Comic Book Recommendations

Thanks guy, I will check those.

I saw Batman Year One is apparently a prequel to The Long Halloween and, of course, it is set on the early days? Is it worth it? As for Suicide Squad the original run is the 80s one, right? Assuming I like this one, do the other runs worth it?

Batman Year One - I'm not really a fan of Miller, but I suppose it is probably worth reading. (It does feature Bruce horribly failing the steep learning curve on the way to becoming Batman...)

Oh, it is written by Miller. I hope it is not draw by him as well, that would suck. Still, I have a big issue with his current writing, but I believe his pre 2000 works were quite good, no?

Batman Year One is drawn by Mazzucchelli of Asterios Polyp fame. There are edition which fuck up the coloring, don't buy those ones.

re: ''Suicide Squad"

Yes, the original run is 80s/early 90s, and is the best run.

The one with Sergeant Rock as the leader is not horrible, but wasn't nearly as well-received, and has generally been ignored. (Especially the last issue reveal.)

The Raise the Flag mini-series is okay, but will only make sense if you've read the first run.

Other pre-Flashpoint appearances are dependent on the writer of the series they were guest-starring in.

The New 52 version got off to a very rocky start by taking pretty much everything that was unique about Amanda Waller away from the character; and the "we've changed everyone's backstory, but we're not sure how much" thing made it hard to get into. I am told it's found its feet since.

Thanks for the info.

AS a rule of thumb I pretend the New52 doesn't exist. That was how I originally tried to get into DC and decided the reboot was a terribly idea that was hideously executed.

I'm not sure if I asked this, but to hell with it, I will do it again.

I read Fell and absolutely loved it. Any other comics like that? Also, any comics that is relatively cheap and such?

Basically any black-and-white collection which is still in print will be cheap. The Dark Horse Conan phonebooks, Jinx, Bone, From Hell, the Invincible and Walking Dead compendiums, the DC Showcases and Marvel Essentials lines, there's a big ol' brick of a Sin City omni which is relatively cheap given its enormous size and binding/paper quality.

Just finished the Avengers story arc "Assault on Olympus" (by way of the "Judgment Day" Epic Collection, it's also available stand-alone as an ebook and a hardcover)...damn. That was just pure comic book joy from start to finish. You just do not get better than seeing the Avengers staring down the infinite legions of Hades itself, only for the story to get more epic from there.

@d Roy - Global Frequency, Ellis' run on Moon Knight, Planetary. Not exactly the same but might work.

Hey, does anyone know about this series called Capture Creatures?

Anyone here read the Herc series? IE the follow-up to Incredible Hercules where Herc was de-powered. Been wavering on it for a while, curious of opinions.

I read it. I liked it. Without his godly strength, he had to rely more on his wits, which actually brought him a lot closer to his mythological roots. It wasn't necessarily a great series, but it was good, and I was a little disappointed to see it end. And I'm also disappointed that he seems to have gotten his powers back - his two most recent appearances, both cameos, had him in his "classic" outfit (those appearances being in Superior Foes of Spider-Man, and the first issue of SHIELD, where he didn't even get a line).

Anyone have any recommendations for Wonder Woman?

I'm not interested in "important" stories, I just want to read the best ones. I hear the original run is among the best, but surely someone has improved on those, right?

I'm a fan of George Perez, was his Post Crisis run any good?

I just started reading Sex Criminals and daaaaang there's some good writing in there. I love the visual effects of the time-stoppage too.

Perez' run of Wonder Woman had nifty art, and decent writing, and was reasonably faithful to the core concept while modernizing it.

Wonder Woman: Odyssey is probably my favorite WW story.

Does anyone know any indie comics with a good cast of characters that aren't too dark and cynical? I'm having trouble finding any that fit this.

Plenty. Bandette is basically the opposite of dark and cynical. Princeless is very positive. The Legend of Bold Riley has very much a Hero of Myth style to it that makes it generally positive. Jen Van Meter will be putting out a new volume of Hopeless Savages this year (and the previous volumes are all definitely worth checking out, especially the second volume).

I will reword my question, they can have a darker tone that's fine but is there any(with good characters) that when it comes down to it lean more on the idealistic side. Whether it's dark or not most indie comics tend to be incredibly cynical with characters that are just hard to like. The only thing I found that fits this is the idw transformers series. Good, interesting but likable characters and it leans more towards idealistic.

edited 1st Mar '15 11:26:57 PM by Iceclaw

Well, the ones I mentioned all have likable characters. If we're able to go darker, I will never not recommend Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue Deconnick - it's a mystical Western, and there's a whole lot of dark shit, but just the same, there's plenty of hope. KSD's Bitch Planet is off to a great start, too, with likable characters and in-your-face feminist themes, and even though the main characters are criminals, that doesn't actually mean they're bad people.

The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mc Kelvie is an interesting example. It's about hip young British people, so naturally there's plenty of cynicism and sarcasm, but there's still plenty of optimism. Most characters are likable, even the ones you actually kinda want to hate, simply because they get such great lines.

Courtney Crumrin is pretty phenomenal. It's definitely a dark series, but I don't think it's cynical. It's Grimm Fairy Tales dark. But there's definitely an idealism to it. It's a series I can't recommend highly enough in general.

Death Vigil's really good. Written and drawn by Stjepan Seijic, so it looks fantastic, and he makes most characters likable, or at least sympathetic.

Honestly, I could rattle off tons and tons of books. But whether they'll appeal to you depends on what you like. I mean, for one thing, a lot of the books I would recommend aren't really ongoing series, so if that's what you're aiming for, that's going to change my recommendations a lot. If graphic novels are OK, then I'm going to have a ton more of those. Age also comes into play - there are a few books from a few years ago that I think are worth checking out. And, of course, there's the simple question of what genres you're willing to look at. If you're looking for sci-fi adventures, my Slice of Life suggestions won't be much help.

Thanks for the suggestions. As for genre I read any genre as long as I can enjoy it and I usually prefer to read stuff that is finished but ongoing is fine too. Anything old is fine too as long as it's good I don't mind when it was made.

Which stories of the Black Phanther would you guys recommend for someone with very little (read: none) knowledge about the character?

edited 11th Mar '15 1:21:52 PM by karaan233

The Don Mc Gregor stories. Panther's Rage and Panther's Prey, in particular. Not sure if they're actually collected in any TP Bs, though. (Related are Panther vs. the Klan, which I personally found a bit weak, and Panther's Quest, which is very much an of-the-times story, since it deals very, very heavily with South African Apartheid.) I haven't read any of the '90s or 2000s Black Panther stuff, but the Mc Gregor stuff is mostly excellent, and if you can find it, is probably the most must-read stuff.

Christopher Priest had a fairly well-received run, as I recall, as did Reginald Hudlin. There are some aspects of Hudlin's runs that are controversial. Revealing that Wakanda had withheld a cure for cancer was a big one. Still, I think the general consensus is that Hudlin did some great stuff with the character.

I need help, gang. I'm looking to subscribe to a few DC titles, but I don't know which ones to pick. I want at least one Batman-centric title and then I'll probably add Green Lantern or The Flash on to that. I'm willing to be open to any suggestions, however. I'm probably gonna buy three or so subscriptions.