Okay, so what are the good non-superhero comics these days?

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In this age of comics where an "indie" comic book is more likely to be something along the lines of G.I.Joe rather than American Splendor or Cerebus, what's out there for adults that is worth reading? I've recently discovered Stray Bullets, but apparently it's going on hiatus soon; I also think I'm going to start reading Love and Rockets again. What other titles/recent graphic novels would you guys recommend?

― Chris F. (servoret), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I liked Chester Brown's Louis Riel.

This link might help you out

http://www.comicreaders.com/smallpressindex.shtml

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Chris Ware's Quimby The Mouse collection is superb. Moving, poignant and occasionally hilarious. Also Peter Blegvad's Leviathian best-of, which actually came out a while ago but I only bought it recently. It's beautifully put together and is witty and strange in a way virtually no other newspaper comic strip has matched.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:15 (twenty-one years ago)

I love Jason and of course, Joe Sacco.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh oh oh also ANYTHING by Adrian Tomine.

And Peter Bagge if that counts as "current".

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 5 April 2004 18:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I love P Bagge, but the editorial standards in the last couple of Hate "annuals" leave a lot to be desired. oof, get a proofreader ;-)

― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree with Tomine, Ware, Blegvad and Jason. They are all on my book shelf. Chester Brown and Joe Sacco are on my TO READ list.

I really enjoy Y: The Last Man by Brain K. Vaughan. The first three trades are out now (at least, I think the third one is).

As for proper graphic novels, Good bye, Chunky Rice and Blankets by Craig Thompson were both great. Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson was fan-fucking-tastic (but pricey). Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (vol. 1-4) by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) were the first graphic novels I ever read and they got me hooked. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for those books. Marjane Satraoi's Persepolis was very, very good and I heard she's doing a sequel. Maus, of course. And you know, I got a copy of Ty Templeton's Bigg Time last year at BookExpo and it was pretty funny. I also love all the Gon books by Masashi Tanaka.

...

That's all I can think of at the moment...

Whatever you do, stay away from Sparks: An Urban Fairy Tale. It was the shittiest graphic novel I've ever read.

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

"Blankets" by Craig Thompson is terrific.

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

And well worth the money. Not that I paid for it ;-)

― Chuck Tatum (Chuck Tatum), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 17:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Neither did I, thanks to gygax!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 21:23 (twenty-one years ago)

What did you guys, steal it?

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 10:59 (twenty-one years ago)

No, I gave it to Chuck as a little "thank you" for being a groomsman at my wedding! ;)

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I gave all of my groomsmen comix!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 16:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I missed out!

― Leee O'Gaddy (Leee), Thursday, 8 April 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I really like the Joe Sacco illustrated stuff in American Splendor, so that was a good reminder to check Palestine out of the library, thanks.

Vermont Girl, pardon me for asking, but what do you like especially about Y: The Last Man?

― Chris F. (servoret), Friday, 9 April 2004 04:02 (twenty-one years ago)

What about the good old Sandman by Neil Gaiman?
I might also suggest V for Vendetta and From Hell by Alan Moore.

Keep on reading! :)

Mandi
MailMaster C.

― MailMaster C., Friday, 9 April 2004 06:42 (twenty-one years ago)

>"Vermont Girl, pardon me for asking, but what do you like especially about Y: The Last Man?"

I think it's an original concept. I haven't read anything like this before. Also, there are little side stories here and there but Vaughan doesn't let the reader forget about the larger picture. Or rather, just when you do get comfortable with the fact that Yorik is the last man, past issues (his girlfriend, etc) are brought up again. It's also interesting to see how women are dealing with the aftermath of this gender-specific plague.

The dialogue can get hokey at times and you kind of wish Yorik would be serious for, like, two minutes. I think the story is only getting better with each new issue, though.

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Friday, 9 April 2004 11:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I wasn't that keen on Louis Riel.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Friday, 9 April 2004 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

shuck by rick smith & tania menesse is a thing of wonder, very herriman influenced

― zappi (joni), Friday, 9 April 2004 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I still enjoy Love & Rockets and anything Clowes does. Also, see the thread on Tezuka's magnificent Phoenix series. And anything else by him too. And I unreservedly recommend the Lone Wolf & Cub series, presumably still available though it finished over a year ago - one of my all-time favourites, and good value at about £7.50 for each 300+ page volume.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 9 April 2004 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I finally got around to reading Queen & Country: Declassified (it had been sitting on my shelf for ages), and it was excellent. Guess I'll try the next trade, then.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 02:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Declassified is actually a 3-issue mini that takes place 15 years before Q&C-proper that was done between the second and third arcs (I think).

― Leee O'Queen & Country (Leee), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 04:03 (twenty-one years ago)

It is annoyingly the one with "1" on the spine which is why my local comic shop put it by for me when I expressed an interest.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 06:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I suspected as much from the blurb on the back. So tpb #2 is really the first one then?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 12:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I know Leee thinks I got the wrong issue, so I'll give it another chance, but I found the new one kind of confusing and overly talky.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

(Queen & Country, that is)

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't had the time to actually read the new one, so your complaint might have merit, but you are put into the middle of the situation. Talky (I like to say "witty") is Rucka's style, so alas alack might not be a good match.

As to the order of the trades, the first one is subtitled Broken Ground and looking at my tpb it does have a "1" on it. I don't have Declassified in paperback form, though, so I don't know what kind of jokery is going on.

― Leee O'Gaddy (Leee), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

At the Oni site Declassified and Broken Ground are both listed as vol. 1. Silliness...if they had labelled it '0' or something I probably would have understood. No matter, I may get Broken Ground after work.

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 16:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Talky (I like to say "witty") is Rucka's style

Tomayto, tomahto.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 April 2004 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

three weeks pass...

Current good non-superhero comics, a la Matt:

The Walking Dead
Human Target
Stormwatch: Team Achilles (okay, so there are superheroes, but they're all BAD)
Gotham Central
Conan (stop laughing, you!)
Demo
The Goon

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 02:56 (twenty-one years ago)

HAS ANYONE READ SECRET WAR?

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 03:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I second Gotham Central! Big time!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree. And since it apparently took so long for the first trade to come out, now I can either buy like fifteen issues to catch up or just wait and read it in trades (which would be fine if I had ANY PATIENCE AT ALL).

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 5 May 2004 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

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