The essentials

lordsippa

Was talking to a friend who has a passing interest in comics today and we got to talking bout the classic comics that have been out in the last 20 or so years... Like Alan Moore's stuff, Garth Ennis' stuff and so on...

So just wondering what people rate as the best comics ever and who the best writers are. Basically these are the comics that you should, if you were to read no other comics, read.

Personally the first three that spring to mind are Watchmen, Transmetropolition, and The Dark Knight Returns.

And any Sin City stuff....

Cable

I recently got some Scion collections, thought it was class, i just keep buying the graphic novels of it

][cEMAN**

Well I know my own tastes are far in difference to most other people's tastes so the ones I would recommend to some people wouldn't even be worth considering.....but....

2nd Deadpool mini series. Funniest comic i've ever read and some of the best artwork.

Earth X (Original) series. It just makes you think about the Marvel universe in an entirely different way. Again the Alex Ross artwork is brilliant

Any spawn.

Um can't think of much else reallyworth reading. The frst makes you laugh, the second make you think - especially about comic books and the architypal idea of the comic book hero. What happens when good is evil and evil is good? Earth X explores the idea that everything already said in Marvel is nonsense and nobody knew what was going on, again exploring a few comic related philosophies, and Spawn explores the idea that heaven and hell are not really 'Good' and 'Evil' as both fight just as dirty in a war that cares not for the people of the earth who they fight over.

sixpack's little hat

V for vendetta
Hitman
Preacher
Lone wolf and cub

Cable

who could disagree Deadpool? I have a few issues of his comic (is that still around by the way?) and he's often found in some xmen and wolverine and he ALWAYS rocks

Draco

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a must.

FreaK_BrutheR

Slaine the Horned God series is one of my favourites of all time.
Bill Scheiniwicz (sp.?) Stray Toasters another personal favourite.
Robert Crumb and his insanely honest tales and Gilbert Shelton with the Furry Freak Brothers of course.
The Preacher is all classic stuff it has to be said.
Watchmen was good too but I dunno about it being up here.
erm.... Song of the Surfer was a great series from 2000ad too
Anyway thats what on my mind at the minute.

the raven

alan moores:
top 10
tomorrow stories
from hell
watchmen (imho the greatest comic of all time)
.....plenty of others i can't think of right now

frank miller 's daredevil run specially all the elektra/bullsye stuff and the origin story "the man without fear"

frank miller's batman stuff, specially year one and dark knight

david mack's daredevil stuff - wonderful artwork and excellent stoylines

art spiegalman's "Maus" volumes 1 & 2

neil gaiman's sandman

automatic kafka (can't remember creators' names, dammit)

... so much more but i'm late for a lecture...

Fysh

Personally, I'd have:

Sandman
Preacher
Gilbert Shelton's Fat Freddy's Cat strips
Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes
Transmetropolitan
Watchmen
and *maybe* Dark Knight Returns.

I'm even hesitant about Dark Knight (and Watchmen too, to a lesser extent) because, regardless of how many good stories are told about superheroes, at the end of the day we're talking about people going out in fancy dress to fight equally improbably dressed villains. It's like saying that a really well-written, highly literate book based on a Tom Clancy plot automatically justifies all Tom Clancy-type books (you know the ones - 700 pages of gratuitous swearing, near-war situations, some smart-arse hero who just about saves the day, and more weapon specifications than you can shake a stick at).

But then I've been disappointed at superhero comics ever since Iron Man's one interesting incarnation (the cynical git that they gave us at the beginning of Heroes Reborn) got turned back into the usual muppet. Cool idea, very very weak rendition.

AngelofFire

X men batman or spiderman does the trick for me

the raven

i gotta agree with you on the iron man issue fysh, wasn't the reborn year just top quality?? and bucky didn't die!!!!

that's one of the best things in comics, bucky stays dead.
oh and the death of robin... (jason todd)






just after reading a review there of robins death. pretty darn good review but i'd still recommend reading the material. if anyone's interested:http://www.epinions.com/content_61857959556

simu

My list (subject to modifications as I read more comics)
- The Sandman series
- Transmetropolitan
- Preacher (although uneven at times - did anybody else think the story about Jesse getting freaked out that French ppl eat horses was very sad?)
- Watchmen (I'd love if ppl stopped associating comics with superheroes automatically but this is truly a work of literature).
- Astérix (tis educational and there are so many great puns. This is especially impressive when you consider it's been translated from French).
- A Small Killing (written by Alan Moore - very atmospheric, excellent psychological insight - shows that the comics genre is as good for this sort of thing as text-only novels).
- The Russel comics (They're about a hippie callled Russel trying to get his life together and are absolutely hilarious).

Manach

Graphic Novels I enjoyed
- The Dark Knight Returns
- Arkham Asylum
- Ruse
- Rising Stars
- and most of the Sandman


also as an aside, I truely loath Watchmen, personal taste I guess.

AngelofFire

Every batman fan has to read the killing joke it is the pinnacle of the jokers charachter. Also check out batman anarchy-art work is crappy but its a great story

AngelofFire

Also check out Xmen-E is for extincition or X men-Ultimate war. Defining moments in the mutants struggle to be accepted into the human world