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Comics

Anthile

Steel marks flesh
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I wonder, no real thread about comics/manga/graphic novels? Well, here we go.

Actually, I have always read comics, but rarely superhero comics. I began with Disney comics but as I got older I focused on more mature content like shounen manga or European comics like XIII (no, not that one), Storm or Ten Commandments.
Nowadays I mostly read seinen manga and graphic novels. When I have some money left, I plan to dig into Sandman.

My top 5 favourites are:

-Berserk
-Eden
-Watchmen
-Blame!
-XIII
 

preilemus

Ashes
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I'm not a fan of comics, manga, or any of that sort of stuff, but i did read watchmen, which was very, very good.
 

Sapphire Harp

Well-Known Member
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Comics / Graphic Novels (of the US/UK tradition anyway) are kind of a funny genre... The great majority of the stories are superhero stories and they're almost wholly bad... (greater than 97.5% of the superhero comics, I would say.)

Watchmen's extraordinary success is very curious in light of this, because it's quite literally a deconstruction of what the genre is about... and very, very good besides. It's also different in that it's possibly the most dialogue heavy (and outright prose heavy) comic I've read.

* * * * *

Personally, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman is my favorite set of graphic novels, without question. (Of course, it does stand with the strength of ten volumes, so that helps...) It has very mature, wise, life-building stories in it that really ignite wonder and dreaming and compassion if you draw on them in your life...

If you haven't gotten to The Sandman yet, (anyone), I definitely think you should try it... But, honestly, I STRONGLY recommend you don't read them in order of 1-10... The first novel, Gaiman is just starting to figure out where he's going... and it kind of leaves you wondering why you're reading this book...

I think the the best place to start is by reading Vol. 3: Dream Country, then Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections. After that, you can either read Vol. 8: World's End next, or you can go back to the beginning and read them all in order... If you read them in this crazy order, I can pretty much promise you that you'll enjoy the books much more.

Also, *VERY IMPORTANT*... Save the introduction of Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones until after you've read the book itself!!! It includes really bad spoilers and I can't figure out why they arranged it that way. It's really stupid.

* * * * *

To mention a few other fine novels, I think Preacher is very good. Think of it as a exploration of the world's horrors and depravity while a disillusioned Texan preacher, armed with divine knowledge and power he shouldn't possess, is (quite literally) searching for God to ask him what the hell is going on...

Although, as far as superhero stories go... I thought The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a pretty good comic... Mostly it's just fun because it's a witty recasting of all those 18th century literary characters... Fortunately the two stories have little to do with the movie... The first being a complicated detective mystery, with the second being the H.G. Wells War of the Worlds invasion... :D

And Hellboy's pretty fun, if extremely kitchy... :p Rather than the feeling you get from the films, it reads like a gothic / noir detective story with ancient folklore mixed in... and the art makes everything and everyone look like they're carved from stone. :D

* * * * *

Interesting thing in the news today - apparently Disney is moving to buy Marvel (comics) and the rights to all of the Marvel characters...

I wonder what they've got in mind with that...
 

The Fury

is licking himself.
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Cork, thats in Ireland
I collected comics when I was younger but got annoyed with the poor storylines, the feeble explanations for supernatural events and the price. I came across V for Vendetta a while ago and thought it was one of the finest pieces of fiction that I've ever read but it couldn't fan the flame I once held for comic books.
 

NoID10ts

aka Noddy
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I've been an on again, off again comic fan since I was a kid. Having an art background, it's the perfect medium for me, but I was never a good enough artist to be able to make it. I think I would be better at the writing side of it, but I never could connect with an artist who could consistently produce the art.

A few personal favorites other then those already mentioned:

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns"
"Kingdom Come" - Alex Ross is amazing
"Astro City" - Great writing

But one of my all time favorites is David Mack's "Kabuki". Mack is an amazing artist, blurring the lines between comic and fine art. His first series, "Circle of Blood" is more traditional manga/comic book art, with a really great story, but after that he takes the art to a new level. Here's some of his work:

David%20Mack.JPG


dailykpg57.jpg


baltimorecon08-12.jpg
 

Cogwulf

Is actually an INTJ
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England
The only graphic novels I've read have been the Sin City novels and Watchmen. I keep meaning to read some others but I've already got loads of regular books scattered about which I've bought and not read yet
 

Jaico

(mono no aware)
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Lost in my thoughts
I'm not really into graphic novels - I have Watchmen and V for Vendetta kicking around (they're my brother's), but I just can't bring myself to read them. I probably should, though...

As for comics - I really enjoy Calvin and Hobbes...who doesn't? It's such a wonderful and witty comic that has a lot of depth that's rarely found in newspaper comics. I also enjoy garfieldminusgarfield, a web comic parodying the garfield comic strips by removing garfield and mocking Jon's existential angst (it's better than it sounds, really!)
 

nemo

Active Member
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Melbourne
I was never really into comics, but I absolutely love manga. For a while I was just reading the classic shoujo/romance mangas. I've moved onto some seinen mangas that aren't violent, like Kurosagi and Liar Game.

Kurosagi is about a swindler who swindles swindlers for revenge, while the latter is way more complicated... I'll try explain it anyhow, because I find the concept of the manga and how human nature is portrayed through various characters quite interesting.

The protagonist is Kanzaki Nao, a very honest/naive college girl. One day she receives 100 million yen and an invite to the Liar Game Tournament. She loses the money easily and turns to the genius swindler who's just out of jail, Akiyama, for help. He reluctantly agrees after a while. They succeed in taking the money back, but are drawn back into the game. The two are unwilling at first. After realising the massive damage the Liar Game wreaks on all the participants though, they decide to stay and fight, for the sake of themselves and others who are all in huge debt due to the game.

One line stands out to me from Liar Game: "Doubt them! Question them, suspect them...and take a good, long look into their hearts."
Akiyama was telling Nao that 'trust' is not always a good thing, and to get to know someone, to be close to them, they need to be doubted. It made me think, but I reckon I still don't fully understand it. :confused:
EDIT: Here's a link to the whole section of the quote: http://www.onemanga.com/Liar_Game/29/10/
 

Artifice Orisit

Guest
@-Jacio
You've changed my life, garfieldminusgarfield is fantastic!
 

sagewolf

Badass Longcat
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I love comics. I admit I've never read Watchmen (I will, once I have money) but I have read V for Vendetta and I'm on book 4 of Sandman (didn't get your advice about the reading order in time, Sapphire, but I'll keep the intro to Vol.9 in mind). I have a couple of Flight anthologies, which I am very fond of, along with Kazu Kibuishi's own graphic novel, Amulet. Brendan Cahill's Outside The Box comics are some of my favorites on the web (flash based, with static artwork and moving panels/fades). I don't (surprisingly, when I think aout it), read much manga-- my main series are FMA and Tsubasa. Since Death Note is on cable (yeeeeeesssss!) I'm happy just to watch the anime of that, although I do have the first two volumes. Other comics I like include Gunnerkrigg Court, Order of the Stick, Lackadaisy, Bite Me!, and Xkcd. And yes, Garfield minus Garfield is a brilliant comic. I also intend to get my hands on a copy of Dan Boultwood's Hope Falls as soon as possible.

No explanations as to why I like these, but that would have created a tl;dr so.... I'll just post a big list. :o :p
 

udqbpn

Redshirt
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I think that any INTP who likes Calvin & Hobbes would also like another fantastic well written comic from the paper that was full of ideas, Bloom County by Birkley Breathed (who was in fact a friend of Bill Waterson, creator of C&H.) For less serious but still entertaining stuff you might (after Bloom County) want to check out Liberty Meadows by Frank Cho. Oh and there's always The Far Side, with it's one panel strips but who isn't amazed by what he fits into those haha.
 

typus

is resting down in Cornwall
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I've never been that in to comics, especially superhero comics, but there are some really great web comics out there, like Dinosaur Comics!
 

Dormouse

Mean can be funny
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HAPPY PLACE
Mostly I stick to webcomics because I have no money. Here is one which insofar may be described as my favourite, at least my favourite one with a plot, though I haven't followed it in a while.

http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/index2.php

As for comics that are actually in print, I love that one series by Neil Gaiman. The Sandman, yes?
 
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To mention a few other fine novels, I think Preacher is very good. Think of it as a exploration of the world's horrors and depravity while a disillusioned Texan preacher, armed with divine knowledge and power he shouldn't possess, is (quite literally) searching for God to ask him what the hell is going on...

I'm in the middle of reading the Preacher series right now. I find it amusing, though after too many volumes in one sitting I begin to feel a bit too much angst and bitterness and have to take a break.

I love Transmetropolitan-- a gonzo misanthropic journalist with a strong sense of justice and a vulgar quip for everything, set in a future that is not so insane as to seem sci-fi, but not so believable that the comic takes an overly political tone by way of the action inflicted throughout it. Warren Ellis (the creator) is the bomb-diggity, and the illustration is incredible. It's currently taking up space on my hard drive because I know that I have to read it again.

bowel+disruptor.jpg


Tried to read Tank Girl but, contrary to popular belief, it sucked balls.

I have a list of other G.N. series lined up, I have hope that my good reading experiences will not become anomalies.
 

Puffy

"Wtf even was that"
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I used to read a lot of comics when I was younger. More recently I have gotten into Alan Moore, while Watchmen is great, I think I enjoyed V for Vendetta more. He puts so much into his characters.
 
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Ah, I forgot about internet comics.

Basic Instructions is hilarious.

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Red Meat's pretty funny too, though the mark is sometimes slightly missed.

myorm_2ndplace.gif
 

Puffy

"Wtf even was that"
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:kilroy:

Whenever I have money these days, I've found myself buying graphic novels. I definitely want to read that Kubacki series Noddy (though I'm not sure if you visit here anymore) but here's a few more to add to people's contribution:

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams - I really enjoyed this comic, but I think it might be a love or hate thing. It had an incredibly busy 1930s animation style, which I think has received mixed reviews. This is a typical example:

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It does fit the theme, in the end.

It tells the story of the early history of animation, as told around a few of the defining animators of the period. Ted - as indisposed in the picture above - acquires an imaginary friend early in his life. When he finally draws him, to show to those who can't see him, he creates a character which defines his career in animation as well as heading the company that he and most of the main characters works for. Waldo the Cat also ends up haunting him and blurring the lines between reality and animation in his life, which in pictures such as the above is quite visually dominant in the story.

It is very non-linear, focusing around a few events which are re-told from different perspectives throughout the story. I can't describe it very well, I just thought it was quite impressive. I got it last night and I had finished it by lunch today (it's 160 pages) I will definitely need to re-read it, but it just goes to show that it is quite an addictive read.

Another I am really surprised has not already been mentioned is Art Spiegelman's "Maus". It might just be that my university's history department is quite heavily focused on Jewish studies, but it is at least very well known here.

maus.gif


The above picture might be a bit telling, but Maus is a biographical account of a Jew's experience of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The narrators are in the contemporary present, Art Spiegelman himself is interviewing his Father who tells all of the story that is set in the past. Both of these stories I have mentioned are meant to be histories, by the way.

I remember watching Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" a few weeks back, in the very first scene a Nazi officer describes Germans as Eagles and the Jews as rats in hiding. Maus kind of takes this to a literal racial level in the comic. The Poles are pigs, Jews are rats, Germans are cats and the Americans are dogs. While quite amusing in a "food chain" way - The cats chase the rats, the dogs chase the cats - it portrays, in quite a controversial way, an age-old tradition of anti-semitism of physically distancing Jewish people from the rest of society.

I feel this song best represents what I mean, I don't really need to describe it to be honest: ‪If You Could See Her From My Eyes‬‏ - YouTube

But yeah, very provoking. A fascinating character profile as well, but you'd have to read it to know what I mean, I don't want to include spoilers.

I'd really like to hear of some more good comics from people. I'm surprised this thread isn't more popular, as Anthile implied in the OP, I would have thought an under-appreciated medium such as graphic novels would appeal to the INTP.

I just got "Palestine" by Joe Sacco, but more on that once I've read it..
 

systembust

Member
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^^ I looked up "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" after you (I think) mentioned it in the "What are you reading" thread. It does look interesting and creative... I will probably try and get it some way this weekend.

I was a comics fanatic as a kid. Like many, my interest has been on/off ever since. Big Erik Larsen / Image Comics fan. I grew out of that stuff for the most part, though. Now that I'm starting to become aware of some of the more adult/well-written titles and graphic novels, I've become steadily more interested once again.

My favorite titles are those that are grounded in real life experience, or more fantastical titles that at least adhere relatively strictly to the parameters they've drawn for themselves. My favorite comics these days are the "American Splendor" series - or anything else for that matter - by Harvey Pekar; a number of the Vertigo books (especially 100 Bullets and Human Target); some of the Warren Ellis / BOOM! studios stuff; and then the sporadic well-crafted graphic novel (Persepolis, Elektra: Assassin, Paying For It, Life Eaters, Noche Roja).

I'd definitely be interested to hear any recommendations anyone might have along these lines, particularly autobiographical sort of stuff.
 

Puffy

"Wtf even was that"
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I have Persepolis next in line to read (:

As for autobiographical, you might like what I am reading now: Palestine by Joe Sacco. It's an autobiographical account of two months he spent in Palestine mainly looking at the causes and conflicts going on there (1991-2 when he wrote it). It's very much real life as it's about problems that have been going on there since the mid-20th century with Israeli occupation and all.

You shouldn't regret buying "Boulevard" if you like comics, a very good read (: Thanks for the suggestions as well!
 

Puffy

"Wtf even was that"
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Wow. I'm surprised it was only November 2010 that I made my first comment on this thread, as since reading V for Vendetta and Watchmen way back then I've got into comics in a big way, both in terms of readership and study.

I secretly suspect that there are more comic/ manga readers about, so I'm bumping the thread just in case... But I'll add a few unmentioned gems I've come across since.

For anyone who likes Moore's V for Vendetta and Watchmen, I really recommend his later - what I'm tempted to call his comic magnum opus - From Hell.

tumblr_lfi5xdwWqG1qc9aj6o1_500.png

If only time-travelling serial killers disrupted my office days. :D

It's a very different work stylistically to these, coming in at a nice 600 pages (+ 50 pages of footnotes!) it's also more challenging but it definitely has epic pay-off. From Hell is a historical fiction/ detective fiction/ gothic horror set in Victorian England. It follows a fictional (free-mason, of all things) conspiracy which lead to the murders of the serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

It effectively suggests that to truly solve a murder you must solve the whole society it happened under; as such it involves (and comments on) many layers of Victorian society, featuring cameos from famous figures of the time, like Joseph Merrick, Oscar Wilde, William Blake, Aleister Crowley, et al. But it extends from this both to the geography of London and the impact of our historic environments on the way we think, to the birth of Jack the Ripper as a myth and its influence on the 20th century, which the killer experiences in a number of visions.

I think it's one of Alan Moore's most ambitious comics but unfortunately underrated, some of its chapters rank among my favourite horror ones as well. If you can find a download online it might be worth a look.


Another I wanted to give a quick mention to was Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. The story follows an exceptionally anxious man's first meeting with his Father, who abandoned him as a child, but multi-layers it with a number of sub-narratives either involving the blending of the protagonist's fantasies with his reality, or the parallel story of his great-great grandfather.

jimmy.jpg
I remember this scene making me lol. Good ole family values.

The really fun thing about it (and most of Ware's other comics) is the graphic design though. It is frequently considered among the best graphic novels for it. He's seemingly mastered packing at least 20 panels into a single page without making the reader want to kill themselves.

Or jump off a building, if you're superman anyway:

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Okay maybe sometimes:

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
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UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

In seriousness, beautiful book though. I look forward to re-reading it when my exams are out the way.
 
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