Favourite Comics?

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

There's a lot of comics, I've read a lot of them and I know what my favourites are. I can rave at great length about most of Alan Moore's output, anything by Frank Miller before Sin City, John Byrne's FF, Alpha Flight and especially Superman; but before I do, I wonder what other people's choices are.

Favourite comics? Or, perhaps, comics which are supposed to be our favourites but just aren't (I'll tell you now: I gave away my complete run of The Sandman)?

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

This is a hard one but I have to agree about Sin City, Killing Joke, Hellboy stuff ... Past that I would have to dig a bit more and I know a lot of the stuff I used to like doesn't hold up as much.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

That happens. But recently I've reread some of my favourites - Watchmen, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman Year One, The Dark Knight Returns - and they are still stunning works.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

I know some of them really hold up but a lot of the others don't. I think one of the ones that kind of died was Black Orchid. The original book was good and then the series that followed seems to become a little lost and it sort of polluted the original one. It still migth be good but I am just not as interested in going back to it.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Yes. The miniseries was thinly written but beautiful, the ongoing just lightweight.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

electranaut · Forum Member Joined: Jan 03, 2004 Posts: 91

I quite like The Killing Joke, although quite a few folks, including Moore himself, think it didn't really work that well. On a similiar note, I like Gotham By Gaslight although re-reading it now I see that the denoument was kind of predictable.

I remember thinking The Watchmen was great, though I never got around to getting my own copy. Must rectify that.

Palmers, you'll know this already but I absolutely love Cinder & Ashe. It must have left a very strong impression on me when I first bought it because it's one of the few I've tracked down and bought again. Pity it didn't continue as a series.

I also used to love Hellblazer, especially when it first started, though I found it went off the rails as time went on. Sandman intrigued me and I bought a couple of years worth of that but I think that in some ways, the subject was far too broad and the premise kind of permitted anything- it was just too fantastical to relate to anything.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

I like The Killing Joke on its own, but its treatment of Barbara Gordon was inappropriate, I think, and once The Joker starts doing that to people, there's no point in him anymore: he's just another gunman.

Gotham By Gaslight has beautiful Mignola art: he does period very well (he does everything very well), and his Fafhrd And The Grey Mouser (all right, Gray) has a similar look.

I thought Hellblazer lacked subtlety when it started - that's often the way I feel about Delano - but it's had a long lifetime and a lot of good writers and artists involved, so some good parts.

Sandman's okay, but not the literary masterpiece it's supposed to be. It takes more than casting Shakespeare to make fine literature. But there are some good stories, my favourite probably being A Dream Of Cats.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

Gotham by Gaslight was very fun, as was the Batman/Houdini thing. I need to get Watchmen as well but I just haven't gotten around to it.

Hellblazer and Sandman never really hit me. I have a few issus here and there but the art turned me away a lot of the time.

Fafhrd and Gray Mouser was fun though

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Oh, another by the Chaykin-Mignola team: Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution. Brilliant stuff. And a related miniseries featuring electranaut's Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez was Twilight.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

Yeah, I forgot to mention that one. It is very cool. There was a weird laugh about it one time when there was a panel featuring Mignola and George Pratt and others. I guess it was before Hellboy hit it big and Mignola was talking about alternative comics and mentioned Ironwolf and how it do so well and George Pratt said it was because it stunk, and Mignola got all wide eyed and his mouth dropped a bit and Pratt said "No no, it really stunk. The ink and the paper didn't mix so well or something and the pages had this kind of funky odor. The art was goregeous but the book kind of had this odd fragrance" to which everyone got a big laugh. It did kinda smell funky at first

Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 548 Location: NYC

And oldy that I used to love was Strikeforce Morituri. May people mistakenly think of this as a "New Universe" title, but it was not aparently part of any Marvel Universe even though it was a Marvel book.

The basic story is that Earth is under constant alien attack by a group of aliens called the Horde who rape and blunder the planet seemingly at whim.

In responce, mankind develops a genetic process that give humans super human abilites. The catch? The process itself will kill you within a year. WITHIN A YEAR... that means you don't even get a guarentte of a year.

By the 6th book the main character and "team leader" implodes, on what is basically the teams first mission.

The story sort of jumped the shark after head writer Peter B. Gillis left. As is to be expected. But while it wrote it, it was one of the most interesting and gritty Sci-Fi books I ever read.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

I hadn't heard that George Pratt story. I loved his painted Enemy Ace graphic novel. I'm a big fan of Mignola's early work, too (as well as his later): Cosmic Odyssey is delicious, helped by sharp inks and rich colours.

I've read a few Strikeforce: Morituris. It was highly regarded at the time, I think. Didn't make a big impression on me, but then I was reading it out of context. It's certainly good to see something different in the mainstream. In fact I think the whole New Universe was a noble experiment: not sure what Marvel's doing with it at the moment. Reviving it?

Jim Shooter's generally reviled these days, but not only did he originate more potentially commercial comics lines and projects than anyone else since Stan Lee, but he could actually write. Some odd stories I've read, and the Solar: Alpha and Omega he did with Barry Windsor-Smith, are very good. I'll work for him as soon as he asks.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 548 Location: NYC

I actually liked most of the new Universe stuff. Specifically Merc, which was probably the shortest run book. Spitfire and the Troubleshooters was cool until they jumped the shark. DP7 was also a good read.

But quite honestly at this point, I don't see any of them making a revival.

I was disapointed when I went and collected all my back issues of Strikeforce. After Gillis left it meandered and really lost it's heart. I think the base concept would make an awesome TV series. these days if it were given the "Galactica" treatment.

Gillis really managed to touch on the celebrity angle while also telling a great sci-fi/war story.

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

You're right, there is a TV feel to it.

There are new #1s of all the New Universe titles. I don't know what they're for, because I haven't looked yet. Too busy buying reprints.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Just went to Marvel's website to find out, and after five minutes' searching, I found they're all "untold tales" of the New Universe. Why they're doing it, I couldn't establish.

IMP.
_________________
RIVER: skin on the outside. First chapter FREE from www.ianmpalmer.com