The Sword and Laser discussion

I have never been an avid reader of comics,Only having read a few issues of tintin from the library or the watchmen. However, I feel like now is the time to broaden my horizons and give the comic world a go. What series would you fine people recommend. I've heard of a series called the sandman, is that any good? Any responses would be appreciated.

The Sandman is a excellent series. If you have read American Gods and liked it, then it is probably for you, is basically the same universe. Once you have finished that, Lucifer by Mike Carey continues the story of Lucifer. Some like this even more than Sandman, but I think this is mostly due to the fact Carey can jump straight into the universe with all the readers primed on what to expect.

I am a big fan of Ed Brubaker and the work he has done with Sean Philips. Criminal, Vol. 1: Coward for example has no superheros running around saving the planet. It is character driven, dark, gritty and noir. They have also done some superhero stuff like Sleeper: Season One, and Incognito which I also like.

Although I have never read it, I have hard really good things about Scalped, Vol. 1: Indian Country. It has been described to me as Sopranos set on an Indian reserve.

Recently I started getting the trades for The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye, and it is excellent also. It is a character story that is set during a Zombie apocalypse. If you have watched the TV series, be warned that it is a bit different and I would not recommend reading and watching side by side.

Being a huge Babylon 5 fan I like to check out stuff by J. Michael Straczynski, and he has done quite a few comics. I can recommend Midnight Nation - New Edition and a nice self contained story.

If you have watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was disappointed it ended, then you are in luck as the series was continued in comics. Season 8 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is all available in trades and 9 is currently coming out in comics.

There are heaps more that are really good. I tend to like "grown up" comics now, that have flawed characters and adult themes. Note that where there is a series of trades I have just linked to the first volume.

Besides superheroe comic books I really enjoyed:

Northlanders, Vol. 1: Sven the Returned
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile
Grimm Fairy Tales Vol. 1

especially from Zenescope:

Grimm Fairy Tales: Return to Wonderland
Beyond Wonderland
Escape from Wonderland

My two cents would be to recommend anything written by Brian Michael Bendis, who wears his Robert Altman and David Mamet influences on his sleeve big-time. He's been doing some consistently rewarding large-scale superhero stuff for Marvel over the last decade, but if you don't want to get into the spandex soap opera world, his creator-owned crime & noir stuff is really, really good (but, to give fair warning, potty-mouthed in the extreme):

Powers, Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?
Jinx
Goldfish
Fortune & Glory: A True Hollywood Comic Book Story
Brilliant - Volume 1
Torso
Alias, Vol. 1

My other two cents was going to be to recommend the now-completed series Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore. But unlike most of the other recommendations in this thread that one's very much a YMMV thing. It's not at all science fiction or fantasy, more a romance/crime/comedy/melodrama about three friends and their relationships. It apparently stirs up a lot of controversy since the author is a guy and one of the main plot threads in the book concerns the unrequited feelings one of the main characters, a lesbian, bears towards her best friend, but I loved the series a lot and would recommend it. (The first volume is, in retrospect, kinda lame, so I'd definitely advise starting with Volume 2: I Dream of You, which is where the story and characters really came together.)

I don't really read comic, but if you're open to manga or manwah I would recommend Berserk, Vol. 1, Noblesse or Gantz/1 as ones that might appeal to a youngish man.

Alejandro Jodorowsky has written some cool sci if comics such as The Incal and Metabarons

The new Prophet series is one of the coolest sci fi comics I've ever read.

Some others I've read recently that are great:

Dial H by China Mieville
Animal Man
Shanghai Cowboy
Hard Boiled
Supergod
The New Avengers

I'd recommend the Locke & Key GN's by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriquez. Starting with Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft.

Also, if you are a fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower series you should definitely check out the GN's in the same Mid-World. Love love love the DT books. Starting with The Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born.

+ for Fable my boyfriend really enjoyed that, and as well as buffy continuing its story in comics, Angel did also and I fully recommend that as well.

Some good suggestions so far. I'd also include Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which is, IMO, one of the best stories in the Batman universe. You can skip the sequel, though (DK2). It's the Godfather 3 of the comics world.

Not much experience in the non-spandex series myself. I quite enjoyed Dungeons And Dragons HC Vol. 01 Shadowplague. Comedic fantasy adventure.

If you do feel like trying a few things from the spandex crowd, I would suggest Batman: The Killing Joke. I'm partial to Hulk: Planet Hulk myself, but mostly for its "You got Hulk in my John Carter of Mars!" value.

Hellboy, DMZ, Northlanders, as far as new superhero stuff, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Green Lantern, Justice League Dark, I Vampire, and Uncanny X Force

Plenty of great suggestions. I would add Scott Snyder with his recent Batman: The Black Mirror(pretty dark),Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls and American Vampire. Another horror book I've been enjoying Rachel Rising: The Shadow of Death(many other great books by Terry Moore). Brian K Vaughn has a new series called "Saga" not to mention his classic "Y The Last Man".

Seconding the rec for Hellboy - actually, almost anything by Mike Mignola is a really great read. Some interesting standalones would be Big Questions and Habibi. The latter is a bit of a minefield, as lots of people have claimed it's disrespectful of Islam and Middle-Eastern culture, but I suppose you can come to that conclusion, or something else entirely, on your own :).

i should have just said Mignola, but im behind on his other works. ill second fables, and I forgot James Robinson's reworking of Earth 2 in DC

Read every Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and Mike Mignola comic books you can find. You can't go wrong with these guys; everything they write is pure gold.

Read Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Sin City and other early works of Frank Miller(before he lost his mind and turned into a nazi)

If you want to widen your horizon, I recommend every comic book by Enki Bilal, Lone Wolf and Cub by Kozuo Koike and Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki, and of course all comics of Alexander Jodorowsky.

is the ultimate comic.

is pretty good.

Jim Lee's art in is gorgeous.

(You can mouse over to see the titles.)

People have done a pretty good job of listing the best names in comics. I'd just like to add anythingn by Brian K Vaughnhe to the list. I just started Ex Machina, a story about a guy who gets superpowers but learns that he might do more good in the world via politics than fighting crime in spandex.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jeff Smith yet. Bone is an epic fantasy, and his current series RASL is a sic-fi/noir. Both are wonderful.

Furthermore, Chew and The Goon are both awesome and hilarious, if you're into that sort of thing.

Finally, since you're on Goodreads, i assume you're into literature. As such, I highly recommend The Unwritten, which is a story about the power of stories.

I'm a Wonder Woman girl myself, but The Massive, Revival, No Place Like Home, and The New Deadwardians are all excellent. And they are all fairly new, so not too many back issues to catch up one--5 at most

I can't believe I forgot Art Spiegelman's "Maus" and Will Eisner's "A Contract With God".

You definitely can't go wrong with Sandman. It's one of my all time favorites and Gaiman won a World Fantasy Award for best short story for one of the story arcs, I forget which. People were so angry a comic book won the award, they changed the rules after he won, so a comic book could never win the short story category again.

My current favorite is Locke and Key. It's written by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. It's a good creepy series worth your attention.

If you're looking for current Super Hero comics, in my opinion the best ones currently are Batman (with Scott Snyder writing). It's probably the best the DC new 52 has to offer. A close second for me is Wonder Woman. Brian Azzarello is bringing us a very different, very creepy version of this comic book. I've always been primarily a Marvel reader until the last year or so. I'm finding little there I want to read, but the new Daredevil series has been quite good.

If you want to stay in the SF realm, I've been enjoying Dynamite's Warlord of Mars and Dejah Thoris. Boom! Studios Planet of the Apes has breathtaking art and I'm really enjoying the story line. Definitely the best comic book version of Planet of the Apes I've ever seen.

I'm a bit picky about the artistic style in the comic/manga that I read. My favorite works are by Shirow Masamune.

Looks like his graphic novels aren't listed yet on goodreads, so check here:
http://www.darkhorse.com/Search/shiro...

Finally, since you're on Goodreads, i assume you're into literature. As such, I highly recommend The Unwritten, which is a story about the power of stories.

I will second this one. Picked it up because I just finished Mike Carey's Lucifer. I like that it references literature, and series such as Harry Potter and His Dark Materials. Not having read them is not a barrier to liking the story, there are just a few nods and jokes.

I would also recommend a couple webcomics...

Sinfest: politically incorrect commentary on politics and religion that's entertaining and endearing enough to not be offensive. Or maybe I have thick skin, who knows.

Spinnerette: gorgeously drawn (in a very manga style, at least) and often hilarious. Takes itself lightly enough to stay fun.

Of course, you can pick up the physically published versions of them if you feel like supporting the cartoonists or have a thing for paper.

Darren wrote: "Richard wrote: "I'm a bit picky about the artistic style in the comic/manga that I read. My favorite works are by Shirow Masamune.

Looks like his graphic novels aren't listed yet on goodreads, so ..."

That's what I get for giving up with my 1st author search & not trying the individual titles. The really sad thing is that I rated them all when I joined goodreads.

Masamune Shirow

There is a web comic that I enjoyed, though it is not very active at the moment: Tales of the Traveling Gnome: http://ttg.spiderforest.com/

Richard wrote: "I'm a bit picky about the artistic style in the comic/manga that I read. My favorite works are by Shirow Masamune."

I really enjoyed Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, Vol. 1: The Promethean Challenge. Have you tried any Naoki Urasawa? I love his art, he's got a nice, clean line.

There are so many good ones. You can stay away from superheros; they aren't all bad, but you can better spend your time.

The following are available in tradepaper backs or other collections. I found many in my library. There is a spread here and most people won't like them all, but I hope you give them a try.

The Unwritten
Scalped
The Boys
Kick-Ass
Locke and Key
American Vampire
Fables
Chew
Marshal Law
Watchmen
The Sandman
Lucifer
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Alan Moore (who I admit is a little mental, but nicer than Frank Miller) rejects the term 'Graphic Novel', and I tend to agree. Collections of comics are 'Comic Books' in the truest sense. Adults seem reluctant to say 'I read comic books', but I say embrace it.

Warlock. So classic...

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I'm a super hero comic fan, particularly Marvel comics, myself. So here are a couple suggestions, to get you started there.

Joss Whedon's run on the X-Men starting with Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 1: Gifted is...well...Astonishing (*ba-dum-tiss!*). It's Joss Whedon, so some of the dialog is pretty awesome, and the story itself is a great X-Men arc. It does require a little bit of back knowledge on the X-Men, but not enough to make it too hard to dive into with very little past experience.

Another great recommendation. It's a little bit steeper to get into given all the characters and intersecting story lines (plus the fact that it's spread across tons of books and not combined into a single set of volumes I've been able to find), but the Civil War: Marvel Universe is an awesome story arc. Hero vs hero. Good stuff.

My favorite is


This guy is funny lol

Hulkpool smash!

Tamahome wrote: "Warlock. So classic..."

You want classic, go with this:



Find out where DuckTales came from.

In manga, I'd recommend A Certain Scientific Railgun:



And Durarara!!



And if you don't mind having to turn in your man card, Kimi ni Todoke:

Alex Ross if you want great art work.

I loved it when he teamed up with Mark Waid on Kingdom Come

Also...Joker is good. It's a story told from the perspective of a new recruit to the Joker's gang and you get to see how "normal" criminals react to his insanity.

A God Somewhere This is the best stuff I've read in a long long time. But I must warn you, it will mess you up a little bit.

Stan wrote: "Alex Ross if you want great art work.

I loved it when he teamed up with Mark Waid on Kingdom Come

"

Kingdom Come is a great read and I've always preferred it over The Watchmen.

I also really liked the first The Books of Magic mini series. The series which followed was good, but had its ups and downs in quality IMO.

I'll also add Hellblazer to that list. Ignore the movie, it was an abomination. :)

Like others, I can't recommend Sandman enough. Very good.

Y: The Last Man was also another excellent series and easily available.

I'll second Midnight Nation, though I also liked JMS's Rising Stars.

I'll also second Ex Machina. My husband and I both liked the series.

I'm a sucker the run of The Legion of Super Heroes starting from Five Years Later (they restarted the numbering at 1) started by Keith Giffen. I don't know how easy it may be to get these. Well worth it however. Issue #38 (The End) is excellent.

And for humor, try some Ambush Bug if you can find it. :)

I read about 200 titles a month, so I have a very broad taste in comics. If you want Superhero stuff, I loved and . The Supernatural side has things like and . If you want full and complete stories or . I also Loved Midnight Nation, but I am a JMS fan since Bab5 and Jeremiah, so...

Animal Man and Swamp Thing are inspired right now and they will be out in Trade Paperback in a few weeks. If you haven't read Then you are missing so much of the fun of that TV show. IDW publishes the GI Joe and Transformers lines and they are fun. was written by a friend of mine, and is a beautiful way to get new Who fans interested in the comics and the old series.

A series I encourage all to try right now is Mind MGMT. Currently only in single issue format, this is blurring reality by telling a story and leaving clues in the gutter (edges) of the pages. Terry Moore is being very creepy with a new series called Rachel Rising which is only eight issues old. Same art style as which is a completed series and hugely popular in indie circles.

I am also loving by Kevin Smith, yes that Kevin Smith. He is also doing the Bionic Man which is a reboot of The Six Million Dollar Man TV show which is a treatment of which is a great Laser pick!

Now is a great time to do comics too, because apps like Comixology and Amazon make it easy to try out the genre without the fear of encountering the Simpsons comic guy at your local shop. Course if you do go into a FLCS (Friendly Local Comics Shop) don't go on a Wednesday unless you want to see SDCC in miniature. That's New Comic Day and all of us freaks come out to get our stacks.

I'm also not an avid comic reader, but I totally fell in love with the Bone series. The pictures are beautiful and very imaginative and the story is great as well, perfect mixture of comedy and drama.

I don't have much to compare it to, but I do love these books, so I figure they might appeal to other comic newbies as well.

some of my favorites when it come to European comic books:


waiting for Cycle of Fire to be released




And my favorite Manga are:

As mentioned by a few people Brian K Vaughan is definitely a good place to start.

Even him being a series writer on the last season of Lost hasn't tainted his genius for me ;)

and are both really good to read as collected editions.

Witch Doctor

It's a new series so you won't need to spend a lot to catch up, only one graphic novel so far, and it's fucking awesome

Jazon wrote: "yeah, the Alex Ross stuff is top notch"

I forgot about Astro City. Great series.

And Preacher! Great fun.

Valiant Comics was a popular comic book publisher in the 90s due to their rich characters and tight plotting. The company has been resurrected by two fans who are intent on carrying on its legacy. So far so good! Here is where you can find out more: www.valiantentertainment.com.

It all depends on whether you want superhero fare or not. I've read comics most of my life but I'm increasingly growing bored of superhero stuff as they tend to recycle the same plots repeatedly and you know nothing significant or changing can ever happen to Spiderman, Batman, or any other major character.

So my recommendations are the other stuff:

#1 on the list and something that depresses me that no one else mentioned is Preacher, Vol. 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis. This is easily the greatest comic book series I've ever read and since it only clocks in at 66 issues plus 5 or 6 bonus issues its manageable without feeling overwhelming. Its hard to summarize without it sounding too bizarre but basically its about a fallen Preacher named Jesse Custer who goes on a mission to find God and kick his ass for abandoning mankind (something that is explained early). Along the way Jesse teams up with a hard drinking vampire and a former girlfriend now turned hitwoman. They have all kinds of weird adventures. Its also not for the kiddies as there is a lot of graphic violence and sex. And of course if you are easily offended on the religious front its probably not for you. It won a lot of comic book awards and usually makes lists of the best comic series of all time. A long time ago I got my then wife, who couldn't fathom why I liked comic books at all, to try it and she was instantly hooked. She still didn't like regular comics but she would get giddy every month when the new issue was going to come out.

Another good comic was the original twenty-issue series of Elfquest, by Wendy and Richard Pini. The trade paperback edition begins with



and continues from there.

I have the original black and white magazines, except for one issue (haven't gotten around to finding that particular one yet).

Jazon wrote: "The Infinity Gauntlet is probably my favorite childhood comic book story.."

if you pick this up, please read thanos quest before it! it's a prequel an really underrated

Tamahome wrote: " is the ultimate comic.

(Y..."

yep, if you liked the avengers movie, the ultimates volume 1 and 2 is just that!

Ctgt wrote: "Plenty of great suggestions. I would add Scott Snyder with his recent Batman: The Black Mirror(pretty dark),Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls and American Vampire. Another horror book I've been enj..."

agreed, his batman stuff is great! and kudos on Y the last man! one of my favorite series!

Felina wrote: "I'd recommend the Locke & Key GN's by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriquez. Starting with Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft.

"

i'd second that! the story will finish soon but so far is one of the best comics of the 2000's in my opinion!

i'll add some titles i haven't seen in the list IIRC:

-All Star Superman: one of the best superman stories ever told, Morrison makes him cool without making him dark!

-X-force: by mike allred and peter milligan: they turned the x-men concept on their heads and introduced a new team of reality celebrities.

-Plasticman: by kyle baker is extremely funny and goofy. if you like classic merry melodies and ren and stimpy type of cartoons.

-suicide squad by john ostrander. this is vintage, but a really cool comic starring DC comics villians as cannon fodder for really dangerous missions.


wildcats 3.0 by joe casey this series was cancelled before it could finish, but the story was massive (what if superheroes changed the world as CEO's)

Negation by Tony Bedard this one came from the extinct crossgen comics and it was kind of prison break meets the dirty dozen in space. it was also cancelled before ending but is too good! kinda hard to find.

I agree with a lot of suggestions, but would also like to throw some of my favourites into the hat.

Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls
The Walking Dead, Volume 1: Days Gone Bye
The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
Greek Street, Vol. 1: Blood Calls for Blood
The Programme, Vol. 1
Red Lanterns, Vol. 1: Blood and Rage
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

And if you want to have your mind blown, may I suggest:
The Invisibles, Vol. 1: Say You Want a Revolution

You guys have great taste!

As far as standalone trade stories go, I recommend Identity Crisis in the superhero genre. It's an excellent standalone story with a wonderful in-depth focus on the characters of the D.C. Universe and why they do things the way they do. It's got some fairly mature and adult themes without being unnecessarily graphic.

But if you're having trouble wading through all the excellent recommendations in this thread, please do start with Sandman. It's an amazing work, true literature, inspiring and brilliant, sets your imagination on fire.

Other recommendations I'd like to +1:

Fables
Y: The Last Man
American Vampire (or anything by Scott Snyder)
Astro City

This book on amazon is very exciting

http://www.amazon.com/Underground-Taa...