What are the best comic books that....
- Thread starter IndyFanChuck
- Start date
Larry Young
Master Member
Chuck, as a youth minister, you're not going to like PREACHER. :lol
KnightAsylum
Sr Member
I know that is a risk, but I know more then a few folks that I would have thought that for the same reason but I was wrong.
Larry Young
Master Member
That's why I wrote what I did up-top about hand-selling.
Solo4114
Master Member
Oh, a few other recommendations. I know you dig Blade, so I'm assuming you dig action in your comics. Towards that end, I can recommend two fun, interesting, and fairly different-feeling sets of tales involving the same author/artist, a guy named Tim Truman.
- Grimjack. You can pick these up as trade paperbacks (actually, you can buy 'em directly off Tim Truman's website, which is what I'd recommend since that way he'll pocket more of the cash). He co-wrote this with John Ostrander, and did the art for it. It's fairly old stuff, but Grimjack is this weird hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi taking place in an a dimension where "all dimensions meet." It fuses hardboiled detective fiction with sorcery and blasters. Weird combo, but I find it works. Now, bear in mind when you read it that, when it was originally written (early 80s -- like '82? '83 maybe?) there weren't a lot of "grim and gritty" superheroes. Taken in that vein, Grimjack is a pretty interesting comic in terms of where comics ended UP going by the early 90s (where EVERYTHING was "grim and gritty"). This came out before Watchmen, before Crisis on Infinite Earths, and before The Punisher had his own title, and WAY before ANYONE ever heard of Lobo.
- Scout and Scout: War Shaman. These are works of speculative fiction, taking place in a (then) alternate future for the U.S. (it's our past, now). They were written in...'88-'90? Something like that, anyway. The protagonist is a rogue Apache who is on a mission to slay "monsters." These are traditional Apache monsters that he's killing, but they also happen to be (in human form) various higher-ups in the now incredibly corrupt U.S. government. Is Scout insane? Is he being given visions by higher powers? Either way, it's a rockin' ride. the story continues past the "monsters" arc, although I think to date only that and the subsequent 8 issues have been collected in TPBs. You can find the individual issues in shops still, though, or on Ebay. War Shaman continues the story several years after the events of the first title. There are two shorter interim tales that bridge the gap, but tehy were written and drawn by other folks, with Truman's overall guidance. Great stories, interesting, atypical artwork, and a neat take on a vaguely post-apocalyptic (more post-decline) vision of the future.
You might also want to check out some of the Grendel series, although I'm not the best person to ask where to start on that, since I've only read some of the later, more action-oriented stuff. I started with Grendel: War Child, which I found to be quite cool. Another alternate future tale, very action packed.
Lastly, there's the Martha Washington series by Frank Miller and illustrated by the incomparable Dave Gibbons. It's yet another bleak vision of the future (what?! I like speculative fiction. Sue me.), although it's fairly heavy-handed in terms of its socio-political satire. Good action, nonetheless. Start with Give Me Liberty and go from there.
- Grimjack. You can pick these up as trade paperbacks (actually, you can buy 'em directly off Tim Truman's website, which is what I'd recommend since that way he'll pocket more of the cash). He co-wrote this with John Ostrander, and did the art for it. It's fairly old stuff, but Grimjack is this weird hybrid of fantasy and sci-fi taking place in an a dimension where "all dimensions meet." It fuses hardboiled detective fiction with sorcery and blasters. Weird combo, but I find it works. Now, bear in mind when you read it that, when it was originally written (early 80s -- like '82? '83 maybe?) there weren't a lot of "grim and gritty" superheroes. Taken in that vein, Grimjack is a pretty interesting comic in terms of where comics ended UP going by the early 90s (where EVERYTHING was "grim and gritty"). This came out before Watchmen, before Crisis on Infinite Earths, and before The Punisher had his own title, and WAY before ANYONE ever heard of Lobo.
- Scout and Scout: War Shaman. These are works of speculative fiction, taking place in a (then) alternate future for the U.S. (it's our past, now). They were written in...'88-'90? Something like that, anyway. The protagonist is a rogue Apache who is on a mission to slay "monsters." These are traditional Apache monsters that he's killing, but they also happen to be (in human form) various higher-ups in the now incredibly corrupt U.S. government. Is Scout insane? Is he being given visions by higher powers? Either way, it's a rockin' ride. the story continues past the "monsters" arc, although I think to date only that and the subsequent 8 issues have been collected in TPBs. You can find the individual issues in shops still, though, or on Ebay. War Shaman continues the story several years after the events of the first title. There are two shorter interim tales that bridge the gap, but tehy were written and drawn by other folks, with Truman's overall guidance. Great stories, interesting, atypical artwork, and a neat take on a vaguely post-apocalyptic (more post-decline) vision of the future.
You might also want to check out some of the Grendel series, although I'm not the best person to ask where to start on that, since I've only read some of the later, more action-oriented stuff. I started with Grendel: War Child, which I found to be quite cool. Another alternate future tale, very action packed.
Lastly, there's the Martha Washington series by Frank Miller and illustrated by the incomparable Dave Gibbons. It's yet another bleak vision of the future (what?! I like speculative fiction. Sue me.), although it's fairly heavy-handed in terms of its socio-political satire. Good action, nonetheless. Start with Give Me Liberty and go from there.
Larry Young
Master Member
There's some interesting SCOUT news coming up. 
Slave1
Sr Member
That's pretty hard when you rule out magic, and mutants, and superpowers. And that would seem to imply anything with fantastic elements.
So, though The Preacher and The Walking Dead are excellent, they still deal with the supernatural, and therefore can't count. I guess Sandman wouldn't count either. Or Hellboy or Mignolas other BPRD or Witchfinder series. And any of the Stephen King adaptations.
So, I guess I'd say 100 Bullets is interesting and leave it at that since I can't think of anything else that doesn't have supernatural elements.
So, though The Preacher and The Walking Dead are excellent, they still deal with the supernatural, and therefore can't count. I guess Sandman wouldn't count either. Or Hellboy or Mignolas other BPRD or Witchfinder series. And any of the Stephen King adaptations.
So, I guess I'd say 100 Bullets is interesting and leave it at that since I can't think of anything else that doesn't have supernatural elements.
Troy Hickman
New Member
It will probably come as a HUGE surprise, but I'd highly recommend both Twilight Guardian and Common Grounds! They're superhero books, but only in the same sense that Driving Miss Daisy is a car chase movie...
Larry Young
Master Member
BWAHAHAHA
Nice first post.
Nice first post.
Didn't read it, saw the flick.....Ghost World.
Jack T Chance
Sr Member
The problem with your expressed desire is that you're instantly ruling out some of the best, most innovative, most IMPORTANT comics ever published, stories that innovated in big ways and have helped the medium mature and grow, stories that examined the themes you're tired of in ways that were fresh and new (at least at the time, anyway) and thus reinvigorated the medium.
Stories like....
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, hailed by many as the Greatest Graphic Novel Ever Written, and the only graphic novel to make it onto the NY Times list of the 100 Greatest NOVELS of the 20th Century! Rule out superheroes and you rule out Alan Moore's deconstruction of the main superhero archetypes. Of course, 25 years after its original release, its true significance and impact seems to be lost on those that weren't collecting and reading comics in the mid-'80s when it first came out.
You also rule out Wanted from the twisted minds of Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, which is, for all intents and purposes, the Super VILLAIN version of Watchmen! And don't judge it by the movie version. While good, quite a LOT of the story had to be changed for film-goers, because the average film-goer wouldn't have had a clue what the graphic novel was even talking about!
And lastly, you rule out my pick for Best Ongoing Comic Being Published Today... POWERS by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, the story of detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, homicide detectives working the Powers Beat... investigating the deaths of superheroes and super villains! It was created to combine Bendis' love of police procedurals like Homicide: Life on the Street with his love of superheroes, and is consistently one of the best books out there. It shows you the darker side of a world with superheroes, the side that most superhero comics ignore. It shows you how the existence of superheroes and super villains affects everyone else in the world, people like the cops that have to clean up the messes the superhumans leave behind. In that regard, it follows in the footsteps of Watchmen, which was Alan Moore's examination of how the existence of superheroes would reshape the world and change the face of history. POWERS also happens to be filming in the very near future as a pilot for the FX Network!
thumbsupBut since you want to rule out anything and everything having to do with everything that makes comic books COOL... there's really no books I can suggest for you. I mean, I guess you could check out The Lone Ranger or something. Maybe the current G.I.*Joe series from IDW, if the Joe team isn't too "superheroic" for your taste. But that'd be about it.
Larry Young
Master Member
There hasn't been a superhero comic that's re-invigorated the medium, ever. All re-invigorations of the medium have been funny animal-barbarian comics (CEREBUS), sexy 50s pin-up SF (LOVE AND ROCKETS) and Lord of the Rings for elementary school kids (BONE). The medium is always invigorated; superheroes are stunting the growth. Look at BD in France.
Also, WATCHMEN is spectacularly over-rated. Second-rate Charlton rejects given second life by pooping on them; excellent. :lol CAMELOT 3000 was more innovative, given that DARK KNIGHT, Marshall Rogers' DETECTIVE, and ELEKTRA were already priming the pump.
Jack T Chance
Sr Member
Thank you. I had forgotten to mention Camelot 3000! :$
Great book and one I recommend highly! Oh, but wait... it's got MAGIC! Guess that crosses it off the list, too! :rolleyes
That's also why I didn't mention things like Dark Horse's excellent Conan comics... even though the Original Poster might find a lot to like about them.
Solo4114
Master Member
There's some interesting SCOUT news coming up.
Oh TELL me they're finally getting around to the stories about the two boys. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!!
I know they started re-releasing the series (although I'm curious how they'd work in the Monday stories and some of the other side-story stuff from each issue), but I wasn't sure how far it'd gone.
--EDIT--
Side note -- Tim Truman (if you become a fan of his style, and I am) did the DHC Conan stuff, at least initially. Dunno if he stayed on for the whole thing or if it's still running.
As for superhero comics, eh, I think that they're the "down the middle" stuff. Better than, say, Archie or Marvel's Star imprint. To the extent that they innovate, they innovate within the genre periodically. That's where stuff like Watchmen comes in. It takes superhero fiction and, as Larry says, poops on it (basically -- alternatively, "turns it on its head"). It plays with the genre itself, but in doing so, is still bound by the genre's conventions. So, yes, you get beyond the typical superhero stuff (or you did at the time), but you are still stuck in superhero mode of a type. Plus, Watchmen was arguably a part of a larger shifting away from the tone that had dominated comics for several decades...and led us down the road paved with "gritty" heroes of the 1990s. A rather dark time for comics, as I recall. That was about the point where I gave up on superhero comics and started reading Dark Horse's stuff (hey, at least it was giving me riffs on films I dug).
For that matter, if you're a fan of Star Wars, check out the Goodwin/Williamson stuff (a.k.a. "Classic Star Wars"). All of which has a very "Flash Gordon" feel to it. For that matter, check out their Flash Gordon stuff.
At any rate, there have been innovative superhero stories, but they are still superhero stories and there's only so far that the major labels can/will go in innovating.
Last edited:
If they're ordinary why do they have comic books? FORUM MAN and BLOG BOY!!!
Let see. No powers.
Shang-chi. He just knew Kung -Fu.
Green Hornet. pre-movie.
Batman. He just works out every day, and reads all the crime reports, and does Bruce Wayne stuff, and stays out all night, and repairs his gadgets. Maybe he is magic.
There used to be a bunch of cowboy comics.
Space Family Robinson.
Let see. No powers.
Shang-chi. He just knew Kung -Fu.
Green Hornet. pre-movie.
Batman. He just works out every day, and reads all the crime reports, and does Bruce Wayne stuff, and stays out all night, and repairs his gadgets. Maybe he is magic.
There used to be a bunch of cowboy comics.
Space Family Robinson.
cayman shen
Master Member
Blankets, Sloth, and Black Hole are all fantastic (yes, there are "magical realism" elements in Black Hole, but in a literary-device fashion, not a Dr. Strange fashion).
Blankets is an honest to god moving book. Can't say enough good things about it.
I also hear Ghost World is worth checking out. Harvey Pekar's stuff is great. Spiegelman (Maus being obvious) bears looking into. Eisner's Contract with God is a classic.
I'll throw in another vote for Y, if you like science fiction. When you're ready to give heroes another go, but want something different, Invincible and Ex Machina are both great. I'm sort of shocked that people can't wrap their heads around your "no superheroes" criteria. As if that's all comics are (see Understanding Comics).
If you want plain old non-literary cornball fun, you can get reprints of Marvel's old GI Joe run from the 80s from IDW.
I just finished American Born Chinese and felt it was good, but not "up to the hype" good.
Blankets is an honest to god moving book. Can't say enough good things about it.
I also hear Ghost World is worth checking out. Harvey Pekar's stuff is great. Spiegelman (Maus being obvious) bears looking into. Eisner's Contract with God is a classic.
I'll throw in another vote for Y, if you like science fiction. When you're ready to give heroes another go, but want something different, Invincible and Ex Machina are both great. I'm sort of shocked that people can't wrap their heads around your "no superheroes" criteria. As if that's all comics are (see Understanding Comics).
If you want plain old non-literary cornball fun, you can get reprints of Marvel's old GI Joe run from the 80s from IDW.
I just finished American Born Chinese and felt it was good, but not "up to the hype" good.
Last edited:
Larry Young
Master Member
You know, if I had one wish, it wouldn't be for world peace or a base on the moon, it'd be for the RPF to lose the rolling-eyes emoticon, because I think everyone who uses it is a monumental dipsh!t of epic proportions who couldn't convey their actual meaning with words if they had a screen-accurate gun to their head, and therefore is not fit to listen to.
Now, obviously, this generalization can't possibly be true, but there it is. Rolls-eyes = jackwagon.
For example, all you cats just throwing titles out willy-nilly, or, conversely, abiding by "rules" you think have been set are missing the larger point: not one of you has asked what Chuck might like to read. Someone upthread (Solo, I think) remembered Chuck loves BLADE so, your d-bag a-hole-ishness about "no magic" or "no superheroes" goes right out the window, right?
Recommending comics people might like has nothing to do with ones you like and everything to do with what they might like. No matter what they might say.
For example, upon reflection, Chuck really might PREACHER, as was suggested., even though it might not fit some artificial parameters you think you see.
Honestly, Art and Michael and Montagar, that rolls-eyes emoticon is seriously giving me some bad vibes from otherwise probably pleasant people.
cayman shen
Master Member
Dude...:rolleyes
:lol
:lol
Larry Young
Master Member
I know; it's me. But, honestly, people who roll their eyes at me in real life are called on it, so why should online decorum be any different? Immature d-bags.
Similar threads
