A Comic Book Thread

Kendrik

Kendrik

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Staff member
I love comic books. Definitely a Marvel fanboy... even though there's a ton I don't yet know. Given my love of fighting games... when Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was announced... I think my nerdhype exceeded 9000^9000. (On the note of MvC3: Get it. Period. Do it now. Then post in our thread.)

But with my purchase of the game, having been lucky enough to get the special edition, I got a free month's access to Marvel's online subscription service (which reportedly has 9000+ comics in the collection at the moment). I decided to go ahead and start my freebie month today.

Needless to say, I've spent most of the evening reading comics.

Prior to this, I started building my own collection (slow going due to costs and general lack of funds). I'm really enjoying Marvel's Ultimate line (I've collected a little of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Iron Man so far). It's relatively recent... and very cohesive. Makes it easy for someone just getting into the comic world to keep track of what's going on (Ultimate line is its own continuity, disconnected from all others, including the mainline [Earth 616] continuity).

Anyway, post up your comic book love.

Currently reading: Thunderbolts.
 
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I stopped reading X-Men after Chris Claremont quit writing for Marvel.

I have much <3 for early Excalibur comics (Shadowcat was one of my favorite comic book characters when I was still reading), but didn't keep up with the series after the second year.

Jim Lee was probably my favorite artist, whether he was working on Marvel or Image comics.

After Lee and Claremont left Marvel, I lost my interest in X-Men and in comic books in general.

I haven't picked up a comic book in years, but have wasted a few hours reading about what happened after I quit reading Marvel comics on Wikipedia. To be frank, it doesn't sound like I missed much of interest. (Sorry, X-Men fans.)

I'd still like to own some sort of collection/re-print of the Day of Future Past series. I used to want to pick up a copy of Uncanny X-Men...#129, I think? The issue where Shadowcat is introduced.

I do read manga online from time to time and maintain that the Naruto and Bleach manga series are far superior to the anime (though both are rife with male posturing, drawn out battles, characters who possess ten times the amount of blood in a normal human body, filler arcs, Trueform Changes, and other tropes common to shounen manga).

I did read a novel set in the Fables universe and would like to pick up a Fables graphic novel on the cheap if I spot one some time. I love the concept of fairy tale characters living in the real world and the book I read did a good job of delivering on the idea without seeming hokey.

For those who grew up reading comic books, I'd recommend checking out The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman is a genius, but his works tend to include offensive content that, for me at least, ruin the reading experience. The Graveyard Book is aimed at a younger audience, so it doesn't include the same "adult" cruft that ruined the experience of reading his other books. It reminded me of "classic" children's books written by authors (C.S. Lewis and Lewis Caroll come to mind) who don't assume children are blithering idiots.

/pulls post back on topic

Go Shadowcat. And Nightcrawler. Woo.
 
I used to read & collect comic books in the 80s & 90s. The reason I stopped in the mid-90s was due to the higher costs and that there was a higher concentration on the art rather than the story. Sometime in 2000 about 1/3 of the comic book collection was stolen. Then I gave the remaining to a friend which still totaled over 600 a few years later. I kept about 15 comics which are primarily X-Men from the 80s. I looked at them when I saw this thread :) Man it brought back memories.
 
Haven't bought new ones in about 10 yrs, but my collection, scattered though it is, contains, Ironman some back to the sixties, FF, Hulk, Spiderman, some odd DC comics including the Super Man is dead arc and the Aquaman loses hand arc. A few Witchblade, a few Warrior Nun Areala and a few bits and pieces from other Indies.
 
Tek7 said:
I do read manga online from time to time and maintain that the Naruto and Bleach manga series are far superior to the anime (though both are rife with male posturing, drawn out battles, characters who possess ten times the amount of blood in a normal human body, filler arcs, Trueform Changes, and other tropes common to shounen manga).
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I spaced Japanese comics earlier. Definitely a fan of Naruto (in printed and animated forms). Such awesomeness. Also loved the Fullmetal Alchemist anime. Loved? Nah. Love. One of my favorite series of any kind. Ever. Still gotta read the manga. I think I'll collect the printed volumes at some point since I like them so much.

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a fondness for comics around here, by the way. :P

Because I'm cheap... and am more interested in content than format... I'm mostly building my collection with Marvel's Essentials line and DC's Showcase Presents line. They're black and white prints... but you get usually get at least 500 pages of content for $15 (average) retail; comes out to like $0.60 an issue in a lot of cases. Mostly Silver Age and Bronze Age stuff... which is more than fine by me.

My next picks will probably be volume ones of a couple of DC's Chronicles lines. Full color. 200 pages of Golden Age origins. Amazon itself sells Batman Chronicles vol. 1 for $10. Not bad for the original origin.

But, for now, I'm enjoying my free month Marvel Unlimited. Thunderbolts stuff (started at the semi-relaunch of issue #100) is really cool. Mostly reading it so I have a better grasp of what happened from Civil War to Secret Invasion/Dark Reign in order to more fully appreciate Dark Avengers... which is next on my online hitlist.
 
Actually, I'm between reading manga, looking for recommendations of what to read next.

I've read Gundam seed, Cowboy Bebop, and Runouni Kenshin. I'm not interested in reading Bleach, as I'm watching it with my wife. Any ideas?
 
Neirai the Forgiven said:
Actually, I'm between reading manga, looking for recommendations of what to read next.

I've read Gundam seed, Cowboy Bebop, and Runouni Kenshin. I'm not interested in reading Bleach, as I'm watching it with my wife. Any ideas?
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Naruto. Fullmetal Alchemist. Gin-Tama (which is pretty much the Kung Fu Hustle of shounen). I heart them all.
 
Neirai the Forgiven said:
I've read Gundam seed, Cowboy Bebop, and Runouni Kenshin. I'm not interested in reading Bleach, as I'm watching it with my wife. Any ideas?
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Both the Bleach and Naruto anime series are packed with filler. I dropped both anime series, picked up the manga, and haven't returned to the anime since.

I haven't read the manga, but the Natsume Yuujinchou anime remains one of my favorite anime series. The series is classified as shoujo, but who cares it's awesome. Furthermore, it's a wonderful break from the glut of "I'MA FIRIN MAH LAZUR" shounen fare. If you find the anime series set on the cheap, pick it up. Japanese folklore + likable characters + beautiful art = a wonderful series. My wife and I watched it together and she also enjoyed it, so I'd also recommend it for female viewers.

Side note: The more anime I watch and the more manga I read, the less concerned I am with demographic indicators. Shounen, shoujo, seinen (no hentai, no ecchi), josei (no yaoi, no smut)--all have their strengths.

Since you're already familiar with shounen, I'd recommend Bakuman, a manga about manga from the creators of Death Note. It reads like a love letter to shounen fans with references to popular series like Naruto and Dragon Ball Z. I've watched more of the anime than I've read of the manga, but the series is an interesting take on the shounen genre.
 
Okay... I somethetimes try not to rave about programs and services and stuff... but uh... Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is siiiiick (good kind). I got a free month with my Marvel vs. Capcom 3 purchase. I've read so much already. So awesome.

But it seems the entire Ultimate line is on it. At $10/month or $60/year... it's not the cheapest thing ever. But at $15 a volume for Ultimate stuff? That quickly adds up. I, for one, will be finding a way to get a year's subscription... and I definitely recommend considering it if it sounds at alll interesting to you. So much awesomeness. O.o
 
I started reading Tsubasa (by CLAMP) and was shocked to see that it's a parallel world to not only Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits, but also a manga I'd been avoiding, XXXholic (will the censors let me say that?)

Anyhow, I picked up a copy of XXXholic 1, and was shocked to see that while Tsubasa is mostly fluff (despite having a truly loving character, which is a shock to say the least,) XXXholic contains a huge amount of dialogue on life. Interesting. And these claim to be from the same people.

XXXholic does have an overall texture of occultism, but the actual meat --and there is meat-- of the story has nothing to do with the Occult. More to do with good, evil, and sacrifice.
 
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XXXholic is one of several anime series (I know, I know, we're talking about the manga; bear with me) that I missed when it was being fansubbed, but wish I'd watched. (Mushishi and Gurren Lagann, despite the former being facepalm-inducingly shounen at times, are on the same list.)

I don't agree with CLAMP's views on "love" (as Neirai mentioned, CLAMP's other works include Chobits) and I haven't read the XXXholic manga, so I can't recommend it yet.

I can recommend Natsume Yuujinchou, though. If memory of the first episode of XXXholic serves, both it and Yuujinchou feature youkai as supporting characters.
 
I've just started CLAMP's Tsubasa series, and the main thrust of the novel is that the main character needs to save his girlfriend's (fiance's?) memories, except the memory in which she loves him.

So, essentially, he's sacrificing his love for her because he loves her. Pretty good.
 
Revive!!!'d

I just got an article published on a comic-related site, StashMyComics.com. Here's my shameless plug for it. Would be honored to have you read it. Would be even more appreciative if you felt inclined to leave some sort of feedback, too.

So, for your enjoyment, here it is.
 
I started reading Gintama, but I had to put it down. Maybe because I just finished reading Rurouni Kenshin, I couldn't stomach the vast amount of Anti-western racism that made up the storyline. Or that the whole point of the series seemed to be that racism is good! Not my bag.

For those of you who read Gintama and are saying "what racism? Huh??" -- the abolition of the samurai that forms the backdrop of the series is based on an actual historical event which happened as a direct result of the "colonization" or invasion of Japan by the Americans and the subsequent era of chaos known in Kenshin as bakumatsu or the time of insanity. When bakumatsu ended, the new government in the historical Meiji period banned samurai, ninjas, and pretty much every other sword-wielding class.

In Gintama, aliens (read: foreigners) control much of society and have banned swords. They have over-the-top behavior typical to negative stereotypes of westerners, and are opposed by the supposed last samurai. The main character of Gintama goes around trying to convince his fellow Japanese to resist and hate aliens.

Not my bag.
 
Tek7 said:
I stopped reading X-Men after Chris Claremont quit writing for Marvel.
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I should have stopped buying comics made later than then too but I didn't XD. I actually liked the older ones written by him and his contemporaries. Keeping up with the new stuff just left me with many X-Men comics I haven't even read nor wish too. Seriously when I quit there was a fold out recap/timeline/explanation thing in the front of every X-men comic book the writing got so bad. Thankfully I did stop eventually.

I think the best series I can remember reading was "Marvels" and more so "Kingdom Come" (both with Alex Ross :) !). They have plenty of nods to those in the know about the source material but both series plots are stand alone, though once again more so "Kingdom Come". I'd recommend reading them. Figures "Kingdom Come" the comic I remember most wasn't even what I collected XD .
 
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