I’ve been enjoying the unholy hell out of some comics recently — just finished up the last trade of Locke & Key, still loving every weird and wonderful page of Saga, still hot for Cullen Bunn’s The Sixth Gun, and this week Marvel released an iOS app for their subscription service, described somewhat as a Spotify for their comics. (Basically: pay a monthly fee, get access to a giant archive of Marvel Comics, but nothing newer than six months old.)
Plus, I’m entertaining my own delusions of storytelling grandeur — I’m hoping that this might be the year I slide my parasitic tendrils into the gills of the unconquered industry and get to write a comic book or two or three OR THREE THOUSAND ahem I mean, what?
As such, I ask again for some recommendations.
What comics are you reading? Digging?
Not just Marvel and DC (though those count if you like ’em).
What else? Whatchoo got?
komavary says:
Ork Stain. Fantasy not involving superheroes is so rare in the US comic scene. Ork Stain is one of the exemptions. Beautiful art, humor,orks – no reason not to read it.
I think you’ve already read Freakangels, Warren Ellis take on an ongoing webseries.
Speaking of digital comics, Alex de Campi’s Valentine is not only a good story well told, but also interesting as an experiment with multi-device compatible digital storytelling.
Also, some manga recommendations: I think you will love Atsushi Kaneko’s Bambi and her Pink Gun. I think Bambi would be best friends with Miriam Black. Unfortunately, only two volumes were published in English, but it worth hunting them down. (Just check the wikipedia page for the series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambi_and_Her_Pink_Gun
Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea is beautiful fantasy/magical realism story.
http://www.sigikki.com/series/cots/index.shtml
Also, Yotsuba&! and Bunny Drop are two series worth checking out.
March 11, 2013 — 11:16 PM
Jen says:
What happened to the “storytelling is like tantric sex” post?!? That was great!
March 11, 2013 — 11:34 PM
terribleminds says:
It posted today. 🙂
March 12, 2013 — 6:29 AM
swordsoftheancients says:
I’d have to also recommend Hellboy and B.P.R.D, as well as Blankets by Craig Thompson. Also, if you’ve never read it, Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the greatest manga series I’ve ever read.
March 12, 2013 — 3:46 AM
Dave Versace says:
I think I’ve seen all my recommendations, so I’ll just reiterate:
Chew walks a tightrope between wacky character piece, high concept (pseudo-) science fiction and gut-punching character drama. It’s amazing.
Hawkeye is nominally a cape book, but it really isn’t that at all
Atomic Robo is science with punching
Locke & Key you already know about.
John Rogers’ Dungeons and Dragons books are worth it, though not necessarily for the D&D elements
Other great stuff – Kelly Sue DeConnick is doing great character stuff on Captain Marvel, Crosby & Eliopoulos’ Cow Boy is funny and kind of heartbreaking, and just get whatever the hell Waid, Hickman and Fraction are doing because they are all firing at the moment. (I want to recommend Hickman’s Manhattan Projects, but I haven’t been able to wrest the ipad from my wife for a couple of weeks to read my Comixology stash…)
March 12, 2013 — 7:20 AM
Bruce says:
Login to the book of faces and look for Escape from Jesus island. It’s an upcoming horror graphic novel that I think you might enjoy/want to get behind. A mixture of prophecies, questionable genetic moralities, religion and faiths, agendas, and a sprinkle of “be careful what you wish for”, cooked in Hell’s flames to perfection. Served with a side order of mutant zombie jesuses… (or Jesusies? Jesusi?)
I predict good things.
March 12, 2013 — 11:17 AM
Tim says:
Someone already mentioned it, but I’ll second the recommendation for “Black Hole” by Charles Burns.
March 12, 2013 — 11:19 AM
Bobby says:
Morning Glories is a phenomenal comic, which is kinda similar to Lost before it got dumb. Think Tank is another one on my monthly must-read list. A great techno-geek, fight-the-power storyline. What’s really cool is that most of the gadgets in the comic are based on actual DARPA projects. The writer, Matt Hawkins, includes a treasure trove of background research in the back of every issue.
March 13, 2013 — 11:18 AM
Serenpidity says:
Corto Maltese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corto_Maltese
(I’m pretty sure it’s been translated into English…)
March 13, 2013 — 2:58 PM
Reay Jespersen says:
Sorry I’m late to the party on this one.
I highly recommend 100 Bullets, Y-The Last Man, and Chew.
Less so (just via it being a bit hit and miss for me), Hellboy.
March 17, 2013 — 5:50 PM
gabidaniels says:
It’s been a while for this one — I recommend Firebreather http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5902416-firebreather-volume-2 by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn (love all his illustration work for Marvel)
March 19, 2013 — 8:57 AM
oshvat says:
Take a look at The Manhattan Projects by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra, mad scientist and and alternate World War Two, and any of Jonathan’s other books at Image. If you get to write a comic somewhere Image or Dark Horse would seem your best fit, or maybe IDW, they have done projects that would fit your style of story and seem to be doing it well.
March 25, 2013 — 1:51 AM
Matt Moores says:
I also enjoyed the D&D series by John Rogers – shame it was cancelled. My current favorite is Fatale, by Brubaker & Philips
March 30, 2013 — 6:32 AM
The EggBrain says:
Super-late poster guy says:
I agree with 80% of the above (and haven’t read the other 20%, but they’re prolly good too).
I’d also add Colder, a five-issue zombie series (yes, I know, Walking Dead already perfected zombies but I promise, this is also worth it) and any of the Courtney Crumrin stuff.
And if you’ve any stomach for the mangaz, Bleach may be well known, but it also has some epic battles, especially in the later volumes. Naruto and Rurouni Kenshin are good at what they do, too.
April 24, 2013 — 2:07 AM