So after years of just sticking to film/TV tie in stuff I've decided to give comics a proper go.

Ordered a few Batman to start. Basically just any I recognised the name of. The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Arkham Asylum, Year One and The Killing Joke.

What entry-level essentials do I need? Not just Batman, I just went there first since I'm familiar with the series through the cartoon and the films and shit.

At 1/19/11 02:44 PM, Blounty wrote: But what I don't know is if the weekly/ bi-weekly comics in America are structured in the same way as the ones I buy (3 parts of different comics in 1 book) or something like a quarter of a story in 1 comic book. So it would take either a month or 2 months to collect a story.

The way British comics and American comics work is very different. What the books you're reading are doing is acting a a somewhat cheap way to reprint material (and truthfully, I thought they'd stopped them once the companies started basically just importing the stuff whole hog across the pond). American comics are one story, 22, now 20 in in the case of DC I believe...stories. So if you go into the shop, and let's say by Thor #600, you're getting ONE story of Thor, or in reality probably one part of a Thor story (since they tend to pace them into "arcs" of four or five issues to make their collection as a "trade paperback" or "hardcover" more easy).

So in short, I guess it depends on which way you feel you're getting more value for money :)

At 2/28/11 12:13 PM, TheMaster wrote: What entry-level essentials do I need? Not just Batman, I just went there first since I'm familiar with the series through the cartoon and the films and shit.

What do you mean by entry level? A lot of people get bogged down with this. They think comics can only tell one type of story, or that somehow you should be reading everything (which isn't really possible). It's like film or television, it depends on what we're talking about, and depends on your particular tastes. That tends to be much more useful then just rattling off a bunch of titles that have been declared "classics" by others.

At 2/28/11 09:50 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: What do you mean by entry level? A lot of people get bogged down with this. They think comics can only tell one type of story, or that somehow you should be reading everything (which isn't really possible). It's like film or television, it depends on what we're talking about, and depends on your particular tastes. That tends to be much more useful then just rattling off a bunch of titles that have been declared "classics" by others.

I guess I'm looking for a taste of the different styles, then. Atomic Robo is the only non-tie in series I read, so I don't really know what type of comic I prefer yet.

At 3/1/11 04:45 AM, TheMaster wrote: I guess I'm looking for a taste of the different styles, then. Atomic Robo is the only non-tie in series I read, so I don't really know what type of comic I prefer yet.

Hmmm, ok, let me just hit you with some stuff I've read, or currently read, a little bio, and you decide if any of it works:

Monthlies:

Thor: Like mythology and super people? Then you're most likely going to like Thor. The current monthly right now is just getting started under Matt Fraction (and sadly is not meeting my expectations as it seems concerned with an epic battle that doesn't feel right, and undoing parts of the Thor relaunch Fraction doesn't like), but there are some excellent collections you could try to get a feel for what Thor is about. If you want to read from the beginning, check out the 4 essential volumes with a 5th coming. Also try the 4 current volumes of Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr's run that started in 99 and ran until about 03 or 04. There's some great stuff there and I can't wait until "The Reigning" starts getting collected. You'll also want the Omnibus by Walter Simonson (who did the definitive Thor run).

Fables: The continuing struggles of our favorite fairy tale characters who have been exiled from their homelands by a mysterious power known only as The Adversary. Forced to hide in our mundane world...with each other, trying to make their small community work in the face of old grudges, political maneuvering, and just generally shitty people...in short, kind of like the rest of us. Probably the best ongoing series on the stands right now.

The Walking Dead: Like the TV Show? The original comics are EVEN BETTER! Zombie fiction focusing on the survivors of the apocalypse, the way it should be dammit.

Secret Six: Join Catman, Scandal Savage, Bane, Jeanette (a Banshee), Deadshot, and Ragdoll. Six morally screwed up individuals who work as a mercenary team and form one of the most unlikely familial type relationships in comics. I have never met anyone that doesn't like this book. All the characters are bent, but aren't pathetically one dimensionally "bad" or "good" they exist in an interesting crossroads between the two extremes. An absolute monthly treat that I'm always looking forward to.

Not monthly, collections of work, notable minis:

Watchmen: Everyone should have read Watchmen, fantastic work.

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison: A "mad ideas" kind of series from Grant Morrison about identity and insanity. Love it.

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore: The gold standard of modern comics horror.

Preacher: A lone preacher, on a mission to find God after he's abandoned his creation. With his trigger happy ex and a morally bankrupt irish vampire. So many moments of insanity, depravity, and yet with a lot of heart.

Fallen Angel: A mysterious woman, in the city that "shapes the world". She'll help you...but only if she thinks you deserve it. And then there's that mysterious old bartender she hangs out with...a modern classic by Peter David, and now finally available in complete form from IDW. Another favorite.

Hulk, By Peter David: The DEFINITIVE run on the Hulk. One of the greatest pieces of super hero fiction ever made.

That's about all I've got for now! In the end, think about what sort of stories and genres you like, and let that help guide your selections.

At 3/1/11 02:01 PM, aviewaskewed wrote: That's about all I've got for now! In the end, think about what sort of stories and genres you like, and let that help guide your selections.

Thanks, man. Think I'll give Swamp Thing a look first, once Amazon or Forbidden Planet get some of the first volume in stock.

At 3/1/11 04:39 PM, TheMaster wrote: Thanks, man. Think I'll give Swamp Thing a look first, once Amazon or Forbidden Planet get some of the first volume in stock.

Try to give Forbidden Planet the cash if you can. We really need the DM strong because right now it's the best, steadiest distribution system comics has.

I'd also like to point out it's getting near renewal time for The Endless Crew website again. Want another forum to frequent? (Though admittedly this is a plea to kind of stick some jumper cables onto it as it's been pretty dead lately), or want to offer up pieces about comics and comic related type stuff? This is a fun little site where you can do that. I'm going to have to try and start blocking out time again to try and do this myself to kind of justify the place again a bit.

Say the word and I'd love to write more for the endless crew. With the crop of comic book movies coming out now my particular nich'e has plenty of material.
On that topic, I'd like to talk about one I just got. I picked up Black Panter, the latest in the Marvel Knights line of animated flicks. I expected it to be a continuation of the character from ultimate avengers two but that it was not. It was a mini series produced by b.e.t and had a completly different animation style to the rest of the line. It's that weird just a notch over motion comics animation.
Be warned before you watch, this is very politically motivated. It can be hamfisted at times and at others it completly forgets it's supposed to be about a super hero. I'd rate it somewhere between ok and good.
On a personal note, I took offence when the military advisor remarked that "The Wakandans have a fighting spirit that makes the Vietnamese look like the French."

At 3/24/11 09:33 PM, stafffighter wrote: Say the word and I'd love to write more for the endless crew. With the crop of comic book movies coming out now my particular nich'e has plenty of material.

Go for it. I do plan on renewing (and doing some more stuff here and there myself there as soon as I can not be so bloody goddamn wiped out most days). I think it's going to be a lot more "free base, do whatever" going forward then trying to have any structure (because fuck it, we aren't gonna make money off this thing, so we may as well just have some fun with it).

Started picking up Uncanny X-Force as I fill in my collection from prior...the last series was good, and this one I think shows a lot of promise (and a much more fun and interesting lineup then last time around). I also like that this sort of fills in that logic problem I always had with Wolverine on the X-Men...insofar as here's a guy that is much older and more experienced of the world then the rest of them. He's seen some of the shittiest things humans have done to each other. He's a guy that doesn't like to kill, but has done so when the situation calls for it...so how the fuck does he take that off the table when dealing with just complete irredeemable scumbags like Apocalypse or Sinister? This is the answer: When he's leading X-Force, he fucking well doesn't. But he doesn't really revel in it either, it's just a dirty job that needs doing.

I bought Part 1 of Y: The Last Man the other day. After the reference in Chuck I decided it could be something interesting to try reading. So far it's great and I'm looking forward to shelling out more cash for the rest of the series.

At 8/7/11 01:11 AM, Makeshift wrote: I bought Part 1 of Y: The Last Man the other day. After the reference in Chuck I decided it could be something interesting to try reading. So far it's great and I'm looking forward to shelling out more cash for the rest of the series.

Consistently good work I heard, I only ever got the first trade myself, one of those things that got put on a list to finish but hasn't happened yet

I love comix. I shall revive this club. REVIVE!!!!!!

At 4/22/12 12:16 PM, WorshipTimmyTheMod wrote: I love comix. I shall revive this club. REVIVE!!!!!!

I think it might be more helpful to talk about what comics, characters, or comic related stuff you love :)

I would like to be a part of this club. How do I sign up?

At 6/4/12 10:37 PM, DoctorStrongbad wrote: I would like to be a part of this club. How do I sign up?

Just jump on in and start talking about whatever comics or comic related stuff tickles your fancy. Books, movies, cartoons, tv shows, whatever. This is the place for all things comics

There is going to be a new Green Arrow TV show called Arrow coming to the WB. It will be somewhat of a spinoff from Smalleville. Oliver Quinn has a reoccurring role, and win now get his own series.
What do we think?

I'm looking for some comics to buy, and I was wondering if there was any specific ones that were particularly good.

I'd like to have comics featuring these specific characters :

Gambit
Colossus
Deadpool
Wolverine
Magneto
Silver Surfer
Venom

And obviously, I don't want to get the costy and rare stuff, but rather some affordable comics I could buy off the internet or in a comic book store.

Thanks people :)

At 6/5/12 04:04 PM, HeavenDuff wrote: I'm looking for some comics to buy, and I was wondering if there was any specific ones that were particularly good.

Oh, there's a metric crap ton! At least in my opinion.

I'd like to have comics featuring these specific characters :
Gambit

Hmmm, he's been off the radar lately...I would suggest that the only "recent" stuff I know of with Gambit is Mike Carrey's run on "X-Men Legacy". I've also heard talk of another Gambit series, and there might be some collections around of his older series.

Colossus

Regularly appearing in "Uncanny X-Men" monthly, and also in Marvel's latest crossover AVX (Avengers vs. X-Men)

Deadpool

He has his own book, and I also cannot recommend highly enough "Uncanny X-Force" which he also appears in every month. Fantastic work for my money.

Wolverine

Has his own book, also is leading his own X-Men team in "Wolverine and The X-Men" which just released it's first collection (though frankly I feel it's over priced in hardcover, wait for the softcover is my recommendation) and also leads the aforementioned "Uncanny X-Force" also appearing in the main and "New" Avengers titles. Wolverine is just everywhere man.

Magneto

He has SEVERAL mini series that are collected. He also appears monthly as a member of Cyclops's "Uncanny X-Men"

Silver Surfer

Another one that's been off the radar for awhile...old FF and his own short lived series are the only things I know of right now. You could also pick up some old "Defenders" collections as well for your fix.

Venom

Which Venom? I really like the current monthly with current Venom Flash Thompson which is one of the best reboots of a concept in a long time I feel. There's lots of Eddie Brock Venom collected. The Mac Gargan era reaches a high point with "Dark Reign" a couple years ago and I recommend that era of "Thunderbolts" (collected in full and in print from Marvel) and his "Dark Avengers" stint.

And obviously, I don't want to get the costy and rare stuff, but rather some affordable comics I could buy off the internet or in a comic book store.

Hopefully I've given you a decent list of things to keep your eyes peeled for. Remember if you don't see it in the stores, ASK YOUR RETAILER TO ORDER IT!!! If they actually like money, they'll be more then happy to do it for you.

Thanks people :)

Welcome.

Hey Aview, have you watched any of Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men on AMC?

I've heard some things about it, both good and bad, and was wondering if it was worth my time. I'd consider your opinion valid on this...

At 6/11/12 09:59 PM, ZJ wrote: Hey Aview, have you watched any of Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men on AMC?

I've heard some things about it, both good and bad, and was wondering if it was worth my time. I'd consider your opinion valid on this...

I've seen it. It's pretty good, not incredible, but enjoyable. There's only six episodes, so I'd say you should give it a watch if you're interested in comic book memorabilia and such, since that's the main focus of the show.

At 6/11/12 09:59 PM, ZJ wrote: Hey Aview, have you watched any of Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men on AMC?

Every episode, and listened to the podcasts too. Great stuff and The Stash actually isn't super far away from me either. Been meaning to road trip, Stafff keeps saying he wants to see me in there dickering with Flannagan, lol.

I've heard some things about it, both good and bad, and was wondering if it was worth my time. I'd consider your opinion valid on this...

I think if you're a fan of comics and geek culture it's worth your time to have a look at. I think it's definitely a show that got stronger as it went on and everybody is pretty much perfect in the roles they've been given.

Hey, it seems there hasn't been a post in quite a long time. I'm fairly new to Marvel Comics but I have the basic knowledge of a lot of heroes and villians, I wanted to learn more about Wolverine(bought Wolverine Origins Vol 1:Born in blood a few days ago) Ironman,Iron Fist,The X Men,Thor, and Spiderman. Do you think anyone here could recommend me something? I was going to get Oldman Logan but I didn't have enough money.

At 7/28/12 05:51 AM, GoodFang wrote: Hey, it seems there hasn't been a post in quite a long time.

People seem to come and go, I'm always around, but I'm not going to keep bumping my own thread. That'd just be annoying. :)

I'm fairly new to Marvel Comics but I have the basic knowledge of a lot of heroes and villians, I wanted to learn more about Wolverine(bought Wolverine Origins Vol 1:Born in blood a few days ago)

There is a TON of Wolverine out there. I'd suggest if you're doing things on a budget and won't get mad about a lack of color or general paper quality you check out Marvel's "Essentials" programs for both Wolverine and the X-Men as that'd give you pretty much all you need on his earliest stuff.

Ironman,

Again, Essentials are the cheapest way, Iron Man and Avengers would be the lines to look at.

Iron Fist,

Look for the original "Heroes for Hire" stuff, not sure if there's an essentials there...I believe the series was actually called Power Man and Iron Fist and not Heroes for Hire. There have also been a couple of aborted ongoings for Iron Fist in the last couple of years as well.

The X Men,

Again, metric crap ton, also lots of different X-Men and X-Teams. So first I'd say decide on what version it is you want to really follow, and take it from there. Prior to the 80's explosion though I'd recommend again trying out the "Essentials" for that and of course a good trade of The Dark Phoenix Saga.

Thor,

Essential Thor vol. 1-5. You also MUST get Walt Simonson's run (Marvel just released an omnibus last year of all that). Beyond that I also highly recommend the work Dan Jurgens did on the character with JRJR and other artists (that one unfortunately is spread across multiple books but I could give you a list if you'd like).

and Spiderman.

The Essentials are again a great place to go for the earliest Spidey stuff and there's some other great and assorted trades out there as well (but I'm not sure on the "in print" status of some of the best stuff that I've grabbed over the years).

I've been hammering through Swamp Thing recently, from the very beginning. I'd read bits of Moore's run before, but nothing else. Up to just after the Crisis/war on heaven stuff has been resolved. Loving it.

At 9/12/12 07:11 AM, SG3 wrote: I'm searching online for TPBs of the 90s incarnation of Aquaman (vol 5?), but I can't seem to find any. Are there really none available, or am I just looking wrong? It would be fantastic if someone could help steer me in the right direction.

Tried ebay? There's a lot of dealers and things on ebay...I might know of one or two that might have something as well.

Wow, I can't believe I never found this club!

Anyway, I'd definitely like to join. I usually only collect comics from the golden age and the silver age, but I've started to branch out a little and collect things from the modern. My favorite comics to collect are: early Batman 1st series; Superman 1st series; Ironman 1st series. As for the modern, I've started collecting some of the new Spider-man comics (especially the new variant covers). I recently got a great deal on a CGC 9.8 copy of Spider-man 583B; which I feel is going to be a great sell in the future.

If anyone has any recommendations for some good modern age comics, I'd be interested!

Also, any opinions on Batman 227? Do you guys feel that it is the best Neil Adams cover/issue to have or is there one better? I've been considering investing in some comics from the Adams's era

At 9/15/12 10:53 AM, SG3 wrote: Is it terrible that the only Batman I've read is The Dark Knight Returns?

Kinda. I haven't really read the new batman comics and I have no desire to, mainly because I heard they killed off Wayne and they keep changing the Batman universe, I prefer the oldies. You could always try buying some old VG copies from the silver age to see if you like any of the classic stories.

I guess I just never found him a relatable hero. The Nolan movies are well done, but I never managed to emotionally resonate with the character. And as far as rule-of-cool goes, I didn't really find him that much of a bad-ass. Maybe it's because so many characters just copy the Batman personality, then add some extra shtick.

I actually don't like Batman because I think he's a badass. The Nolan movies really tried to convey him that way, and they did a great job, but the main reason I like Batman is because he was the world's greatest detective. I really enjoyed the mystery solving aspect of the comics and I also loved "Batman: The animated series". The animated series really did a fantastic job of redefining the Batman character and making it more realistic. I agree though, lots of newer characters kinda play off the Batman personality (most notably Rorschach from "Watchmen") and it gets old.

If I was to pick a comic book hero/villain who I thought was a badass, I would say Deadpool or Venom. >:D

At 9/13/11 08:47 PM, aviewaskewed wrote:

At 8/7/11 01:11 AM, Makeshift wrote: I bought Part 1 of Y: The Last Man the other day. After the reference in Chuck I decided it could be something interesting to try reading. So far it's great and I'm looking forward to shelling out more cash for the rest of the series.

Consistently good work I heard, I only ever got the first trade myself, one of those things that got put on a list to finish but hasn't happened yet

Wow, this post is over a year old.

Anyway, I did end up reading the whole series shortly after finishing the first book. Definitely one of the best series of book / television show I've gone through. I love those characters.

At 9/15/12 11:37 PM, Makeshift wrote: Definitely one of the best series of book / television show I've gone through.

I didn't mean to say it was a TV show, but that it is better than most TV shows I've watched.

At 9/15/12 11:30 PM, Pride wrote:

At 9/15/12 10:53 AM, SG3 wrote: Is it terrible that the only Batman I've read is The Dark Knight Returns?

Kinda. I haven't really read the new batman comics and I have no desire to, mainly because I heard they killed off Wayne and they keep changing the Batman universe, I prefer the oldies. You could always try buying some old VG copies from the silver age to see if you like any of the classic stories.

Batman Year One is a really great book. If you haven't read that, you should. I still need to watch the animated film of it.

At 9/15/12 11:40 PM, Makeshift wrote: Batman Year One is a really great book. If you haven't read that, you should. I still need to watch the animated film of it.

Year One is excellent work. I really enjoyed 99's No Man's Land mega-event as well (DC just started recollecting that) I think in a lot of ways it strips Batman back to his most primal elements of being a heroic force in a city that seems to reject it almost deep in it's soul. I also think with Batman to really enjoy the character you have to find an era and approach that works for you (there's 80 fucking years of history there...) and a lot of times it comes down to what rogue is being used for the story...that matters too.

I'm always down for a good Joker, as just about anybody is...but I also (and sometimes prefer) a good Ra's Al Ghul (Batman's dark mirror) or Two-Face (the tragic villain). I think that if you look at those three, it really points out what is best in Bat-villains: The greats are the ones that follow a similar path to some part of what makes up Batman...but take a sharp left at some point where he made a right.

Just got caught up on a few things...newest Shade series ended, was pretty good, but overall felt like it didn't quite achieve what I'd hoped, might read better all in one sitting though. Uncanny X-Force continues to impress as it sadly winds down. Rick Remender may be my new favorite writer of the moment at Marvel, and thus I may have to try his Uncanny Avengers when it debuts.