IGX

As I go on vacation and find other time to fuck around this summer I'm going to want to read some graphic novels. I've read Watchmen, Vendetta, most of the Sin City books, the 300, Frank Miller's Batman books and at least one other Batman. (I like Batman.) Other suggestions would be welcome.

Ditto on Ronin.

If you like dark and creepy, get the graphic novel collections of Moore & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing. I think there are three, one of them is "Love and Death."

He totally reinvented the character; changing ST from "A muck-encrusted mockery of a man" to something completely different. It's also where the character Constantine came from. And Totleben's art is just <i>fucked</i>. Some dark and nasty shit.

Not a superhero comic, but I just finished the 8 volumes of Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka and thought it was pretty bad ass.

Swamp Thing is classic. Moore is insane, but great. It's a shame that Totleben's eye disease kept his output down. His cover paintings are incomparable.

Also Miller's Lone Wolf and Cub is good.
Busiek's Astro City combines retro-futuristic comic book nostalgia with some darn good writing.

Schlegel wrote:Swamp Thing is classic. Moore is insane, but great.

Not "insane, but great." I believe there is an actual cause/effect relationship there.
The Monkey King/Arcane/Brujeria stuff in ST is pure nightmare fuel.

He also teamed up with Totleben in at least part of the Marvelman/Miracleman series. Has that been put in in GN form? That would be a keeper.

Get the Lone Wolf & Cub translations if you can. Thoroughly enjoyable.
The Dark Night Returns is great.

Nexus

Maza wrote:Not a superhero comic, but I just finished the 8 volumes of Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka and thought it was pretty bad ass.

Man that looks awesome, I am going to try to get my hands on that.

Fat Cat wrote:

Maza wrote:Not a superhero comic, but I just finished the 8 volumes of Buddha, by Osamu Tezuka and thought it was pretty bad ass.

Man that looks awesome, I am going to try to get my hands on that.

It's worth picking up, the paperbacks are pretty cheap and in print. I think I read each 300+ page volume in one sitting, then went out and got the next.

Since I'm feeling nostalgic from some of these suggestons:

I have no idea if this is in print, but it's worth a look if it is.

Jack wrote:So no Alan Moore beyond Watchmen? So you've got to read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 1 and 2, which is the only two worth reading.

Another really excellent series by Alan Moore is TopTen:

http://www.amazon.com/Top-Ten-Book-Alan ... 1563896680
http://www.amazon.com/Top-Ten-Book-Alan ... 1563899663
Prequel: http://www.amazon.com/Top-Ten-Forty-Nin ... 401205739/
Spinoff: http://www.amazon.com/Smax-Alan-Moore/dp/140120290X/

The spinoff is hilarious, the best comedic writing Moore has ever done.

Something I think would be right up everyone's alley here is the Punisher series written by Garth Ennis. These are amazing:

Prequel/flashback: "Born" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Born ... 785110259/

vol1: "In the Beginning" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 785113916/

vol2: "Kitchen Irish" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785115390/

vol3: "Mother Russia" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 785116036/

vol4: "Up is Down and Black is White" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-Max-Vol- ... 785117318/

vol5: "The Slavers" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 785118993/

vol6: "Barracuda" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 785120238/

vol7: "Man of Stone http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 78512165X/

vol8: "Widowmaker" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 785124543/

vol9: "Long Cold Dark" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Vol- ... 78512814X/

3 one-shots: "From First to Last" http://www.amazon.com/Punisher-MAX-Firs ... 785122761/

Vol 2 is probably the weakest. But the series really picks up with vol3: 3-4-5-6-7 are great.

Maza wrote:Since I'm feeling nostalgic from some of these suggestons:

I have no idea if this is in print, but it's worth a look if it is.

Holy shit, I was just going to post that!
I was never a follower of the DD/Elektra storylines, but you don't have to be to get this.

The main draw is Bill S's trippy mixed-media art. Collage, xerography, paint, traditional pen and ink; all melded to great effect.

"Nextwave" vols 1 and 2, by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen. Pure superhero comics hysteria. It's the graphic novel equivalent of 'Death By Chocolate".

Dave Sim's "Cerberus", "High Society" and "Church And State". "Cerberus" started out as a Conan parody (with a cartoon aardvark standing in for Conan" but within 9 issues it became one of the weirdest, richest, and most unique strips in the history or comics. Sometimes the dialog, especially with The Cockroach, Red Sophia, Elrod, and Lord Julius, is hysterical.

This is a cool website about graphic novels. Didn't see a link to it. Lots of reviews and commentaries and "best of" lists.

http://www.readyourselfraw.com/index.htm

Allan Moore's love letter to the Silver Age:

http://books.google.com/books?id=6tb4LU ... -thumbnail

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I just ordered Ronin and a couple of Punisher books. The public library has Alan Moore stuff I haven't read so I'll stop by there as well.

Pinky wrote:Thanks for all of the suggestions. I just ordered Ronin and a couple of Punisher books. The public library has Alan Moore stuff I haven't read so I'll stop by there as well.

A lot of libraries have these Nexus anthologies:
http://books.google.com/books?id=aPBkAAAACAAJ&dq=nexus
http://books.google.com/books?id=1Mp3GQ ... _r&cad=1_2
Sci-fi superhero executioner of intergalactic mass murderers. Great art, clever, funny, violent, weird. One of my favorite comic series ever, of any genre. If they have any Zot! books, those are worth looking at too.

My local library has at least the first of those two. I'll look for it.

Abandoned by Wolves wrote:"Nextwave" vols 1 and 2, by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen. Pure superhero comics hysteria. It's the graphic novel equivalent of 'Death By Chocolate".

Dave Sim's "Cerberus", "High Society" and "Church And State". "Cerberus" started out as a Conan parody (with a cartoon aardvark standing in for Conan" but within 9 issues it became one of the weirdest, richest, and most unique strips in the history or comics. Sometimes the dialog, especially with The Cockroach, Red Sophia, Elrod, and Lord Julius, is hysterical.

Great description of Dave Sim's stuff-- it is excellent, I need to go back reread those again.

The graphic novel version of 'Battle Royale' is good too.

The Ultimates

I have no idea if they are still available or not, but back in my young days I really enjoyed Elf Quest.

Could be that I was young and stupid or could be that they were great. No idea it has been so long since I read them, but if anyone asked what my favorite was/is, I would still say Elf Quest.

In the bookstore I was reading through one called Mouse Guard Volume I and was really enjoying it.

Don't know if anyone mentioned it, but I heard really good things about Planet Hulk (never read it myself.)

Maza, I read several volumes of BUDDHA on vacation and it was really fantastic so far.

Pinky wrote:Thanks for all of the suggestions. I just ordered Ronin and a couple of Punisher books. The public library has Alan Moore stuff I haven't read so I'll stop by there as well.

Pinky, how did you like those Punisher books?

Garth Ennis just wrapped up his run on the series, with the last part of his final story arc "Valley Forge". Amazing, in my opinion.

JimZipCode wrote:

Pinky wrote:Thanks for all of the suggestions. I just ordered Ronin and a couple of Punisher books. The public library has Alan Moore stuff I haven't read so I'll stop by there as well.

Pinky, how did you like those Punisher books?

Garth Ennis just wrapped up his run on the series, with the last part of his final story arc "Valley Forge". Amazing, in my opinion.

They were good. I read the first two of his Max books.

Preacher
Any of the Star Wars:Tales tpb collections
The first few volumes of Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four & The Ultimates.
The Boys