OT - Comics anyone?

[RABid]

A few years ago I got rid of most of my physical comics. Last month I visited a local comic store and bought a few. I have discovered Comixology and love it. Digital versions that I can read on my ipad. It works really well. I usually stick with buying what is on sale. It is pretty easy to find comics for $1 and issue. My confession, a lot of Archie comics. Both for nostalgia and music. I used to have drawers of Archie comics. Gave them to my nephew. I wonder what he did with them? I also like Teen Titans and Young Justice. Comics that make me feel young.

 

Anyway, I would like to pick something new and different and start reading each month. Nothing too violent. Something interesting. Any suggestions? What do people here read?

[Docbop]

I wonder if there are digital versions of R. Crumb comics and other 60's comics they were great!!!!

[KuruPrionz]

I wonder if there are digital versions of R. Crumb comics and other 60's comics they were great!!!!

 

This was my first thought as well!!!

 

The Old Pooperoo and Mr. Natural and all that crazy hippie stuffs. My brother and I had a nice stash of Zap! Comix, hysterical stuff.

[Mark Schmieder]

Goodness sake, I'd go blind if I spent one more minute with a backlit screen! I have been boycotting Comixology all along, but it may be all that survives, as floppies are almost dead due to the shutdown and now we're left mostly with TPB's and GN's in terms of print editions.

 

There have been some interesting things that were digital-only, and some of them eventually went to print. But it sounds like you're primarily into superheroes, and the modern take at that, so I'm not sure what to recommend. Yet you do like Archie, so there is hope. :-) Dan Parent has been doing some awesome one-shots in the older (read: 2000's vs. 2020's) art and story style. Search by his name to find them.

 

There was even a one-shot of The Archies Meet The B-52's quite recently. And one where they meet K.I.S.S. There was at least one other fun musician crossover but I forget off-hand; it might get "grouped" with the newest one (B-52's) once you track that one down.

[MAJUSCULE]

I was always to busy reading bande dessinées to have much time for comic books. Shoutout Marsupilami!!!

[S_Gould]

Freewheelin' Franklin, Fat Freddy (& his cat) and Phineas Phreak!! (Gilbert Sheldon's Fabulous Furry Freak Bros.)

[bfields]

I was always to busy reading bande dessinées to have much time for comic books. Shoutout Marsupilami!!!

 

My attempt to interest my kid in learning some French failed, but he still looks at Marsupilami and Philemon occasionally....

 

Is there a Francophone equivalent to "Archie"?

[cp-the-nerd]

Everything I read is pretty violent and mostly indie stuff. My favorite ongoing series right now is One Punch Man, but that's a manga. Marvel and DC are kind of a mess right now, I suggest looking up the best collections and runs from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. More great classics out there than most people can read in a lifetime.

[ElmerJFudd]

Netflix this summer is offering the series versions of The Last Avatar and sequel The Legend of Kora. I found the digital copies of the comics in the iBook store. My 9 year old loves it and we read them together. Much fun.

[RABid]

Got on last night and bought some Teen Titans, Young Justice, Justice League International, Lady Thor, and Lucky Luke. Then my Internet went down. Posting this from my IPhone. Windstream tells me that it will be 3 days before a tech can check my line. So much for digital comics and internet tv. Glad that I have a big collection of DVD"s.

 

I"m not into super hero"s as much as I am not into anything demented. After working at a community mental health center for 22 years, a lot of comics are too close to what I saw day after day. Bought a Lucky Luke to try. Never seen that one before. Thinking about trying a Hardy Boys.

[MAJUSCULE]

I was always to busy reading bande dessinées to have much time for comic books. Shoutout Marsupilami!!!

 

My attempt to interest my kid in learning some French failed, but he still looks at Marsupilami and Philemon occasionally....

 

Is there a Francophone equivalent to "Archie"?

 

Oh you can get translations for sure! We did have Archies at home, both in English and French. Probably the one comic I did read, although it's not like we had a subscription or anything. I don't know if there's a good equivalent, maybe a more dedicated reader would know. Archie kind of hinges on the All-American experience, so it's maybe a bit of a stretch for the BD world.

 

Quick et Flupke is another favourite of mine and anyone else with taste.

[KuruPrionz]

Got on last night and bought some Teen Titans, Young Justice, Justice League International, Lady Thor, and Lucky Luke. Then my Internet went down. Posting this from my IPhone. Windstream tells me that it will be 3 days before a tech can check my line. So much for digital comics and internet tv. Glad that I have a big collection of DVD"s.

 

I"m not into super hero"s as much as I am not into anything demented. After working at a community mental health center for 22 years, a lot of comics are too close to what I saw day after day. Bought a Lucky Luke to try. Never seen that one before. Thinking about trying a Hardy Boys.

 

I would give my highest recommendation to Pogo Possum by Walt Kelly.

I've got some vintage compilation books from my youth and recently started re-reading them.

 

The artwork is untouchable, the lettering (with variations) is fantastic and they are very funny. There is some veiled political commentary running through the series, also lots of puns and manging of language.

 

I honestly cannot think of a better comic strip, taken as a whole. Walt Kelly was a genius.

[RABid]

New order.

 

Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Vol. 1

The Complete Peanuts Vol. 1

For Better Or For Worse: The Complete Library Vol. 1

Bloom County Digital Library Vol. 1

 

Now I need to find a place with public internet access so I can download them.

[KuruPrionz]

New order.

 

Pogo: The Complete Daily & Sunday Comic Strips Vol. 1

The Complete Peanuts Vol. 1

For Better Or For Worse: The Complete Library Vol. 1

Bloom County Digital Library Vol. 1

 

Now I need to find a place with public internet access so I can download them.

 

 

Great choices. Obscure perhaps but Odd Bodkins was awesome too, and Guindon.

Of course Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side are classic as well.

 

Look up Gahan Wilson, he used to have a monthly cartoon in Playboy and also lots of them in the New Yorker. A twisted but hysterical sense of humor, one of the geniuses of the single panel comic.

[Mark Schmieder]

Can't go wrong with Pogo, and even the Dell comic books that preceded the comic strips and were designed for a slightly younger audience, are quite well done and set up an awful lot of the plot devices and characters that the strip became known for. Still as relevant today as it was then, even though much of it was political satire of its time.

 

I am a huge fan in general of well-done humour comics; especially funny animals (many of which are actually adventure strips more than gag strips anyway). I don't know how many of these would appeal to people today, but the ones I loved as a kid and that still ring true for me today include: Little Lulu, Baby Huey, Sugar & Spike, any of Carl Barks' works for Walt Disney, anything by John Stanley, Peanuts. There's more than just those, but they represent the widest range of how the genre was treated by its masters (including Walt Kelly of Pogo fame, who also did stuff for Disney). Some of the teen stuff like Archie also.

 

I almost went into the business, and was being groomed by some of DC's editorial staff, but ended up going to music school instead. No regrets. The industry has changed many times since the 70's (and had already changed a lot by then, from its early days), and as was mentioned earlier, both DC and Marvel are probably at their worst that they've been since the mid-90's (a surprise as Marvel had a long streak of quality post-2000).

 

There's a lot of small indie publishers, but Image Comics is the most consistent overall in that they cover the broadest range of styles and genres of any company at the moment, and nothing they publish is outright trash; we simply all have different tastes. I can't say the same for most other publishers at the moment.

 

If you want something truly unique and quirky, that is modern at the same time that it is slightly manga-influenced or even sharing some qualities with ten group comics like the ones you say you like (Teen Titans and Young Justice), I highly recommend Fence from Boom! My sister's husband did fencing in high school and says it is VERY accurate. But mostly it's about coming-of-age and how teens relate to each other.

 

It would take forever to provide a full list of top recommendations. In the vein of teen titles sans superpowers, another good choice is the just-finished Outpost Zero from Image Comics, and the somewhat similar storyline in DC's off-beat Jetsons post-disaster storyline from a couple of years back. Another excellent series in that genre is Wool (originally only available as a web comic).

 

I'm not usually a fan of the fantasy genre, but Hinterland from DC's Vertigo was charming and managed to collected just about every known creature from northern mythologies and give them each a distinct social and cultural context in a post-apocalyptic world. It is a fun story that is dark at times but never in a depressing way; it harkens back to the storytelling style of Conan and Kull in some ways.

 

Patsy Walker Hellcat and She-Hulk both had a few iterations up until a couple of years ago and starting maybe 5-6 years ago, that were simultaneously retro and modern, and might appeal to those looking for light-hearted stuff that also deals with growing pains, the angst of youth, and adventure, but not in as wordy or dark of a vein as a typical Marvel. Squirrel Girl and a few others in that vein as well.

[timwat]

Odd Bodkins.

 

Maus.

[GovernorSilver]

The Martha Washington series by Frank Miller is about the only thing I've bought on Comixology so far. My cousin lent me the first issue years ago and that's it. I don't it against him because he gave me his Metabarons collections.

[David Emm]

A few years ago I got rid of most of my physical comics. Last month I visited a local comic store and bought a few. I have discovered Comixology and love it. Digital versions that I can read on my ipad. It works really well. I usually stick with buying what is on sale. It is pretty easy to find comics for $1 and issue. My confession, a lot of Archie comics. Both for nostalgia and music. I used to have drawers of Archie comics. Gave them to my nephew. I wonder what he did with them? I also like Teen Titans and Young Justice. Comics that make me feel young.

 

Anyway, I would like to pick something new and different and start reading each month. Nothing too violent. Something interesting. Any suggestions? What do people here read?

 

I wish I could be of assistance, but the two 'comics' things I have read/am reading are horrifyingly brilliant, yet shock even an unrepentant hippie heathen like me. Al Ewing & Joe Bennett's "The Immortal Hulk" plays the Big Green One as a major horror story, which I'm finding fascinating. The character's life is always misery on the hoof, so this twist makes use of every psychological device you can imagine. The body issues alone could make Clive Barker urp a bit.

 

I shamefully enjoyed AMC's "Preacher" series. I likewise shamefully enjoyed the original as trades recently, because the TV version had notable differences from the book. Its so appalling, it makes the notion of mere blasphemy seem quaint. I keep waiting to burst into flames from just reading it. Writer Garth Ennis co-produced, so it was like 2-for-1. He also wrote "The Boys," another household favorite. Neither of these is fit for decent people. Fortunately, I am not hamstrung by such notions.

 

If you give any of these to your young nephews as gifts, you'll be banned from their homes for a year, maybe three.

 

I'm also reading my way through several rational books, but as an American, I like junk food.

[miden]

A few years ago I got rid of most of my physical comics. Last month I visited a local comic store and bought a few. I have discovered Comixology and love it. Digital versions that I can read on my ipad. It works really well. I usually stick with buying what is on sale. It is pretty easy to find comics for $1 and issue. My confession, a lot of Archie comics. Both for nostalgia and music. I used to have drawers of Archie comics. Gave them to my nephew. I wonder what he did with them? I also like Teen Titans and Young Justice. Comics that make me feel young.

 

Anyway, I would like to pick something new and different and start reading each month. Nothing too violent. Something interesting. Any suggestions? What do people here read?

 

Thanks for the heads up, pity they don't have the Commando series

 

EDIT, I stand corrected ... I put in war for a search and got nothing, but then I entered Commando and hey presto...there they are! Cool

[RABid]

Amazon bought ComiXology a few years ago and I consider that a good thing. They will not be going away. I"ve linked my accounts and sometimes you can find collections cheaper on Amazon. There will be information in the description if it links to ComiXology.

[Joe Muscara]

Do you guys know that both Bloom County and The Far Side are back, sort of? Both authors are enjoying the freedom of doing new ones on their own schedules. Bloom County can be found on Facebook, and sometimes he resurrects an old strip, telling stories about how it came about, changes the publisher made him do and what it originally said. The Far Side is on thefarside.com and some of the original new stuff he put up is gone. I'm not sure what he is doing with those but I guess it's worth checking regularly.

[nursers]

I've been collecting comics for 40 years or so, have two double legal filing cabinets with bagged and boarded comics Mostly Marvel stuff, stopped collecting a year or so ago when I gave up on Marvel as a company altogether...

[Synthaholic]

I have quite the collection from the 1970s, with some 1960s gems. Some of my special ones:

 

Hulk, with 1st appearance of Wolverine

Hawkman #1

Captain America #100 (actually another #1)

Captain Marvel #1-20-something.

 

Many, many other #1 and introductory issues: Warlocke, Howard the Duck, OMAC, Iron Fist, Champions, Man-Thing...

 

I had some other great ones but sold them: 1st appearance of Punisher in Spider-Man, the switchover issues from old to new X-Men.

 

My problem is selling them. They are worth much more when graded by CGC but they are located in Sarasota Florida so I would have to drive the comics there. I won"t put them in the mail, even with insurance. Because if lost/damaged they will make you prove the value, which cannot be done pre-grading.

[Dave Bryce]

I was a huge comics guy for years. Pretty hardcore Marvel.

 

My all time favorite comics afe probably Doonesbury.

 

dB

[Dr Mike Metlay]

I read only webcomics these days, all indie. If I want anything corporate, I'll watch it in a movie. My bagged/boarded comics collection is all indies as well. It might be worth a fortune or worth nothing depending on the whims of the market.

 

If people want recommendations on worthwhile webcomics, I'll provide some, but my tastes in comics are even weirder than my tastes in music.