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Post by Rebecca on Nov 7, 2009 14:05:40 GMT -5
I've been meaning to try reading graphic novels for a while now, but haven't because I don't know where to start. This month, I have 1-2 hours a week to kill in a shopping center with a comic book store, so there is nothing really stopping me. So discuss the best graphic novels to start with, your favorites, or whatever.
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Post by Casey on Nov 7, 2009 14:08:53 GMT -5
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Post by Tanya on Nov 7, 2009 14:11:58 GMT -5
In before Watchmen!
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Post by xbeerdrinkerx on Nov 7, 2009 14:19:21 GMT -5
My basic comic book starter kit:
Everything by Alan Moore Dark Knight Returns Sandman Maus or Bone if you want some different takes on the medium
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Post by Eankam on Nov 7, 2009 14:32:33 GMT -5
I read this as "Gothic Novels" and I had a whole list going of like Frankenstein, Edgar Allan Poe, Horace Walpole, Samuel T. Coleridge.. haha.
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Post by twhneal on Nov 7, 2009 17:04:21 GMT -5
I highly recommend Bone. Very highly.
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Post by Terp Torp on Nov 7, 2009 17:14:59 GMT -5
As far as superhero comics go you NEED: Immortal Iron Fist by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction and eventually Duane Swiercyznski Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker Alias by Brian Michael Bendis Gotham Central by Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker (Brubaker is fucking incredible) JLA by Grant Morrison Animal Man by Grant Morrison Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon
Other great stuff includes Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan, Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka, pretty much anything by Chris Ware, and SCOTT FUCKING PILGRIM.
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Post by wecancreate on Nov 7, 2009 17:32:53 GMT -5
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Post by russe on Nov 7, 2009 17:38:06 GMT -5
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Bridget
Cheap Seats
What didn't Diddy do?
Posts: 127
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Post by Bridget on Nov 7, 2009 18:01:05 GMT -5
At first I wasn't terribly keen on Alan Moore, but then I discovered his Swamp Thing run from the 80s with Steve Bissette. As with Watchmen, the pacing, lines, and treatment of the material is simply exceptional: deeply meaningful without being heavy handed (as I felt Watchmen was at times). The artwork is definitely dated, but the story is where it's at.
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Post by Terp Torp on Nov 7, 2009 18:04:22 GMT -5
I should also say that I love Hellblazer. John Constantine is a great, incredibly flawed character.
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Post by wayfarer on Nov 8, 2009 6:17:49 GMT -5
I highly recommend Bone. Very highly. I ordered the one volume edition through work and it arrived on friday, it's fantastic. Definitely shitty at myself for taking so long getting around to reading it. But yeah, Maus, Scott Pilgrim, and anything by Alan Moore.
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Post by Nick Taxidermy on Nov 8, 2009 12:31:27 GMT -5
Bone, Scott Pilgrim, Sandman...if you can find the trades of the old Man Thing comics, those are a great read!
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Post by Jessticles on Nov 8, 2009 16:49:38 GMT -5
I suggest the Fables comics. Great artwork and storyline.
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Post by Lickitung on Nov 8, 2009 23:02:29 GMT -5
I haven't met a person who didn't enjoy Y The Last Man, even if they weren't into graphic novels. Bone, Fables and Maus are great too!
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Post by Adam! on Nov 9, 2009 18:56:27 GMT -5
What, no V for Vendetta yet? FAAAR superior to the movie.
Pretty much everything else that has been said here, I read terrible graphic novels (I read Buffy and Angel...), but Sandman is fucking excellent, and most Batman graphic novels are great. Definitly check out The Killing Joke and The Long Halloween.
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Post by Eankam on Nov 9, 2009 19:09:49 GMT -5
What, no V for Vendetta yet? FAAAR superior to the movie. Really? I'm intrigued because the movie was phenomenal. I'm definitely going to have to check this out.
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Post by sbr on Nov 9, 2009 20:40:38 GMT -5
I'm currently reading Black Hole. I don't really have anything to say because I just started it.
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Post by Terp Torp on Nov 9, 2009 21:26:12 GMT -5
What, no V for Vendetta yet? FAAAR superior to the movie. Really? I'm intrigued because the movie was phenomenal. I'm definitely going to have to check this out. The great thing about the book is that it presents everything equally, it's really like "Here's an anarchist terrorist and here's the fascist government, they fight." where the movie seemed more like a reaction to the American politics of the time transplanted to England for no apparent reason. I should also mention that the Constantine movie is absolutely nothing the comics. Like nowhere close.
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Post by jeremyzero on Nov 10, 2009 10:42:50 GMT -5
Really? I'm intrigued because the movie was phenomenal. I'm definitely going to have to check this out. The great thing about the book is that it presents everything equally, it's really like "Here's an anarchist terrorist and here's the fascist government, they fight." where the movie seemed more like a reaction to the American politics of the time transplanted to England for no apparent reason. I should also mention that the Constantine movie is absolutely nothing the comics. Like nowhere close. I wouldn't say it's 'equal'. It's pretty heavily skewed towards V's side, Moore is no fan of the government. I enjoy the book and the movie myself, for different reasons. The movie manages the idea and themes well, while straying from the content.
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Post by Adam! on Nov 10, 2009 17:56:52 GMT -5
don't get me wrong, i love the movie, but as with most adaptations, it loses the power of the original material.
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Post by xbeerdrinkerx on Nov 10, 2009 22:02:48 GMT -5
The great thing about the book is that it presents everything equally, it's really like "Here's an anarchist terrorist and here's the fascist government, they fight." where the movie seemed more like a reaction to the American politics of the time transplanted to England for no apparent reason. I should also mention that the Constantine movie is absolutely nothing the comics. Like nowhere close. I wouldn't say it's 'equal'. It's pretty heavily skewed towards V's side, Moore is no fan of the government. I enjoy the book and the movie myself, for different reasons. The movie manages the idea and themes well, while straying from the content. I agree with this. Moore was a lot more subtle with Watchmen though -- so much so that most comic nerds I know think Rorschach was the good guy. Talk about open to interpretation.
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Post by Terp Torp on Nov 10, 2009 22:11:28 GMT -5
I think that's part of the format though, you go in expecting that the people with the masks and the names are the good guys, and Rorschach is pretty much the focus of the book. The fact that he's a complete nutjob is something you have to pick up on. There's so much in Watchmen, god it's good.
As a minor aside, I've noticed they've switched all the recent printings of the books to the redone color scheme, I have an older copy with the original coloring and while Gibbons and Moore say it's bad, I like it. The strange neon-brightness makes things really cool.
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Post by llessica on Nov 16, 2009 21:58:39 GMT -5
I had a phase of graphic novel reading at the beginning of the year and then I ran out of money. I could definitely get them through the library, but oh well. Maybe same time next year I'll pick up where I left off.
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