The Sword and Laser discussion

Obviously this is a literary book club, but does anyone read any graphic novbels/comics? Anyone got some favorites? I am a big old comic nerd so I go pretty deep on comics, but I would be interested to hear what other people like.

Some of my recent faves
Sword(Handicapped woman has her entire family killed before her and in the process she finds a magic sword that gives her the power she needs for revenge)
Walking dead(they have many many trades out, there is a tv show based on it)
y the Last Man(All the men but one are dead)
Queen and Country(there are 4 ominibuses of this. It is great british spy stories with a much more realistically take than bond.)
Dynamo 5(imagine you were told you were the bastard son of superman and you had a bunch of half brothers and sisters. It is sort of like that)
Powers(Cops working the superhero beat)

and a bunch more. I would like it if someday we did a book to read for the club that was a graphic novel like Watchmen, but I recognize that may be a minority opinion.

Pretty much all of these. Hmmm, I have to put a couple others in this shelf:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

Definitely check out Locke & Key if you haven't. I liked 'Hulked Out Heroes', but only the Deadpool story.

Jeremiah wrote: "Obviously this is a literary book club, but does anyone read any graphic novbels/comics?"

I couldn't say that EVERYONE does, but Tom and Veronica talk about various graphic novels quite a bit.

This strikes me as more of a casual SF/F book club than any sort of literary book club. It's exceptionally inclusive.

They've specifically talked about The Walking Dead, which I've read some of myself for instance.

I doubt you'll get much protest for talking about them! :)

I'm pretty big into comics as well. Some of my favorites are:

Sandman
The Walking Dead
Invincible
The astounding Wolf-man
Marvel Zombies (I have a Robert Kirkman thing...)
Watchmen
Bone (appropriate for this group)
Y: The Last Man

There are more, but these are my favorites that I can think of at the moment.

i'm an occasional graphic novels reader. fortunately my housemate is something of an addict so i have a handy supply when the urge strikes me :D

you can't go far wrong with ANYTHING by Alan Moore: Watchmen, V For Vendetta (and, yes, i love both movies too)

almost anything by Warren Ellis: Transmetropolitan series, Global Frequency, Planetary/The Authority

Neil Gaiman:The Sandman series, Black Orchid, The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr Punch

Grant Morrison: The Invisibles, Zenith

Garth Ennis: Preacher series (although Ennis obsessions with masculinity and religion sometimes get a bit wearing)

Mark Millar

that's what springs to mind

I of course like the big superhero books too, but in a lot of ways you have to be a deep comic fan to appreciate those. There are exceptions of course.

Green Lantern: Blackest Night, The Sinestro War and a number of other recent runs are really good.

Kingdom Come
Identity Crisis
Civil War

all of those a solid superhero comics I enjoy as well.

Also if you can, check out the comic title Alias. It has nothing to do with the TV show of the same name. It is PI book set in the marvel universe so she deals with superhero related stuff from time to time. One of my favorite series ever.

I am very big into graphic novels and superhero-related stuff too.

I think most of members of this group would love Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned (the entire series is one of my favorites) and Ex Machina, Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days, both of which are written by Brian K Vaughan. Both are superb science-fiction tales with great characters and settings.

Another good one by Vaughan, this one set in the Marvel universe, is Runaways Deluxe Vol. 1. This is about a group of kids who discover a shocking secret in the first issue and go on the run from all kinds of Marvel villainy.

Preacher, Volume 1: Gone To Texas
Probably the coolest comic ever. An angel and a demon make the beast with two backs and the resulting entity takes home in a washed out preacher in Texas. Hilarity ensues, featuring Saint of Killers, Arseface, the true descendents of Christ (not quite as pretty as Dan Brown imagines) and did i mention a hard drinking vampire who devotes a whole issue to the late great much lamented Bill Hicks
Spawn Collection Volume 1 If you like deals with the devil look no further.
The MaxxSource for the short lived MTV animated series, really underread
The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home These have added some detail to the DTverse, and apparently they are part of the official canon, wonder how much films/show will draw from these vs books

AH.... my love for the Maxx knows know bounds. Madmen, discussions of painful truths and the dreamtime. It really is brilliant. But I may be talking out loud again.

Also a fan of Preacher and all things Brian K Vaughan.

Check out Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman. It is a really good super-hero series!

Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot comics have to be read to be believed. Always fun reading, if you can still find any.

I can throw in a big plus for Y: the last man. love it. I also read Walking Dead, Irredeemable (and it's companion Incorruptible) and Box 13.

Any fan of PK Dick should pick up the comic of Do Nadroids Dream of Electric Sheep. It's all the text from the novel but illustrated. Amazing work. Plus there's a prequel coming out now too.

Yes Y: The Last Man is fantastic. I really hope they make it into a movie or TV show

Bob wrote: "Yes Y: The Last Man is fantastic. I really hope they make it into a movie or TV show"

i believe both Y and Preacher have been in the works as TV shows, although i think the religion in the latter as more than the violence would cause problems for any US channel

Preacher would have to be an HBO series if it was going tow work

Bob wrote: "Preacher would have to be an HBO series if it was going tow work"

i couldn't agree more, and i believe it was going to be. here's hoping the success of The Walking Dead gives the plan a boost

Fables: Legends in Exile is another great series worth reading that is in trade format!

Girl Genius, which can be read free online.

I love Starstruck by Elaine Lee and Michael W. Kaluta. Dense, funny, action-adventure from a female POV that doesn't just slap women's names on male characters. Probably my favorite comic story ever.
Also Xenozoic Tales A.K.A. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs by Mark Schultz

Oh how could I forget GCPD or Gotham Central Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty. One of the best cop stories I ever read, and it happens in Gotham City on top of that. Imagine what it is like to be a cop in a city where the Joker exists? Love that book.

I know GCPD is a good series, I could just never get into it :/

The Ultimates is one of my favorites, for big, ballsy, cinematic action. Great art too.

I have to second the mention of Starstruck! It's weird, quirky and a hell of a lot of fun. Plus it features two of my favorite groups ever: the Galactic Girl Guides (cross Girl Scouts with a gang of pint-sized con artists) and the Cloistered Order of the Goddess Uncaring (ever-present but never around when you need her). I believe Dark Horse last had the rights and had republished the Epic Comics material in black & white. Maybe they collected it in to a trade at some point. Worth looking for in any case.

Matthew wrote: "I believe Dark Horse last had the rights and had republished the Epic Comics material in black & white. Maybe they collected it in to a trade at some point. Worth looking for in any case. "

IDW just finished reprinting the story in a 13 comic book series with new coloring, and a new backup story about Brucilla The Muscle's early years in the Galactic Girl Guides.

Go away for a week and you miss the graphic novel/ comic book thread. As a big comic book geek, there are some great mentions in here.

For classic superhero stuff, these are some great ones (imho of course)
DC STUFF:
Start here: Green Lantern: Rebirth
Then read: Green Lantern Vol. 4: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1 & Green Lantern Vol. 5: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 2

Also for Superman: Superman for All Seasons

For villian fun: Villains United

Batman: Batman: The Long Halloween or Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 & Batman: Hush, Vol. 2

INDY FAV:
But a great little series I've not seen mentioned yet on here is:
Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152

It's a fun fantasy (quite Brian Jacques like) with mice. But I loved the art for it.

I could mention Marvel stuff but I'll leave it at this for now.

I remember really liking Ronin by Frank Miller as a kid. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get hold of now.

I'm really not into graphic novels; even comic "strips" with lots of words are too much for me. I usually just can't get into them. But my brother was given the complete Bone graphic novel (by Jeff Smith..can't seem to find the book exactly here on GR) in one book...I liked it so much that I had to get my own copy. Not sure why that one grabbed me, but I totally recommend it, especially for this audience.

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume My son loved that book

I just got the third trade of Chew. Love this series!

Kevin wrote: "I just got the third trade of Chew. Love this series!"

Definitely a unique premise. He's a cop who gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats, including human flesh.

No love for The Unwritten by Mike Carey? It's the best comic going at the moment. The first issue is what got me back reading comics.

I have heard good things about Unwritten, but I have not gotten to it yet.

Some folks have mentions Transmetropolitan. In that vein, I share this link.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1...

A kick starter for a Transmetropolitan Art Book in support of charity.

Daytripper is one of the most moving books to come out in the last few years. The complete series (10 issues) is due out in a collected volume next week.

New Robert Jordan graphic novel:

I will second Tom's mention of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep I am reading through those now (via comixology android app) and digging them a lot.

I'll second Locke & Key. One of the best I've read in years. Stunning.

I went to my local comic book shop and picked up a few titles trying to find the next interesting series without being too many issues behind. And this is me knowing nothing about comics or graphic novels from the last 15 years. I picked up Earp Vol1: Saints for Sinners, and I'm not as impressed with the writing as I am with the art. The Walking Dead was great, however.

Are you guys currently reading any monthlies that you think are pretty neat?

I just finished reading through the entirety of Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise. Graphic Novels are ... novels to me. No difference, I think of them as any other book.

I've currently got 46 graphic novels on my shelf: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

I haven't read a lot of graphic novels but I was blown away by Warren Ellis Fell, Feral City