Graphic Novels - Recommend / Discuss!

[kdawq]

Originally Posted by Mykspawn02

Recently read Batman Earth One I highly recommend this one for any Batman fan.

+1 outstanding read totally agree

[Mykspawn02]

Been on a X-men kick as of late so I ended up reading
House of M
Second Coming
Messiah Complex
Astonishing X-men
Utopia
Endsong

All of these were really good except Utopia I thought that it was just OK but the others were amazing, really got me to think that either Hope or Scarlet Witch is the most powerful mutant.

[dvd_mazter]

The last few trades I've read:

Superman: Earth One: Volume 2 - I wasn't blown away by the first entry and Volume 2 has the same problems with odd charactierzations especially on Lois and I found the art to be suprisingly messy in spots (odd for such a high profile release). Plus side, their Parasite take was actually pretty intruging, Superman's humanity is a big focus and the ending hooked me to pick-up the third volume.

Mudman: Volume 1 - I always love trying out these Image series in trades (only 10 bucks too). Mudman has a Spider-man vibe going for it. I enjoyed reading it but nothing particularly stood out so I don't think I'd continue picking it up.

Saga: Volume 1 - Without a shadow of a doubt, 2012's series of the year. Brian K Vaughn and Fiona Staples are doing amazing things with this comic - gorgeous art, sharp writing and big ideas - a Must-Buy in my opinion!

Underwater Welder - Jeff Lemire is one of my personal favourite writers working (Sweet Tooth is always fantastic) and this book is great. It's like an episode of Twilight Zone and is full of Lemire's beautiful stylized art and strong writing.

Those are the novels that stood out recently but as for my higest recommendations. (I'll avoid the great picks everyone posted so far to limit repeats!)

Essex County (Jeff Lemire - brilliant storytelling plus Canadian!)
Chew (John Layman - utterly hilarious)
Daredevil (Mark Waid - Waid's reboot is beyond delightful)
Runaways (Brian K Vaughn - Teen superheroes done right)

and perhaps my favourite graphic novel of all time:

Daytripper (Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon) - No comic has ever stood out to me more with it's sheer beauty in storytelling than this book! If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so

[CoopFilm]

Originally Posted by dvd_mazter

Daytripper

I LOVE this one.

[Nuke67]

1.Watchmen
2.The Golden Age
3.JLA/Avengers
4.JLA Earth 2
5.Sandman Neil Gaiman
6.Kingdom Come
7.Batman The Killing Joke
8.The Dark Knight Returns.
9.Marvel Zombies
10. Batman Year One.
11.Justice League The Nail
12.Death the high cost of living.
13.Joss Whedon's Fray
14.Marvel Apes

There are a lot more good ones as well. If you have a local library check there for graphic novels, all our libraries in the area are connected through a network, I go online and check out graphic novels from all over and they are delivered to our local library. You can check if yours does that, and they might have some on hand. A nice cheap way of reading a wide variety..lol

[6AM]

Here are some comics that I love that I don't think have been mentioned yet. I'm not sure how available any of these are and not all of them are superhero books.

Blankets - Craig Thompson
Cerebus - Dave Sim
Doom Patrol - Grant Morrison
Jimmy Corrigan - Chris Ware
Goon - Eric Powell
Madman - Mike Allred
Mage : The Hero Discovered - Matt Wagner
Miracleman - Alan Moore / Neil Gaiman
Moonshadow - J.M. DeMatteis
Optic Nerve - Adrian Tomine
Why I Hate Saturn - Kyle Baker

[IronFist]

Originally Posted by 6AM

Miracleman - Alan Moore / Neil Gaiman

I have been trying to complete my collection of graphic novels of miracleman forever. People just want too much for them.
(btw I like the Watchmen but think it is over rated)

My Recommends besides already mentioned:
Planetary
100 Bullets
Criminal
Sleeper
Powers
Spaceman
Y the last Man
Planetary

I put Planetary twice as it is a comic written for comic fans.

For all the people out there who liked the movie Drive, read 100 Bullets and the Criminal series, they are phenomenal.

As a commentary, I think all of the old Vertigo titles are worth a read , as the companies took all the writers/artists and gobbled them up for the superhero titles.

[Gone2HiDef]

Originally Posted by dvd_mazter

The last few trades I've read:

Superman: Earth One: Volume 2 - I wasn't blown away by the first entry and Volume 2 has the same problems with odd charactierzations especially on Lois and I found the art to be suprisingly messy in spots (odd for such a high profile release). Plus side, their Parasite take was actually pretty intruging, Superman's humanity is a big focus and the ending hooked me to pick-up the third volume.

Yeah, I didn't quite understand the big hoopla over Volume 1 either. I thought it was okay. But Batman: Earth One Volume 1 is a completely different story. That book is amazingly good for something that breaks so many rules with the Batman canon, you'd think it would put Batman fans off. But it rocks!

[Gone2HiDef]

Originally Posted by silversnake

I tried reading Watchmen but felt it overwhelming with text everywhere, but it does look great.

I know you feel. I took me decades before I finally just bit the bullet and read every single word of that graphic novel. And let me tell you, it was worth it! It is an amazing read, especially after realizing the fact that even the prose interstitial stuff included between the panel art chapters supports the main story. Astounding read and so glad I forced myself to get through it all.

[AnimalChin]

Crisis on Infinite Earths - I've had this on my bookshelf for a while but haven't read it yet. Am I going to be lost at all if my DC knowledge is average?

[Gone2HiDef]

Everyone's posting their lists. Here's my list of faves.

The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: Year One
Batman: Strange Apparitions (which I read as single issues as they came out, but the story's so good, I highly recommend this collected edition)
Marvels
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Civil War
Josh Whedon's Fray (thanks for listing that, Nuke67)
Batman: The Killing Joke
Green Lantern: Rebirth
Green Lantern: Secret Origin
Pride of Baghdad
Watchmen
Batman: Earth One
Superman: For All Seasons
Kingdom Come (I also have the awesome dramatized audio cassette version too!)
Road to Perdition
Batman Adventures: Mad Love
DC: The New Frontier

[The Nice Guy]

For the last few months I've been really thinking of buying a few graphic novels to read but I had no clue where to start until now. Thanks Guys Now I have to figure out where to buy them from .

[MikeH5856]

Originally Posted by The Nice Guy

For the last few months I've been really thinking of buying a few graphic novels to read but I had no clue where to start until now. Thanks Guys Now I have to figure out where to buy them from .

I'd recommend TalesofWonder or CheapGraphicNovels websites. I've also heard good things about InStockTrades but have not personally purchased anything from them. Amazon is kind of hit-or-miss, given their lax packaging standards, and I've had a few paperback trades ruined by the delivery process (they just used a thin envelope for one and my mailman manhandled and folded it to get it into the mailbox...). TOW and CGN are good though and provide some very sturdy packaging.

[jconklin519]

Has anybody read this and is it really any good?

[kinjutsu11]

Originally Posted by jconklin519

Has anybody read this and is it really any good?

Very cool take on Superman. I enjoyed it and Mark Millar is a good writer. This is one of his best works, not including his own creator-owned stuff.

My current list of GN's would be:
Batman - Black Mirror - Great story pre-new 52 by snyder
Chew - really funny series, great pacing
Irredeemable - Mark Waid again, really cool take on a "Superman" type hero going bad
Incorruptible - Not as good as irredeemable, but in the same universe and the flip context (bad guy going good). great in conjunction with Irredeemable, ok on its own.
Walking Dead - duh
Thief of Thieves - didn't pick up the issues, so tried the trade. Quite surprised by the pacing, storytelling mechanic, and now I'm ready for the next one.
Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 - Real fun, and different (slightly) from the movie, I recommend reading them for more Kick-Ass fun. Waiting for Hit-Girl to hit since the issue release has been shoddy
Soulfire - I recently picked this up and just started. I've always liked Michael Turner and the first volume of Fathom was one I enjoyed. Cool take on dragons, magic, and technology. I really enjoy the artwork.

New 52 Trades - Batman vol1, GL vol1, and Aquaman vol1 are must haves. I would also recommend Flash and Wonder Woman because those have been artistically dynamic, and solid on their stories. Batwoman also gets kudos to its art dynamics.

I could go on forever, but no one wants to hear that

[The Nice Guy]

Originally Posted by kinjutsu11

Very cool take on Superman. I enjoyed it and Mark Waid is a good writer. This is one of his best works, not including his own creator-owned stuff.

My current list of GN's would be:
Batman - Black Mirror - Great story pre-new 52 by snyder
Chew - really funny series, great pacing
Irredeemable - Mark Waid again, really cool take on a "Superman" type hero going bad
Incorruptible - Not as good as irredeemable, but in the same universe and the flip context (bad guy going good). great in conjunction with Irredeemable, ok on its own.
Walking Dead - duh
Thief of Thieves - didn't pick up the issues, so tried the trade. Quite surprised by the pacing, storytelling mechanic, and now I'm ready for the next one.
Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 - Real fun, and different (slightly) from the movie, I recommend reading them for more Kick-Ass fun. Waiting for Hit-Girl to hit since the issue release has been shoddy
Soulfire - I recently picked this up and just started. I've always liked Michael Turner and the first volume of Fathom was one I enjoyed. Cool take on dragons, magic, and technology. I really enjoy the artwork.

New 52 Trades - Batman vol1, GL vol1, and Aquaman vol1 are must haves. I would also recommend Flash and Wonder Woman because those have been artistically dynamic, and solid on their stories. Batwoman also gets kudos to its art dynamics.

I could go on forever, but no one wants to hear that

I do

[Leslie Vernon]

Superman: Red Son

An elseworld's book where instead of landing in Kansas he lands in Communist Russia. A friend of mine who hates Superman loved this book. It's written by Mark Millar so that should tell you right there it's worth reading.

[King Troll]

kick ass

[Supermansw]

+1 to Miracleman...been awhile since I read it, time to dig it out.

[saprano]

Any reason why Gotham Central collected editions are listed as hardcover when they're paperback? I just got book 1 in the line of duty and it's a paperback.

Barns & Noble is the only one who list it right. Or is there hardcovers i don't know about?

Book is amazing so far by the way.