Comic Books plz?

[Jinx]

Lately I've really had the desire to start reading some comic books, but I'm not really sure what I should read. I'm not sure if anyone here really reads them, but I thought I'd ask for help.

I just don't want to read comic books that are SO WELL KNOWN. Like Spiderman, Batman, X-Men, etc. I want to read something that I don't know much about. (And frankly, my dad probably spends $30 a week on comic books, so if I want to know the story lines of the well known villians, I can just ask him.)

And which, if any or all, comic books are like soap operas? You don't have to start at the beginning to figure things out, you just START and know the story from there, and occasionally get back story. Although, I definitely don't mine starting from the beginning with a newer series.

So, any suggestions?

[krissy]

I would start with

Y: The Last Man

Transmetropolitan

but those are all linear stories. edit: both of these are over now, however, so you don't need to worry about keeping up, just catching up on a few volumes. blessing and a curse concurrently.

there's a lot of really good one-shot children's/YA comics too. I recently read Anya's Ghost and it was good.

can't think of any 'soap opera' comics as you describe 'em though, other than archie.

[Jinx]

Well, I said I would buy past issues of a comic book. Just that that would be ideal.

[Roto13]

You're probably better off reading a limited series from the beginning if you're not interested in reading things like Spider-Man, where starting from the beginning would be hilariously impractical. Honestly, those are the ones that are like soap operas in that they don't/can't expect you to know 50 years of backstory before every issue.

Krissy's suggestions are good. I personally think everyone needs to read Sandman before they die, too.

Really, though, "comic books" is pretty vague. What kinds of stories are you interested in reading? There are tons. Fantasy? Romance? Horror? Are there any specific comic books you've read that you especially like? Give us something to work with. :P

[Slothy]

And which, if any or all, comic books are like soap operas? You don't have to start at the beginning to figure things out, you just START and know the story from there, and occasionally get back story.

Pretty much any mainstream superhero comic.

As for recommendations, you said nothing superheroey, but I'll include some that aren't the monthly series because they're awesome and people should read them.

Watchmen gets an obligatory mention, though Neil Gaiman's Sandman run is more enjoyable if you ask me. Y: The Last Man is a must. I've never read Transmetropolitan yet but have heard good things and it's Warren Ellis so I'll second Krissy on that. The Walking Dead is also great, though there's 16 volumes to catch up on now and it's ongoing. And I would recommend reading it all before jumping on now because much of those 16 volumes are smurfing amazing.

For some more mainstream superhero stuff that is both wonderful, and not tied to regular continuity:
Superman: Secret Identity
Superman: Red Son
All-Star Superman
Kingdom Come
The New Frontier
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman: The Long Halloween
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (now in a hardcover collection titled simply Luthor)
Marvels
Marvel 1602
Ultimates and Ultimate 2 are pretty good in a summer blockbuster kind of way and fairly self-contained.

Ultimate Spider-Man might also be a good one to jump onto. It's still going now with a new Spider-Man, but there's some definite closure to this re-telling of Peter Parker's run as Spider-Man in the end and much of it's a pretty stellar read. It's a long run to be sure, but one of the best parts is that it had the same writer throughout, with only a handful of artist changes towards the end. Mark Bagley drew most of the 150+ issues, so there's some real consistency in story telling from start to finish.

I could probably come up with more later, but I don't have my rather large book shelf in front of me at the moment.

[Madame Adequate]

Batman: The Killing Joke
Superman: Red Son
Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?
For The Man Who Has Everything
The Death of Superman
Judge Dredd
Y The Last Man
Tank Girl
Kingdom Come
DMZ
Marvel Zombies is a fun little miniseries
The Walking Dead (Don't know if you've seen the TV show, but regardless of if you have/haven't and your opinions of it, the comic is pretty amazing)
The Sandman
Watchmen
And the single best comic of all time, Transmetropolitan

Maus is also vitally important even though it feels like it almost doesn't fit in the "Comic book" field. Nothing I have ever seen, heard, or read has brought home the sheer terror and depravity of the Holocaust with such sickening, brilliant power.

At all costs avoid anything and everything to do with Marvel's Civil War, unless you have the Dr. Doom-tier mental fortitude to endure horrors that almost match those portrayed in Maus. Never before has such a debacle been visited upon our world, and we pray it never shall again.

[krissy]

there are also comics where there's a 'series' but it's not really a continuous thing
for example brian wood's DEMO



and brian wood's northlanders (has now been cancelled, and each story spans a few issues. this isn't for everyone either, it's basically stories about the brutality of the viking age)





edit: ok forget everything for a minute, but this is really good and i don't know why i didn't mention it before.

http://www.freakangels.com/?p=23 [18+]

it's called Freakangels, written by Warren Ellis, art by Paul Duffield. It is ALL FREE ONLINE, even though you can buy volumes of it physically. I've linked the first page above. It is a long read, but it is available online in its entirety and i followed it for a really long time until it ended. the navigation might be confusing at first: there are a few pages per episode, so be careful not to try to read the first page of each episode haha.

[CimminyCricket]

I had already read most of what was posted, and then I saw the link for FreakAngels and I finished it this morning at 130am. Damn am I mad that it is over.

[Hollycat]

Quasar.

Do they have to be about superheroes, and can they be manga

[Jinx]

No, I'd prefer they weren't about the stereotypical supeheroes. I like manga a lot, but it's so expensive.

[Roto13]

No, I'd prefer they weren't about the stereotypical supeheroes. I like manga a lot, but it's so expensive.

Iunno. Scott Pilgrim? :P

Honestly, I really don't like manga. I think it loses a lot in translation, just because English requires more room in speech balloons that just isn't there. Basically every manga reads like it's... abridged or something. Like everyone's trying to say what they have to say as quickly and with as little detail or nuance as possible.

[CimminyCricket]

I prefer manga because it's usually just one writer through the whole lifetime of the story and I don't have to wonder if they're going to change the background of a title character a 3rd of the way through its lifespan.

[krissy]

oh yeah geez
if you haven't read scott pilgrim do that first before you do anything else haha

[Roto13]

I prefer manga because it's usually just one writer through the whole lifetime of the story and I don't have to wonder if they're going to change the background of a title character a 3rd of the way through its lifespan.

That has nothing to do with being manga. That's just a common trend in long-running superhero comics from DC and Marvel. None of the non-superhero comics in this thread have those issues.

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

I don't see whats wrong with just starting from the beginning. I started comics two years ago, and marvel has their essential collections for pretty cheap. they're black and white, but for 25 issues for 15 bucks isn't so bad. the newest i've read is i got the 7 book collection of the civil war which was interesting and fun!