book, and I have about 50 or 60 issues of the Avengers in a row, from the Bronze Age, that I bought off the spinner racks. Not a bad book, I usually skim it, but I need to read about twenty issues to catch up. The lineup is practically a Defenders roll call. Great Bronze Age characters revived, like the Wrecking Crew and Plant-Man. Not too expensive to keep up with.

Thunderbolts/Marvel: Pretty much ditto. I like a team book, this had crusty villians I remember from when I was ten. Fun, in that I-want-to-recapture-that-feeling kind of way. Piling up, to read alternating with New Avengers.

NextW.A.V.E./Marvel: A piss-take on the above. Not bad, but not quite as clever as it thinks it is.

Yeah, so that's what I'm buying, and why I think I buy it. The monthly, mainstream, they-made-me-do-it-so-I-can-get-a-discount version. I also bought Godland and a bunch of other stuff as TPBs/GNs/harcovers/anthologies (as opposed to pamphlets/monthlies/issues/numbers), but that's a whole 'nother post.

I'm glad you're liking the new Blue Beetle Atom Eve. I almost started getting it. I'll have to wait until they collect it, and get it from the library.

I'll also have to check out Invincible. That was another title that looked cool, that I just couldn't afford to start buying... Thankfully there are people like you to recommend the good stuff, and libraries who can afford to be somewhat completist.

Cheers, comic book fans!

edit'd cuz i care aboot ur ayez

[Kaleo]

I don't read manga and comics that much these days.

But I do have a  shoebox full of old 1960's+ comics.

I also have a stack of manga.

[player1]

What's in the shoebox?

[_Equilibrium_]

I used to real marvel comics when i was younger. As it is now, my favorite marvel characters have to be Venom, Deadpool, Moonknight, and the Punisher.

I am not big on manga or anime, but if someone tells me about a good anime, i'll check it out. My favs are probably Bleach and Full Metal Alchemist.

[Kaleo]

What's in the shoebox?

But I do have a  shoebox full of old 1960's+ comics.

[player1]

As in, aren't you in Australia, or something? I just wondered if you had any weird or rare stuffs. Or if you'd read the stuff in the shoebox and liked it.

[Kaleo]

It's old Scrooge McDuck and other stuff.

got some old superman and spiderman as well.

It's all antique.

And no, I don't have any cool rare Australian stuff (I think)

I do have some other rare Australian stuff that arent comic books though...

[techhead]

I love comic books, daily strips, graphic novels, manga, and even web-comics.
Too many to post all of the ones I like, as I really enjoy the amount of narrative and artistic freedom the medium allows.
If you want to know more about it, I would suggest "Understanding Comics" and "Reinventing Comics", both by Scott McCloud.

[player1]

I've also got Making Comics, by the same author.

I thought Atom Eve was going to come and critique my extremely plebeian tastes...

I figured you for a fellow comics geek, techhead. I actually though Atom Eve was going to turn out to be a scifi reader, too.

Kaleo, if you'd like to get rid of that old shoebox full of comics, you could always send it to me...

[Atom Eve]

I thought Atom Eve was going to come and critique my extremely plebeian tastes...

I was going to, and made a note to do so, but then I completely forgot about it. And, anyway, I don't really have a very different opinion than you on any of those books. Of what you listed, I personally buy/have bought Conan, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman (Gail Simone, no brainer), The Atom (ditto), Shazam, J.S.A., and Thunderbolts. I read the rest, whether through borrowing from friends that buy or slightly less legal means.

I don't really have much to say to that list beyond that. >_>

[player1]

Taste: Vindicated!

Well at least stop by the scifi reader's thread and throw a wet blanket on that, while you're at it...

At least I made it to your to-do list.

Yeah Gail Simone is pretty good.

How many (thousands of) issues has Invincible seen so far?

How far are they into the Blue Beetle series?

I could search, of course...

I like the fact that the New Avengers is pretty much the old Defenders...

[Atom Eve]

Blue Beetle is only up to issue 24. It's a pretty good series so far, no real down points. It's definitely a different Blue Beetle than Ted Kord, though.

Invincible is up to 48, with one issue of a four-issue Atom Eve mini-series. It's fairly completely self-contained, though, unlike most superhero books in the Big Two. The crossovers are small, few, far between, and usually explained to the reader. It's been my favorite superhero book for a few years now.

[player1]

Do you know if either is being collected?

To Google, I must.

Also, do you read scifi?

[Atom Eve]

Both are available as trades.

I read sci-fi as much as I read anything else.