Comics worth reading., HIT ME. Options

[NICKSAUR]

I used to read a bunch of comics (mainly marvel and independent titles, vertigo stuff, earth a.d. and other, older books) and eventually grew bored with what had been coming out. I still read up on synopsis' and reviews to stay within the know, but I rarely find a reason to pick up an odd book or whatever and get involved again.

So, any property, any company, what books are you really enjoying right now? What books should I get off my ass, pick up, and then sit back on my ass and read?

This post has been edited by NICKSTART: Apr 18 2012, 07:16 PM

[Rust]

If you haven't yet, I really recommend tracking down and reading Sandman Mystery Theatre. It's a great window into the past of comics.

[Goblez]

the new Animal man series is great. I also really enjoyed Spider Island even though I had not read spider-man in a long time

[Nyarlathotep]

One Piece.

[Cabooceratops]

Archie's Megaman.

Fun, simple, enjoyable, and well worth picking up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

[DrSpengler]

To be honest with myself, many of the titles I read are niche and only interest me because I'm a fan of the property (Sonic, Mega Man, Adventure Time). I think they are all genuinely good to GREAT comics, but someone who doesn't have a predisposed affinity for those franchises won't get the same thing out of them.

However, there are a few monthlies I read that I'd highly recommend:

IDW's Ghostbusters. I imagine you've seen the movies, maybe even played the Video Game. Even if you haven't done that last one, you're still in good shape to grab this ongoing from issue #1 and follow it without much of a problem. It is incredibly sharp and clever, the stories are wonderfully paced (not drawn out serialization, but each issue works as a complete story that furthers an ongoing narrative) and the art by Dan Schoening is so packed full of Easter eggs that you'll spend half an hour looking over each panel to try and spot EVERYTHING. You also get tons of bonus material int he form of character and monster files and sketch galleries AND fan art from modern preschoolers which is adorable.

It is the only book out there that costs $3.99 an issue and gives you your money's worth. If you have even the slightest interest in Ghostbusters, it is something to pick up.


The only Big Two title I'm currently reading is Swamp Thing. The story requires a bit of knowledge of the character, but I don't think it's too offputting. The story is enthralling, but really, the ART is what keeps me coming back. I can't believe art this detailed and involved with truly innovative and luxurious layouts on every page can come out monthly. And without delay. I remember reading Astonishing X-Men and The Ultimates and being so annoyed with the artist delays; those books were practically quarterly.

If you're into black and white horror comics, Dark Horse's revival of Creepy has been the best anthology horror book on the market, hands down. It's quarterly, but each issue is stuffed with great content.

Also, Boom's Hellraiser has been GREAT. You only need to be familiar with the first two movies, but this has been some superbly dark and weird reading.


As for IDW's TMNT book, well, I'll be honest that it's probably, from an unbiased view point, "okay". It's got good art and it's doing a lot of innovative things with the characters and their various mythologies, but the Bendis-style of ultra decompressed pacing makes it somewhat tedious to read. IDW's trade strategy isn't helping; 4 issues per volume and they're releasing the microseries issues, which are required reading, in seperate trades without chronolgy indication as to where they slot in... confusing matters.

You'd be better off waiting for IDW's inevitable "omnibus" trade where they publish everything in proper order and you get more material for less money.

This post has been edited by DrSpengler: Apr 18 2012, 07:36 PM

[Lizard King]

Pretty much everything I had been reading recently I've given up on because they just keep getting worse and worse. However, I will echo the sentiment for swamp thing and animal man. I'll also throw in my recommendation for daredevil and a dark horse book called orchid, that happens to be written by Tom morello.

Oh, and wolverine and the x-men

This post has been edited by Lizard King: Apr 18 2012, 07:58 PM

[Solarstorm]

Ifnyou are not already reading the two IDW TF ongoings, definitely pick them up. They're good comics and great TF stories.

The relaunch of Daredevil, by Mark Waid, is fantastic. It's fairly new and the current one-month crossover with Spiderman and Punisher has been a success, story-wise. Few crossovers can claim that.

Spider-Island and most, if not all, of Slott's Amazing Spider-Man. There were some solid stories in the BND era as well.

Wolverine and the Xmen is a good book as well. Easily, my favorite of the main Xbooks (aside from the kinda-sorta X book: X Factor).

[Lizard King]

I feel like x-factor has gotten a little stale. Peter David might wanna give up the reigns. X-force is still really solid too. Rick remender is very talented. Check out fear agent by him, if you haven't already.

[Caldwin]

I actually just last week dropped a whole bunch of the Marvel comics I was reading. I was tired of 5 different titles to the X-Men franchise alone...not even including the X-Force, X-Factor, New Mutants et al. And it was hard to decide which ones to drop too. I liked Wolverine, which means Wolverine and the X-Men. I liked Psylocke, which meant Uncanny. I liked Rogue, which meant Legacy. It was just too much money to keep up with every month along with my other comics. So...long story short (too late?)...I absolutey do NOT recommend ANY of the X-books. If they ever decide to trim things down to one or two titles...I might consider picking them back up. Until then, I recommend staying as far away as possible.

I've turned to DC for now: Supergirl, Catwoman, Batgirl. Or just pick whatever character you like. DC seems to be better at not having to read a whole bunch of titles just to get the full story of what's going on in one.

I'm also reading TMNT from IDW like Spengs. But like he said, it's a bit of a niche comic. I'm a big fan of the TMNT. I like the way they're taking the turtles. But the decompressed pacing and trying to jump on in the middle of things kind of makes it not for everyone.

Not terribly helpful I know. Mostly just told you what not to buy. But honestly (and having been a Marvel fanboy for most of my comic collectin carreer, I never thought I'd say this) finding a couple DC comics may be the way to go. I'm collecting Supergirl, Catwoman and Batgirl. But I'm sure Batman, Superman or any of the others would be just as good.

[Internet Jesus]

Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF saga has been amazing thus far.

Start with Dark Reign: FF, Fantastic Four 570-current and FF 1-current

[Fero McPigletron]

The only Marvel comics I really, really can't wait to read the next issues of are Amazing Spider-Man and Thunderbolts. T-Bolts is just amazing at characterization; you can feel how desperate the characters are.

DC, I dropped Aquaman to pick up Legion Lost after Gates returned and I'm still not having fun with the book.

Image's The Walking Dead and Invincible are good reads but you have to catch up with about 40 issues of back history.

Sonic's two titles are actually the comics I get the most enjoyment out of reading. You just know the writer loves the universe and it oozes from the pages. Mega Man is a lot of fun too but slightly trapped in formula. I don't mind cuz im a game fan but regular readers might not get into it.

[Spectre]

IDW's Ghostbusters is probably the best comic I read. It's filled with winks for long time fans, but everything is presented in a way that won't alienate somebody who has only seen the movies. It's really fantastic.

Dan Slott's Amazing Spider-Man run is pretty great. I'd recommend picking up 680-681, as it's a pretty self-contained two part story. Great banter between Johnny Storm and Spidey, in space! It'll give you a good idea whether you want to go back further or continue reading.

DC's new Batman (Just "Batman") is really phenomenal too. I've not read any Batman comics ever, and I picked it right up and don't feel like I'm missing anything super important. It's a great, great Batman tale.

[Matthias Phage]

I'm going to 3rd IDW's Ghostbusters, because it's honestly that good.

And I'm going to put Demon Knights out if you're a fan of D&D/Conan/Fantasy adventuring - issue #1 even brings the group together in a tavern, HA. It has my favorite representation of Vandal Savage I've ever seen in media.

This post has been edited by Matthias Phage: Apr 19 2012, 04:50 PM

[Nevermore]

ASTRO CITY

Seriously. It's awesome.

[Dirk Dinobot]

Anything by Kirkman. I love the superhero genre, and I think Kirkman is doing some spectacular stuff.
I'd also like to second Astro City, Another really fun read. I'd say anything by Busiek is good, though.

[Devcon]

And I'm going to put Demon Knights out if you're a fan of D&D/Conan/Fantasy adventuring - issue #1 even brings the group together in a tavern, HA. It has my favorite representation of Vandal Savage I've ever seen in media.

This. A thousand times this. Demon Knights is possibly my favorite DCnU series, topped possibly only by JLI. Though Batman is a strong contender with the Court of Owls storyline.

[Lizard King]

I just started reading the '90s Starman series, and it's pretty fantastic so far

[Vestras]

Marvel's Runaways, especially the original 3 volumes and Dead End Kids (the Joss run). Easily my favorite comic series of all time.

Both IDW Transformers on-goings have been gangbusters thus far.

I'd recommend JMS' work outside of One More Day typically.

[Zodberg]

JMS's and Sean McKeever's stuff at Marvel ranges from good to great to great with considerable editorial interference.
their DC work was never up to standard.