The Comic Book/Graphic Novel thread

#1
BenGrimm

BenGrimm

Formally known as burntorangeVOLffle
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Jul 22, 2008
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#1
I know there are several fans on here. So what are you reading? What are some of your favorite stories, artists, writers, characters, etc?

I'm a kid of the 80s and 90s with a fondness for the Marvel Silver Age. I worked in a comic shop from 96-99 and amassed waaaay too many funny books. Over the years I've sold a bunch off on eBay but there are runs I doubt I will ever part with like Peter David's Hulk run, Amazing Spider-Man from #350 down, X-Men from Age of Apocalypse down, and handful of miscellaneous stuff. Then of course I like the mainstream stuff like Watchmen and Sandman.

Currently I am only getting Indestructible Hulk and Daredevil from Marvel, and the 3 Justice League books and Batman Inc from DC. I'm dropping all the DC by the end of the summer.

Recent drops include:
Spider-Man with the switch to Superior (I wasn't butt hurt about PP, it was just a good jumping off point for a title I wasn't enjoying anyway)
Green Lantern with the end of Johns run
Action Comics with the end of Morrison's run.
 
#4
#4
burntorangeVOLffle said:
I still don't get the fascination with Deadpool.
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I have no idea. Couldn't help you out there.

Im curious: as a comic book fan, do you like all the movies around those characters? Or do they change them too much (and perhaps there are too many movies (especially recently)) that they are just annoying?

I like some of them, but feel that if I were a fan of the comic series, I would likely be annoyed at how they were portrayed on film
 
#5
#5
DocVOLiday said:
I have no idea. Couldn't help you out there.

Im curious: as a comic book fan, do you like all the movies around those characters? Or do they change them too much (and perhaps there are too many movies (especially recently)) that they are just annoying?

I like some of them, but feel that if I were a fan of the comic series, I would likely be annoyed at how they were portrayed on film
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I like the marvel movies but I only get I think one Marvel book on a regular basis and its an X-Men title.
 
#6
#6
burntorangeVOLffle said:
I know there are several fans on here. So what are you reading? What are some of your favorite stories, artists, writers, characters, etc?

I'm a kid of the 80s and 90s with a fondness for the Marvel Silver Age. I worked in a comic shop from 96-99 and amassed waaaay too many funny books. Over the years I've sold a bunch off on eBay but there are runs I doubt I will ever part with like Peter David's Hulk run, Amazing Spider-Man from #350 down, X-Men from Age of Apocalypse down, and handful of miscellaneous stuff. Then of course I like the mainstream stuff like Watchmen and Sandman.

Currently I am only getting Indestructible Hulk and Daredevil from Marvel, and the 3 Justice League books and Batman Inc from DC. I'm dropping all the DC by the end of the summer.

Recent drops include:
Spider-Man with the switch to Superior (I wasn't butt hurt about PP, it was just a good jumping off point for a title I wasn't enjoying anyway)
Green Lantern with the end of Johns run
Action Comics with the end of Morrison's run.
Click to expand...

You only get 2 from Marvel and one is Daredevil? Never cared for him.
 
#7
#7
DocVOLiday said:
I have no idea. Couldn't help you out there.

Im curious: as a comic book fan, do you like all the movies around those characters? Or do they change them too much (and perhaps there are too many movies (especially recently)) that they are just annoying?

I like some of them, but feel that if I were a fan of the comic series, I would likely be annoyed at how they were portrayed on film
Click to expand...

There are certainly good and bad ones. It is getting to the point that there are too many and I just pass on them (in the theatre at least)

To me it comes down to two things; did it capture the essence of the comic and was it an enjoyable movie?

There are things comics can do that movies can't and vice versa. I don't get too caught up in little changes like uncle Ben dying in the street instead of at his house or Wolverine being to tall. Sometimes I don't care for a change like organic webbing and let it slide because they nailed the essence of the character.

Then there are complete bastardizations such as Dr. Doom in the FF movies (there was a lot more that went wrong in those movies but Doom stands out as the major flaw).

The Rami Spider-Man movies captured that essence. The 3rd movie was just a bad movie though.

Similiarly, the X-Men movies have to stray some. Their continuity is just too complex to adapt. The first two movies did a good to greate job capturing the aspects that make the X-Men tick but altered 95% of their history. The 3rd was just a bad movie. The Wolverine movie actually adapted quite a bit from the source material but it was just a bad movie.

Dark Night trilogy of course took little nuggets from the comics and modernized it into a great movie series. Although the villains were in many ways quite different from their comic book roots, it helped to have actors like Heath Ledger completely own the role.

Then you have something like Watchmen which was almost a word for word, panel for panel adaptation of one of the most critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time. To me, it did not translate well to a movie. It would have been much better served as a 12 part HBO series.
 
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#8
#8
95 Vol Alum said:
You only get 2 from Marvel and one is Daredevil? Never cared for him.
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I've been getting Daredevil since around '95. It's had one of the best streaks of writers in that time than almost other title I can think of. Starting with a highly underrated and too short Karl Kesel run, then Joe Kelly, followed by the relaunch with Kevin Smith, and the lengthy run by Bendis, then Ed Brubaker. I didn't care for Andy Diggle's run and planned to drop it for good but couldn't pass up Mark Waid's relaunch with Marcos Martin and Paolo Rivera.
 
#9
#9
I'm currently into The Walking Dead. I got the first 2 Compendiums for my birthday about a month ago.
 
#10
#10
Only graphic novels I've read:

Death of Superman
Watchmen

Both fantastic. Been meaning to pick up V for Vendetta for a few years.
 
#11
#11
The fact nobody has said The Killing Joke yet absolutely terrifies me. Some of Moore's best work IMO
 
#12
#12
n_huffhines said:
Only graphic novels I've read:

Death of Superman
Watchmen

Both fantastic. Been meaning to pick up V for Vendetta for a few years.
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Watchmen and V are considered Alan Moore's seminal books. I usually re-read Watchman about every 3-4 years (in fact I'm due). I have a nice Absolute Edition of Watchmen that's an over sized Hardcover with a slipcase. Then I have a paperback I loan out to people who have never read it. I also have the originals stored in a box.

I've read V 3 or 4 times but its been since the movie came out that I read it last. I need to get the Absolute Edition. My paperback is getting kind of flimsy.

Did you read Reign of Supermen too? I recently sold off all of my Superman collection but could not bring my self to list Reign. I wouldnt say its one of the best written or drawn comic stories but memories of that summer (which also included Knightfall) are too strong to let go of them.

If you are into Alan Moore and like Superman I suggest checking Supreme. It's a Superman knock off that Moore used to tell his Superman story. (Of course he does have 2 short legit Superman tales as well.)
 
#13
#13
Daloth said:
The fact nobody has said The Killing Joke yet absolutely terrifies me. Some of Moore's best work IMO
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It's only been 10 posts, bruthah.

While its impact on comics and Batman are undeniable, I would put several of Moore's other works ahead of it. It would be in the top 8 or so though.
 
#14
#14
burntorangeVOLffle said:
Did you read Reign of Supermen too? I recently sold off all of my Superman collection but could not bring my self to list Reign. I wouldnt say its one of the best written or drawn comic stories but memories of that summer (which also included Knightfall) are too strong to let go of them.
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The Death of Superman storyline & Knightfall got me into comics and I'm still there.
 
#15
#15
burntorangeVOLffle said:
It's only been 10 posts, bruthah.

While its impact on comics and Batman are undeniable, I would put several of Moore's other works ahead of it. It would be in the top 8 or so though.
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For DC Batman is pretty much so far ahead of the rest I almost don't care about the others.

But in terms of things that were just awesome? Red Son. I know it was more just a limited comic release but still. One of my favorite interpretations of any medium (right up there with All Star Superman)
 
#16
#16
burntorangeVOLffle said:
Watchmen and V are considered Alan Moore's seminal books. I usually re-read Watchman about every 3-4 years (in fact I'm due). I have a nice Absolute Edition of Watchmen that's an over sized Hardcover with a slipcase. Then I have a paperback I loan out to people who have never read it. I also have the originals stored in a box.

I've read V 3 or 4 times but its been since the movie came out that I read it last. I need to get the Absolute Edition. My paperback is getting kind of flimsy.

Did you read Reign of Supermen too? I recently sold off all of my Superman collection but could not bring my self to list Reign. I wouldnt say its one of the best written or drawn comic stories but memories of that summer (which also included Knightfall) are too strong to let go of them.

If you are into Alan Moore and like Superman I suggest checking Supreme. It's a Superman knock off that Moore used to tell his Superman story. (Of course he does have 2 short legit Superman tales as well.)
Click to expand...

Good info. Loved X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, and Batman as a kid. I outgrew reading comics, but if there are graphic novels that make for more sophisticated reading, I'm all about it. I might have to try Reign of Superman. Any other can't miss ones? I like stuff that has political and social parallels. Dark is good, but not a necessary element.

I saw a list that had Batman: Dark Knight Returns as the top novel all-time. Do people agree with that?
 
#17
#17
n_huffhines said:
Good info. Loved X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, and Batman as a kid. I outgrew reading comics, but if there are graphic novels that make for more sophisticated reading, I'm all about it. I might have to try Reign of Superman. Any other can't miss ones? I like stuff that has political and social parallels. Dark is good, but not a necessary element.

I saw a list that had Batman: Dark Knight Returns as the top novel all-time. Do people agree with that?
Click to expand...

Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are the two most influential graphic novels on the superhero genre. Everything took a darker turn after those two came out in 1986. You would enjoy DKR. Written in the '85 about a future in which Reagan is still president and Superman has become a government stooge. I wouldn't follow through with the sequel written in the early 2000s Dark Knight Strikes Again. It was a stinker.

You should also look into Transmetropolitian by Warren Ellis.

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street: Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson: 9781401220846: Amazon.com: Books

You would also probably enjoy Warren Ellis's StormWatch/Authority run.

Stormwatch Vol. 1: Warren Ellis, Tom Raney, Jim Lee: 9781401234201: Amazon.com: Books
 
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#19
#19
n_huffhines said:
Just ordered V for Vendetta and Dark Knight Returns
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You won't be disappointed. Let me know which you decide to read first. I may pull out my copy and refresh my memory for discussion.

Another good one you might enjoy, Daloth mentioned earlier, is Superman: Red Son. It's an Elseworlds tale in which the rocket carrying baby Kal-El landed in Communist Russia instead of Smallville Kansas.
 
#20
#20
Continuing with my elseworlds fetish, Batman: In Darkest Knight is one of my favorites. It's not Year One or on those levels, but GL is one of my favorite DC guys as well (I'm not a big DC fan personally, but Batman, GL, Martian Manhunter, and some Supes stories are good).
 
#21
#21
Daloth said:
Continuing with my elseworlds fetish, Batman: In Darkest Knight is one of my favorites. It's not Year One or on those levels, but GL is one of my favorite DC guys as well (I'm not a big DC fan personally, but Batman, GL, Martian Manhunter, and some Supes stories are good).
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I always liked Speeding Bullets as well. For those unfiliar it put Kal-El's rocket in Gotham and had the Wayne's raising him then playing out Batman's origin. Basically you had a Superman powered Batman.
 
#22
#22
Recently started reading select HellBlazer stories. Started with Dangerous Habits by Garth Ennis. A portion of this story was used in the Constantine movie but was heavily, and I mean heavily, altered.
 
#25
#25
I'll get bored with one thing so I have to vary it up:

Leopold & Loeb - Crime of the Century (I recommend it to everyone...stranger than fiction)
In 50 Years We'll All Be Chicks by Adam Carolla (I think he's hilarious)
V for Vendetta

Variety is the spice of life.
 
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