New FC Blog from Andy: Comics Reading List
December 12, 2008
THE READING LIST-comics
Posted by xprofessionalx
finally back to work on this, but this will be a work in progress. i will it up into comics and books, and see where i get from there.
so, to start, the author list. you need to read anything written by alan moore, warren ellis, neil gaiman, grant morrison, garth ennis, mark millar, brian k vaughn, jason aaron, robert kirkman, mike carey, ed brubaker, matt fraction, brian michael bendis, j. michael straczynski and brian wood. thats alot of dudes, but everything they put out is usually the best things on the shelves. there are so many others, but these are a great start. and discovering your own favorite writers is the most fun thing to do.
anyway, heres a start to some essentials. in no particular order.
-the watchmen by alan moore. this is probably the greatest piece of fiction ever written. it is an absolute masterpiece, in every sense. its depth, complexity, mastery of the artfrom and amazing story all come together to create perfection on one graphic novel. it is historical. read this before you see the movie, which could be good, or could be the biggest piece of shit. either way, it has nothing to do with the graphic novel, which stands in a league of its own.
-the dark knight returns by frank miller. another one of the genre defining graphic novels. this book, along with the watchmen, redefined what a comic could do...what type of stories could be told. it is what defined batman and what led to one of the greatest movies ever made, the dark knight. the grittiness and reality that that movie embodies all came from this graphic novel. bruce wayne gets old, retires, and then gets forced back into the role of batman, through the joint aches of his age and a world that has moved on.
-y, the last man by brian k vaughn. a 60 issue epic, that consumed me for about two tours, catching up on the trades to get to the single issues so i could be current on the final 10 issues. this is a great event comic by one of the best newer writers in comics, who know writes for lost. i think theres about 10 trades of this, so read it from start to finish.
-preacher by garth ennis. this is essential. one of the greatest series of all time, about a preacher who is having a lapse in faith, and then some crazy fucking shit happens. 9 volumes, with an amazing ending, so read it all.
-the invisibles by grant morrison. tons of awesome political/philosophical shit in here, especially in the first trade, 'you say you want a revolution'. 10 volumes. gets wacky at times, but stick with it, because its worth it. this is morrison's best work.
-planetary by warren ellis. archaeologists of the unknown. a team of three people who dig through the past of pop culture, from godzilla, to hong kong action films, to superman, in an awesome way within the story. tons of conspiracy and some mind bending concepts. one of my favorite comics. one issue left, and its been years that weve been waiting. but its only the epilogue, so its not too bad.
from here on, im gonna shorten the explanations, and just make more of a list.
-swamp thing by alan moore. for the eco warriors. one of my favorite runs ever. best first issue ever.
-v for vendetta by alan moore. required for anarchists.
-league of extraordinary gentlemen by alan moore. volumes 1, 2 and the black dossier. imagine someone who's read every book ever written, and turned it into a shared, coherent, single comic style universe, and then made up the first super teams, with characters like the invisible man, dr jeckyl and mr hyde and captain nemo. amazing.
-scalped by jason aaron. the sopranos on an indian reservation. amazing.
-criminal by ed brubaker. one of the best crime comics ever. brubakers uncanny x men and captain america are amazing too. and check out his new comic, incognito, coming soon.
-casanova by matt fraction. really crazy fun spy story.
-rising stars by j michael straczynski. the comic that got me back into comics. by the writer/creator of babylon 5, for any nerds out there.
-the ultimates by mark millar. the best retelling of the marvel universe for our current political climate. marvel started the ultimate universe and gave it to brian michael bendis and mark millar, and they recreated it for today. this is the avengers, and its fucking awesome.
-daredevil by brian michael bendis. one of my favorite comic stories. epic as fuck. read his whole run, as it all leads somewhere awesome. bendis's best work ever.
and finally, for now...because i could go on forever....
-punisher max by garth ennis. besides batman, punisher is my favorite character. hes simple, realistic (in a way) and just wants to eradicate evil, regardless of personal health or safety. the movies suck, but this book captures the character perfectly. the only punisher series you need to read. its brutal, twisted and ruthless as fuck. if you like guns and stuff blowing up, then youll love this. if not, sorry.
anyway, ill be back in the next week with a list of books. pretty much entirely anarcho-primitivist type books, but ill throw whatever in there.
[source]
THE READING LIST-comics
Posted by xprofessionalx
finally back to work on this, but this will be a work in progress. i will it up into comics and books, and see where i get from there.
so, to start, the author list. you need to read anything written by alan moore, warren ellis, neil gaiman, grant morrison, garth ennis, mark millar, brian k vaughn, jason aaron, robert kirkman, mike carey, ed brubaker, matt fraction, brian michael bendis, j. michael straczynski and brian wood. thats alot of dudes, but everything they put out is usually the best things on the shelves. there are so many others, but these are a great start. and discovering your own favorite writers is the most fun thing to do.
anyway, heres a start to some essentials. in no particular order.
-the watchmen by alan moore. this is probably the greatest piece of fiction ever written. it is an absolute masterpiece, in every sense. its depth, complexity, mastery of the artfrom and amazing story all come together to create perfection on one graphic novel. it is historical. read this before you see the movie, which could be good, or could be the biggest piece of shit. either way, it has nothing to do with the graphic novel, which stands in a league of its own.
-the dark knight returns by frank miller. another one of the genre defining graphic novels. this book, along with the watchmen, redefined what a comic could do...what type of stories could be told. it is what defined batman and what led to one of the greatest movies ever made, the dark knight. the grittiness and reality that that movie embodies all came from this graphic novel. bruce wayne gets old, retires, and then gets forced back into the role of batman, through the joint aches of his age and a world that has moved on.
-y, the last man by brian k vaughn. a 60 issue epic, that consumed me for about two tours, catching up on the trades to get to the single issues so i could be current on the final 10 issues. this is a great event comic by one of the best newer writers in comics, who know writes for lost. i think theres about 10 trades of this, so read it from start to finish.
-preacher by garth ennis. this is essential. one of the greatest series of all time, about a preacher who is having a lapse in faith, and then some crazy fucking shit happens. 9 volumes, with an amazing ending, so read it all.
-the invisibles by grant morrison. tons of awesome political/philosophical shit in here, especially in the first trade, 'you say you want a revolution'. 10 volumes. gets wacky at times, but stick with it, because its worth it. this is morrison's best work.
-planetary by warren ellis. archaeologists of the unknown. a team of three people who dig through the past of pop culture, from godzilla, to hong kong action films, to superman, in an awesome way within the story. tons of conspiracy and some mind bending concepts. one of my favorite comics. one issue left, and its been years that weve been waiting. but its only the epilogue, so its not too bad.
from here on, im gonna shorten the explanations, and just make more of a list.
-swamp thing by alan moore. for the eco warriors. one of my favorite runs ever. best first issue ever.
-v for vendetta by alan moore. required for anarchists.
-league of extraordinary gentlemen by alan moore. volumes 1, 2 and the black dossier. imagine someone who's read every book ever written, and turned it into a shared, coherent, single comic style universe, and then made up the first super teams, with characters like the invisible man, dr jeckyl and mr hyde and captain nemo. amazing.
-scalped by jason aaron. the sopranos on an indian reservation. amazing.
-criminal by ed brubaker. one of the best crime comics ever. brubakers uncanny x men and captain america are amazing too. and check out his new comic, incognito, coming soon.
-casanova by matt fraction. really crazy fun spy story.
-rising stars by j michael straczynski. the comic that got me back into comics. by the writer/creator of babylon 5, for any nerds out there.
-the ultimates by mark millar. the best retelling of the marvel universe for our current political climate. marvel started the ultimate universe and gave it to brian michael bendis and mark millar, and they recreated it for today. this is the avengers, and its fucking awesome.
-daredevil by brian michael bendis. one of my favorite comic stories. epic as fuck. read his whole run, as it all leads somewhere awesome. bendis's best work ever.
and finally, for now...because i could go on forever....
-punisher max by garth ennis. besides batman, punisher is my favorite character. hes simple, realistic (in a way) and just wants to eradicate evil, regardless of personal health or safety. the movies suck, but this book captures the character perfectly. the only punisher series you need to read. its brutal, twisted and ruthless as fuck. if you like guns and stuff blowing up, then youll love this. if not, sorry.
anyway, ill be back in the next week with a list of books. pretty much entirely anarcho-primitivist type books, but ill throw whatever in there.
[source]