geekhack
geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: instantkamera on Thu, 23 September 2010, 09:53:47
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So, I have tried numerous times to "get into" comics. I have never been able to. I always found them juvenile and the story lines really weak, campy etc.
Well I read Batman Cacophony yesterday, for the sole reason that it was Written by Kevin Smith. I quite enjoyed it, and the book (hardcover full series book) looks awesome. Walt Flanagan is also a great artist, and many of the panels really grabbed my attention.
So, let's get to the point:
Do you read comics? If so, what are your top five recommendations for must have books (single issues or series, "indie" or "major label") for a newb (someone who might not have all the back story necessary to pick up in the middle of some stuff).
I think I enjoy the more adult side of things, which maybe why I never dug them before.
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I used to have a major crush on Thora Birch. Also, I don't think I'll ever "get" the whole Anime and Manga thing. Turns me right off of anything animated.
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I dont think I have ever watched Bambi. Anyway, I just don't really dig the style, sorry to say.
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ew dude. ew.
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One Piece. There's a reason it sells so well in Japan.
Priest - Korean manhwa, read it now so when the complete disaster of a movie adaptation comes out, you can poke fun.
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I read comics every Sunday in the newspaper, but that's about it except for the political cartoons in the op-ed section.
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There's some great creatitivity in comics/manga especially these days. Comics especially in Japan have taken on a role of becoming a place where any writer can basically put together a story board for a series or movie, not just for anime, but for live action/reality based drama shows as well. Some of them are extremely moving and complex. Most of them most certainly aren't juvenile. You have to know what to look for and what type manga it is of course. There are age groupes and genre depending on how, when. where, by who it's published. There are publishers/magazines that deal with children, young men, middle aged men manga only for instance, or even old men manga.
Comics in Japan have become a great way to gather an audience for a tv show or movie before it's made cause producers can see how popular and who is reading the manga so they can limit their risk.
Comics these days are a far cry from what they were 20 or even 10 years ago. Even in America you have a huge comic resurgance with many tv/movie directors coming out of them and going back into them, like Keven Smith, and Joss Whedon.
Online comics in particular are very interesting, and some have huge followings.
Most comics are republished online, if not on dedicated web sites, in anthologies and weekly updates. It's one of the problems actual paper publishers are facing. In Japan of course you have a huge net cafe audience, so not much as a concern there, but even those are usually translated and upped on different forums like Hongfire within weeks of them being published/becoming public.
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I know when I was young, I loved Magnus: Robot Fighter (drawn by Russ Manning), Superman (drawn by Curt Swan), Metal Men (Andru and Esposito)... and as I got a bit older, I ended up reading Marvel Comics as well, such as Steve Ditko's Dr. Strange in Strange Tales, and Iron Man in Tales of Suspense.
I've continued to follow comic books on and off (like the Valiant revival of Magnus: Robot Fighter, and some relatively recent Dr. Strange comics)... but less and less over the years, and so I've lost touch with what material out there may still be good.
I do follow the Girl Genius webcomic (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/) regularly, and have bought the bound volumes as well, to support the comic and see the pages in a larger format - and while I'm not much into manga (have looked into a bit of it) one series I have followed, as it has the right mix of a heartwarming story and a bit of zesty content to boost the circulation is Empowered by Adam Warren.
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So, I have been reading "The Walking Dead", Im collecting the hardcover books, 12 issues each. This is what I was looking for, friggin' great.
Frank Darabont's TWD TV series starts soon too, fingers crossed.
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I used to read Heavy Metal Magazine in my teens. Recently downloaded a 12GB torrent of HMM scans from the first edition in 1977 to about 2008. Still trying to hunt down all the missing releases and special editions to get it as current as possible. Going to take a while to read through them all.
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The best comic is Asterix and Obelix, period! All the other comics dull in comparison.
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The best comic is Asterix and Obelix, period! All the other comics dull in comparison.
Only Sith Lords speak in absolutes.
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So, I have been reading "The Walking Dead", Im collecting the hardcover books, 12 issues each. This is what I was looking for, friggin' great.
Frank Darabont's TWD TV series starts soon too, fingers crossed.
That looks interesting, might pick up a copy.
Personally I'm not a big fan of western style comics (marvel and etc) but I love graphic novels and manga for grown ups. Keep in mind if you're talking about manga there are as many genres as there are genres for movies. There's manga for kids, adults, girls, boys, teens and so on.
If you like the art style, and you seem to since you liked The Walking Dead, then you can definitely find a story that you will like.
As for graphic novels I recommend anything by Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, The Watchmen, From Hell, Promethea among many others). Promethea is one of my all time favourite graphic novels.