Ultimate Comic Bookshelf - October '08 Discussion

Fysh

The new version of the Ultimate Comic Bookshelf didn't generate much discussion last time around, but I'm thinking that might have just been a seasonal thing, so let's give it another go.

At the time of posting, the following titles are on the shelf:

100 Bullets
The Sandman
The Dark Knight Returns
Watchmen
Transmetropolitan
The Beano
Incal
Jimmy Corrigan
Squee!
Bone
Asterix
Tintin
Peanuts
Calvin and Hobbes
Krazy Kat
Little Nemo in Slumberland
Maus
Will Eisner's The Spirit
Jack Kirby's Fourth World, New Gods and Fantastic Four
Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix
The Invisibles
Arkham Asylum
The Footsoldiers
Y: The Last Man
Dead Meat
Love and Rockets
Flight
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
Top Ten
Preacher
Hellblazer

For the new rules governing the thread works, please go here.

To get the ball rolling, I'm going to make a contentious suggestion and nominate Y: The Last Man for removal from the shelf. Why, you ask?

Despite its episodic nature, Y was always supposed to be one big story. And that it is, but around book 8 -

when the morphic resonance explanation materialises

- alarm bells started ringing. The character writing which had previously been very solid seemed to take a turn towards soap opera - it seemed that

355 died more because Vaughan had no idea how to present Yorick and 355 finding happiness together than anything else

. Furthermore, the revelation that Alter had been hunting down Yorick

so that she could die at the hands of a man

didn't mesh for me at all with the ruthless and calculating soldier depicted in the rest of the series. It seems too much like Vaughan

killed them off because at some point, someone had told him that killing off one of your central characters is automatically great drama

and thus something that has to be done.

I'm also going to nominate the hardcover collection of Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly for addition to the shelf. Why?

1. The writing is top-notch - for a series with a potentially gimmicky premise, it's handled very well. The stories here are about real towns and cities, places people live rather than just pass through. If you know the places in question, I'm sure that their depiction in this book is 100% authentic. Even if you don't, there's a sense of authenticity in the writing that jumps off the page at you. The central character, Megan McKeenan, is equally authentic - a flawed individual who, over the course of the 12 years covered in the book, learns that running away from her problems isn't the same thing as dealing with them.

2. The artwork is absolutely luscious. It makes use of its black-and-white palette so well that being in full colour would probably have detracted from this book. Landscape and characters are equally wonderfully rendered here, and the authenticity in the writing is mirrored by the artwork. Megan's physical development as she goes from 17 to 29 looks realistic, as do all the places she roams through on her journeys.

3. This collection, in particular, is fantastic. Good quality paper, a sturdy hardback cover with a lovely print job on the cover, and a hefty amount of extra material at the back for those interested in the making of the series. Not to mention a tremendously reasonable price tag compared to what you might normally expect for such a book.

Saruwatari

You misspelt Osamu Tezuka there, just to let you know. And the name of the manga isn't "Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix", it's just plain "Phoenix". :pac:
Personally, I would've voted for Tezuka's other series Buddha instead...
There's some titles I've yet to read on that list taht I really want to check out, like Maus, The Spirit and Hellblazer...

Also, are we supposed to assume every story, issue or volume of those series is worth the buy? Did no-one suggest only a selection of issues or anything? I'm only saying that because not everyone is going to want to shell out for a series as long as 100 Bullets.

I'd like to make a nomination.

Domu : A Child's Dream - Katsuhiro Otomo
Collected into one paperback volume by Dark Horse.
Domu is, easily in my opinion, one of the greatest Japanese graphic novels ever released. Otomo is world-reknown for his extravagantly detailed artwork that graced Akira, and while this doesn't quite reach the epicness of Akira, it's still required reading.
The plot is fairly simple; an old senile man's psychic battle with a young girl among apartment blocks in 80's Japan. It's amazingly cinematic with Otomo's brilliant use of space and panneling, and the level of detail that goes into the surrounding backdrop is nothing short of breath-taking.

magwea

Hate to derail but didn't Tezuka change his name to Osamu later because he though it sounded better in english, or am i remembering it wrong, my google-fu has failed me and it's starting to annoy me.

Back to the bookshelf; looks like a good list to me, maybe a bit to north america publisher centric.

More personnel preference than anything and even though I've read and enjoyed them but i'd immediately axe 100 Bullets,Top Ten, Preacher, Hellblazer, The Sandman, Squee!, The Invisibles, Arkham Asylum, Y: The Last Man and Flight. If we are talking the best of the best here, Ultimate even, these series fall way short in my mind. Slightly Tabula Rasa with the list there after all, heh.

ztoical

Saruwatari wrote: »

And the name of the manga isn't "Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix", it's just plain "Phoenix".

Alot of people who read the comics forum don't read manga and I think it was listed that way so as not to confuse people with the X-men character of the same name. Listening it as just Phoenix might have lead some to think it was meant to be the X-men Dark Phoenix Saga.

Fysh

Fixed the spelling of Tezuka's name - that'll teach me to copy and paste without checking

As for the current list, I'd agree with magwea that it's a bit too north-american based, but I think that's largely down to the preferences of those who've taken part. If you had to pick one of those titles to remove, which would it be and why?

(Oh, and Eoin, for those titles that are made up of multiple volumes, unless otherwise stated the listing is for the entire thing - so 100 Bullets means all of 100 Bullets to date, for example. I'd prefer for people to specify volume and/or issue numbers when making nominations, since it makes the discussion easier and a bit more focused).

Saruwatari

ztoical wrote: »

Alot of people who read the comics forum don't read manga and I think it was listed that way so as not to confuse people with the X-men character of the same name. Listening it as just Phoenix might have lead some to think it was meant to be the X-men Dark Phoenix Saga.

Ahh, no bother then! I wonder how many people read comics and manga as much as each other here...

spooydermot

I'd like to nominate Fables - if I can nominate it again after doing so the last time?
Fantastic story arcs and Willingham is not afraid to move central easy to write for characters like Bigby and Snow White to the background whilst exploring other characters like Flycatcher or Prince Charming.

The addition of '1001 Nights of Snowfall' , which gives a lot of back story that takes place before the exodus from the homelands really adds to the overall epic feeling of the story.

The cover art is also fantastic.

As for removing 'Y' from the shelf, I'm not sure I can agree there, I'm certainly not a fan of the whole Morphic Resonance thing, it's the kind of awful pseudo-science that the likes of Patrick Holford might pedal.

That said, there's enough going on in Y for me to want to keep in on both my bookshelf and this imaginary web 2.0 social-networky bookshelf.

As for the whole thing with Alter and the reasons she gives near the end of the story for pursuing Yorick, I think that this is what her obsession turned into as opposed to what she was trying to achieve.

Y is a flawed work, certainly, but I'd still like to see it on the shelf

ztoical

spooydermot wrote: »

I'd like to nominate Fables

seconded!

Regarding the list being north american top heavy I think its mainly due to most people posting and reading this forum are more familiar with American comics - getting decent bande dessinée or any european comics here can be tough. I would like to nominate something like Stripburger a really interesting comics zine from Eastern europe thats been going since the early 90's.

BlaasForRafa

ztoical wrote: »

seconded!

Regarding the list being north american top heavy I think its mainly due to most people posting and reading this forum are more familiar with American comics - getting decent bande dessinée or any european comics here can be tough. I would like to nominate something like Stripburger a really interesting comics zine from Eastern europe thats been going since the early 90's.

There used to be lots more translated european stuff back in the 90's but it can still be found on ebay, second hand bookshops, even amazon from time to time.

Things that should shoot straight into the chart (if only people could get the chance to read them) would be things like The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane by Phillipe Druillet, The Incal by Jodorowsky and Moebius, Gods in Chaos by Enki Bilal, Gullivera by Manara and of the newer stuff Requiem by Pat Mills and Olivier Ledroit.

ztoical

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

There used to be lots more translated european stuff back in the 90's but it can still be found on ebay, second hand bookshops, even amazon from time to time.

Things that should shoot straight into the chart (if only people could get the chance to read them) would be things like The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloane by Phillipe Druillet, The Incal by Jodorowsky and Moebius, Gods in Chaos by Enki Bilal, Gullivera by Manara and of the newer stuff Requiem by Pat Mills and Olivier Ledroit.

The Incal is on the list - I know you can find plenty of european stuff online and via certain bookshops I just think its a shame not to find it in comic shops beside all the other comics.

BlaasForRafa

ztoical wrote: »

The Incal is on the list - I know you can find plenty of european stuff online and via certain bookshops I just think its a shame not to find it in comic shops beside all the other comics.

My personal favourite Moebius story is Upon a Star but since its only about 30 pages and not as many would have read it I didn't mention it. But theres a lot of quality Moebius stories, I was lucky to pick up the full set of the volumes from Epic in the early 90's. It would be great if Titan or someone reprinted them. I could have put Delirious/Gail/Salammbo from Druillet as well, its a pity he's not better known internationally.

Fysh

spooydermot wrote: »

I'd like to nominate Fables

Seconded; while I lost interest due to not being able to get at the trades as they were released, I should give it another go now that this isn't a problem (though I have to wait until I get my copies of volumes 1-8 back from Kilkenny before I can do that)...

BlaasForRafa

Fysh wrote: »

Seconded; while I lost interest due to not being able to get at the trades as they were released, I should give it another go now that this isn't a problem (though I have to wait until I get my copies of volumes 1-8 back from Kilkenny before I can do that)...

I would love to get into fables but DC's tpb and hardback policies are so haphazard, they're really no where near marvel when it comes to producing trades and hardcovers in a logical and timely pattern. its a pity.