Recommended reading for a newbie : reply a must for all the "comic readers"

jack19

My question is what kind of comic book would you suggest to someone who has never ever read one? This would be a story that would hopefully get them excited about comic books.

Reply is a must for all the comics readers in this forums....:)

Thank you

Fysh

I'd suggest reading the following two threads, there's a lot of recommendations in them:

Newbie Advice
What Comic Are You Reading?

ztoical

also are you looking for any and all comic rec's or is just mainstream fanboy comics, underground/alternative/small press comics or manga?

I can do you rec's for all three but only if you actually want rec's for all three.

bombidol

Y The Last Man
Ex. Machina
100 Bullets
Preacher

Any one of those has turned many people I know into hardcore comic nerds.

Miss Shelly

I'll say what I say to everyone.

Anything published by Vertigo is usually worth reading, be it Graphic Novel, or Comic.

the Shades

Oooh Shelley, didn't you ever read Vamps? Vertigo have had their share of turkeys.

But to cross the border between mature readers and mainstream comics all I can say is pick up Hellboy.

Miss Shelly

This is why I said usually...

(Astonishing X-men is good... but I'm a Wheddon whor..fan.)

thumbninja

it's all about the person you are trying to hook as much as anything else..

for example the last few people I've passed the good word to:

friend, female, into cats - we 3

brother, dance head, dry wit, likes tech - transmetropolitan

friend, female, thinks all comics are for kids - short story about delirium of the ending for her baby son. (sneaking in under the radar )

friend, male, big music fan, programmer - slightly tougher this one. left some carefully chosen hellblazers in his place and watched what happened. he's mega fan now

MikeHoncho

It really all depends. I am not a newbie as such but had given up comic books for a number of years. There were 2 that I picked up that got me back into comics. One was Whedons run on Astonishing xmen. A really easy jump in point for anyone I think. Pick up the trades and you will be hooked.

The other was that I got handed a copy of Batman Dark Knight Returns. This just blew me away and I have been eating up material ever since. I would recommend some of the following:

Sandman
Ultimates
Batman: Dark Night Returns
Batman: The Long Halloween
Watchmen
Daredevil: The Devil Inside And Out

I think with these titles I am still only scratching the surface and am looking forward to reading things like Y the last man and Fables soon.

Jack B. Badd

Depends what you're into as regards reading material yourself. Personally I'm a sci-fi head so the likes of Ellis' Transmet and (as mentioned above) Y: The Last Man really appeal to me. I've read some superhero comics and overall wasn't too satisfied with them but I think that's just me. I loved Maus as anything with a real-life theme represented in comic form is different enough to excite me.
Also, Alan Moore is your friend V for Vendetta was what turned me onto comics in the first place, oh so long ago (in reality, it was last May).

chamlis

Watchmen
Dark Knight Returns
Preacher

In a nutshell, like.

qwertplaywert

Dark Knight Returns
Astonishing X-men
Ultimates
Watchmen
v FOR Vendetta

the Shades

Now that it's finished, Mike Carey's first story arc on X-men is pretty tasty stuff. First decent X-men writer in years.

Longshadow

Read a book!
Nah, just kidding, they're dull. No pictures.. Seconding what several have already said, Dark Knight Returns. It's just bloody amazing, and ideal for those who still harbour notions that 'comics are for kids'
In the same vein, Gaiman and McKean's Violent Cases is one of my favourite short stories, in any format. It really is a work of art and literature. It's what I used to give those of the above mind set when I was younger, getting older, and 'still reading comics? Really? Aren't you a bit old?' used to come up.
Nowadays people know better and don't ask, just back away smiling politely, being careful not to trip over the all the long boxes in their path to the door.
Y: The Last Man is likely also a safe bet.



Going down with my ship? Sure I am... just do me a favour and wear my nice hat for a minute..

Beach Head

Dark Knight Returns. And I am not a Batman Fan!

Also, the entire run of Punisher War Zone.

Saruwatari

My pick of the list :
Johnny the Homocidal Maniac
Lenore - The Cute Little Dead Girl
Mbleh!
Hellboy
B.P.R.D.
Shaolin Cowboy
Death Jr

the Shades

Since it was only said once and I really do think it stands head and shoulders above all the others;

100 Bullets!

Hallainzil

It was The League of Extrordinary Gentlemen (Vol 1) that turned me onto comics. I can think of nothing better.

bombidol

100 Bullets is amazing but it turns into a cluster fook a couple of trades in. DO NOT READ THIS OUT OF ORDER!!!!

the Shades

Hallainzil wrote:

It was The League of Extrordinary Gentlemen (Vol 1) that turned me onto comics. I can think of nothing better.

Really? I found it to be a great concept wasted on a bad JLA plot. And as for the second volume, I'd already War of the Worlds so I really didn't see the point.

jack19

Is that all i can't believe that there are only a few comic readers in this forum...:(

the Shades

So you still haven't looked at the What comics are you reading at the moment? thread with over 400 replies? Seems to me that would be a good place to start.

Jack B. Badd

jack19 wrote:

Is that all i can't believe that there are only a few comic readers in this forum...:(

I, for one, am not too sure exactly what it is you're looking for, OP. Do you want to be recommended reading material or do you want a list of comic heads? If it's the latter, then just browse the forum in your own time and you'll find plenty of people discussing what they've read. Just because you've marked your thread with "reply a must" doesn't mean everyone will post here especially since there are a number of other threads dealing with recommending comics...

jack19

Jack B. Badd wrote:

I, for one, am not too sure exactly what it is you're looking for, OP. Do you want to be recommended reading material or do you want a list of comic heads? If it's the latter, then just browse the forum in your own time and you'll find plenty of people discussing what they've read. Just because you've marked your thread with "reply a must" doesn't mean everyone will post here especially since there are a number of other threads dealing with recommending comics...

sorry jack but i just wanted to know how much a person is interested in comic reading....Don't mind about that.

komodosp

V for Vendetta is about the only one I've read cover to cover, and it's brilliant! Don't be put off by the movie...

.:Who:.

The best comic/Graphic Novel that I could recommend to anyone is Transmetropolitan - Its a class all on its own.

Lemme know if you piclk it up n what you think!

Jack B. Badd

Started buying Transmet recently myself and tis well worth the investment though it does require rather a sick mind to appreciate it (not something I'm lacking ). Waiting for the siopa to get The New Scum in now...

galactus

jack19 wrote:

"This would be a story that would hopefully get them excited about comic books."

On a non-comics point, I'm not sure this is possible. Example: my Dad used to take me to GAA matches when I was a kid. I still hate GAA with a passion (unless Cork are in the hurling final).

I've always tried to share my love of comics with people but I have never "converted" anyone.

If you are asking what are "the classics", well it depends on your taste but other posters have pointed out the big guns i suppose.

the Shades

Strangers in paradise often works, especially for female readers but after a while it keeps treading the same water.

ztoical

jack19 wrote:

Is that all i can't believe that there are only a few comic readers in this forum...:(

ok honey your going to have to give alittle to get something back, so far you've just asked for comic rec's for a newbie yet no info given on the age and sex of said newbie or what genre of comic your looking for. Are we assuming that you are the newbie or is it for a friend that you want to introduce to comics but don't belive they like the type of comic you read? Am i sticking to mainstream publishers here or do you want rec's of stuff you might have to make an effort to track down? or can we rec some webcomics?

Without more info your just going to get general or no feedback. Also people have rec'd stuff for you and you haven't replyed with a "yes that sounds interesting" or "nope not what im looking for".

so here's some rec'd for a few different things and if theres something along the lines of what you had in mind that shout out and maybe some of the other "comic readers" will be able to rec more books.

mainstream for someone just starting off go in and pick up number 1 of any of the trade paperbacks [graphic novels] from marvel. Joe "head up his ass" Q has done something right in focusing on the trade paperback market and most marvel titles are now collected for you so you don't have to pick up monthly books. Once you get caught up you can start picking up the monthly book or you can just stick with the trades.

On the DC side there are plenty of Bat books that are self contained stories requiring limited knowledge of the DC universe. "long halloween" and "dark victory" are two of my fav's and thou dark victory follows long halloween you can read both on their own.

DC's Vertigo line has fantastic selection of trade paperbacks and you can't really go wrong picking then up. Transmetropolitan is highly rec'd on this forum actually anything with the name "warren ellis" attached is worth checking. Sandman, preacher, 100 bullets, fables, american virgin, hellblazer, Y the last man.......like i said vertigo has a great selection.

Small press/alternative press Most small press graphic novels will be self contained stories, they tend to have a slower pace then fanboy books and the vast majority will be black and white. Look for books put out by fantagraphics or top shelf. Charles burns "black hole", gary panter "jimbo in purgatory", Jessica Abel's "la perdia" are all great books and easier to find in ireland then some small press books. I'm not a big fan of Craig thompson's "Blankets" but others are and it's better to read it and make your own mind up then just take others opinions at face value.

Art Spiegelman's "Maus" is a masterpiece and must read for any fan of the comic medium.

Manga - tokyopop have flooded the market and this is were its good to know if your rec'ing for a boy or girl as manga is very much divided into shojo [girls comics] and shonen [boys comics] within that its sub divided many times again. There are also orginal manga [ie manga from japan translated into english, sometimes floped to read left to right sometimes not] and OEL manga, orginal english language manga [manga made mainly by american cartoonists in the manga style published by tokyopop]

Regardless of what sex you are you should start with Osamu Tezuka and move from there. Astro boy is good but his phoenix manga series is by far the best. After that its best to go into a store and look through manga's to find one that might interest you.

Also there are many websites and even more IRC channels that offer scanlations - fan translated mangas straight from japan most of which have not yet been licensed for publication outside of japan. These are free and a good way of getting into the genre [but if you really like one its nice to buy the book once it has been licensed to show support for the artist] There are also many fan subs for the animes that go with the mangas. "One piece" is great shoen series and the fan sub of the anime is alot better then the offical dubbed verision on tv. "rose of Versailles" is one the more popular shojo mangas. "Road song" is a good OEL manga as is "East Coast rising" done by Becky Cloonan who does American Virgin for vertigo. Both mangas are published by tokyopop and I've seen both in stores here.

There are also yaoi and henti manga but i ain't rec'ing any of them on an open forum for fear of being banned.

Webcomics - go to web comics nation, its a site offering hosting for webcomics and there is a huge selection or check Modern Tales which offers free and subscription webcomics. The site is spun off into different areas [girlamatic, graphic smash] each area has a different editor and as such a different editoral focus.

now I'm actually meant to be working right now so i'm going back to that and leaving all my bad spelling behind me.

.:Who:.

Jack B. Badd wrote:

Started buying Transmet recently myself and tis well worth the investment though it does require rather a sick mind to appreciate it (not something I'm lacking ). Waiting for the siopa to get The New Scum in now...

Yeah It does require a sick mind, But it really is a great read! Its something you can read over and over again. Hope you enjoy the rest of them! I did!
They get sicker!!! :eek: