What Comic Should I Read Next?

[Johnny Unusual]

The Lee/Kirby Nick Fury run... I won't call it a revelation but I feel like I often attribute certain stylistic choices to the DC era of Kirby I see here. Not, like, HUGE sea changes but I've read more 70s Kirby and didn't appreciate that though the 70s had their own style, a lot of it was locked down here. Anyway, I love the first few issues. Nick Fury doesn't do a lot of fighting and it's more him setting whimsical sci-fi spy traps that Kirby imagines, like a room that traps villains in glue and spins them around and does other stuff that seems delightfully excessive. Since the first arc was HYDRA, there was a wonderful recurring gimmick where a HYDRA agent would fail and would get an early Yu-Gi-Oh style game-challenge as a second chance they always fail. My favourite was a guy guessing which of several HYDRA agents is his replacement as they are the only one without a gun. He guesses a guy with no gun holster bulge and the guy kills him because he had a derringer. It's a delight.

As it goes on it becomes more conventionally actiony, though tries to keep up the weird gadgets and art so it's still pretty good. Also, it introduces Jasper Sitwell, who is a really decent addition; his deal is he's an uptight eager beaver Ned Flanders nerd spy assigned to an exasperated Fury who just... can't deal with this guy but also Fury is quick to recognize that despite being obnoxious, he is a real deal agent. It makes for a good dynamic (and clearly modelled after Ham from the Doc Savage novels with Dum Dum acting as his Monk, It was a dynamic that Stan and Jack seemed to like, somewhat similar to the Thing/Human Torch dynamic).

Interestingly it's the Complete Stan and Jack collection but they continue to work on it... but they don't include the next chapters because it's also when Jim Sterenko started helping with the art.

OK, so what should I read next?

Daleks - Complete collection of the time the Daleks got their own comic. And there are some pretty big names in it, at least for fans of 2000 AD.

Thieves and Kings - I read this ages ago but I don't remember much. I remember it's like half prose half comic.

Second Coming - A sitcom that asks "what if Jesus Christ and Superman were roommates"

 

[Kirin]

I feel like I’m equally curious about Daleks comics and Supes/Jesus.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Second Coming is really good. High recommendation and I'm genuinely hoping we get a fourth series after the cliffhanger of the third.

OK, which next?

I swear the black, white and red colour palette across all three books is a complete coincidence.
Song of a Blackbird - No idea what this is. Picked it up on a lark. The art inside looks good. I thought it might be a memoir but I think it's more a drama set in two time periods.
The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist - The comic based on a novel. I swear, I feel like Dark Horse used to publish a ton of these but were really bad at putting them out in that it seems so random which stories were in which collection. So I might have read half of these already.
Truth - I like Kyle Baker.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Truth was very, very good! I feel like it was sort of a big deal when it came out and then people didn't talk about it much but I highly recommend it.

Which should I read next:

Thieves & Kings - I read this ages ago but remember nothing about it.
Black Widow: No Restraints Play - From the "Twisted Twins", two sisters who direct bloody b-movies.
Enigma - Peter Milligan is a really hit of miss writer for me but the rule of thumb for him is "when he is doing a series that is closer to a mainstream book, it's lesser, if it isn't or it is an original off-beat book, it's going to be better." This falls into the latter and I hear people say it's his best thing.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished Black Widow: No Restraints Play. Solid little adventure where the writing is fine and the art is pretty darn good. Clearly the Soska Sisters really wanted to ride the edge of "grindhouse crime/spy story" with what they can get away with in a non-MAX Marvel book. There isn't a lot of blood considering it's about "Black Widow hunts down makers of child snuff films" but the subject matter is... a lot considering the actual content is mostly a solid adventure tale.

What should I read next?

Fire Power - I always think of Kirkman as "decent enough writer but seems to be writing for the cliffhanger". I have yet to read a Samnee comic but everyone loves him.
Song of a Blackbird - It's a YA drama set in two time periods. The art is really strong.
Another Suburban Romance - Alan Moore from his "Avatar Comics no one reads" period. Both are crime stories. Could be fun.

 

[Olli]

Another Suburban Romance

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Since there were not "Chapters" I gobbled Firepower Vol. 1 in one sitting. Very good classic-style martial arts story with great art. Will have to pick up the rest some day.

Daleks - A collection of stories ONLY about the Daleks (no Doctor or limited Doctor appearances) with a pretty good collection of Brit talent.
Rock Candy Mountain - I do like hobo stories and I feel there is a lack of them in our world.
Bullseye - This one seems like a nice, quick read.

 

[Kirin]

Still up for finding out if Daleks comics are a good time.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished Rock Candy Mountain. Highly recommended, a fun rollicking adventure that works as a character piece and a great piece on hobo mythos. If you get a chance, read it!

The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist - A pastiche lots of comic things!
Captain America: Escape from Dimension Z - Cap brings democracy to a pocket dimension controlled by his... 11th greatest foe.
The Secret Voice - Indie superhero weirdness!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished Castaway in Dimension Z. It's clear Remender and John Romita Jr want to do a Jack Kirby. Like, so much. This isn't a complaint, giving Steve Rogers an off-brand Big Barda as a new sidekick is a pretty good idea. And it does a good job making Zola just... awful. Even as far as Cap villains go. If I have one complaint, I wish it did what Planet Hulk did and make the characters and world a little more involved. It's a big epic tale but it basically is just four characters for 10 issues.

What should I read next?

Unknown Soldier - Another Vertigo reinvention of an older character. I find Ennis does pretty good with conventional war comics. This feels like a conventional spy comic though, so I don't know what he does with that.
Shakespeare Manga Theatre is a bunch of disparate Tezuka stuff; some are straight adaptations and others are, like, an Astro Boy re-imagining of Romero and Juliet.
Batman 66 Meets Wonder Woman 77 - I heard Batman is pretty good.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Hey, I'm back. BTW, since whenever I last posted I read Unknown Soldier, which was an OK but unsubtle "America has a lot to answer for story". Manga Shakespeare was pretty fun and included chapters of a wild series he did called Rainbow Parakeet about a actor who is also a thief. That one is a lot of fun.

Anyway...

Daleks - Hey, 80s/90s Doc Who comics. With some notable creators, too.
Takio - The creators of Powers have a kid-friendly superhero book.
Thor: The Mighty Avenger - A well-received by quickly cancelled comic from the guy that brought us this classic pair of comic panels.

 

[lincolnic]

Voting for Thor, specifically because of those Muppet panels.

 

[Kirin]

Still voting for Daleks.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Thor ends inconclusively but it's a fun read. I assumed it was YA and that's not a bad audience for it but really it's more of a looser, low-stakes out-of-continuity series of Thor adventures, albeit one with some great moments. Recommend!

OK, what next:

Jonna and the Impossible Monsters - Hey, more Samnee! Plus a Jeff Smith plug!
The Secret Voice - No idea what it is but it look cool.
What If Classics Vol. 1 - I do like classic comics!

 

[lincolnic]

I vote for What If, because kid me thought it was the coolest idea for a comic.

 

[Kirin]

Jonna looks fun.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Jonna was a good book but it goes pretty quick. Feels like it's one of those series where it is better to have a couple volumes. Still, really cool art, which feels like a mix of anime action storytelling and classic sci-fi fantasy.

What should I read next?

Maggie the Mechanic - Half of Love and Rockets, one of the most important indy books of the 80s.
Justice League: No Justice - Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman form their own mini-Leagues within the league. I think this was a sequel to one of those Metal crossovers.
The Trigan Empire - 1960s British sci-fi epic.

 

[lincolnic]

I've never read any Love and Rockets, so read that one vicariously for me.

 

[Olli]

Yeah Love and Rockets rules

 

[Kirin]

I've never read any Love and Rockets, so read that one vicariously for me.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I wasn't in love with the Maggie and Hopey stories but I liked them well enough. I think I like the characters more than the stories. But this series also feels ahead of it's time and something that would be part of the mainstream; stories about what happens to our adventure characters when they aren't adventuring. Like, even kids shows heavily lean on that now, particularly Adventure Time and Steven Universe (and possibly some shows that haven't been over for a long time). It ostensibly takes place in a sci-fi future world when it feels like it but mostly wants to be a down-to-Earth comic about punks in their early 20s. Interesting but my interest level varies from story to story (I think 100 Rooms was my favourite).

what should I read next?

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns - A quick and easy way to help educate myself.
Incredible Science Fiction - One of the latter day EC series. I think this one has Judgement Day, which is one of the BIG ones.
World of Krypton - I don't know about the writer (I know they've done a bunch of DC stuff but I don't know if I've heard positive or negative things on them) but Michael Avon Oeming is the artist, so it'll probably look good. And though I feel like it's fumbled in practice, I often like the idea of exploring pre-kaboom Krypton.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Education is important but you can't spell education without EC so I would say either of those.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Fun fact, EC comics originally stood for Educational Comics before the founder's spn took over and changed it to Entertaining Comics

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns. It was a good, helpful read for me and while I knew a lot of it in general, the specifics and feelings behind it help a lot. I might see about mentioning if my site co-ordinator wants to read it.

What should I read next?

The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist - More Escapist comics. I find Dark Horse feels like they are never good at collecting these in one easy volume but I feel like I haven't read these ones.
Two-Fisted Tales - Time for a fisting!
The Prisoner: Shattered Visage - A Prisoner comic set decades after the original TV series. It looks like an interesting take and features and original lead character.

 

[Kirin]

I’ve never actually seen The Prisoner but always felt like I should so I’m voting for that one even though it’s a sequel. From the vague knowledge I have I’m not even sure how a sequel works.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished Two Fisted Tales. Not the strongest EC work and while in many ways there were progressive stories from the company, these weren't them. It definitely feels like it does try to subvert a big but unfortunately it both tries to say "these other folk weren't as savage as you think" but also engaging in some harmful stereotyping. Some pretty art, though. That said, even Colleen Coover only gives a backhanded compliment to John Severin's art in the introduction (mainly "look, he's an EC artist so he's still very good but...")

Next, should I read...

Abraham Stone - A western noir but legend Joe Kubert
Mister Miracle: The Great Escape - One of those prestige YA graphic novels DC was doing for a while.
Daleks - It's Daleks! (Hey, a Paul Cornell story is in this!)

 

[Kirin]

Still curious about the Daleks comic myself.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Well, too late. Finished reading Abraham Stone. Kubert's art is marvelous but each story is weaker than the last despite trying different things. The first is a pretty good straightforward revenge western/noir. The second is one with little action where the title character tries to find himself in Hollywood and becomes disillusioned and disappointed. It's a pretty shallow "Hollywood is full of corruption and phonies" tale. The last one I was hoping would be an upswing, a tale where the main character reluctantly throws in with Pancho Villa. Unfortunately I know I was in trouble when the Mexicans spoke with double "e"s instead of "i"s. Yikes. Still, the art is good, at least.

It's a bit early to get into the spooky time spirit but in all honesty, I saved up such a back catalogue of reading for specifically October that I should really start now.

BPRD Omnibus Vol. 1-2: It seems like for a Hellboy spin-off there's far more of this than actual Hellboy.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood (complete): I've read it before but not in these handsome hardcovers! It's funny, though every arc has lots of horror inspired stories, this is the only one with overt horror trappings.
Tales from the Crypt Vol. 4: Maybe I want to wait till I'm deep into Halloween territory for this but I still have lots of EC on the back burner that needs to be read.

 

[Olli]

BPRD is great

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Finished BPRD. Pretty good but the mini-stories are often the weaker ones. I also think the volume 2 omnibus stopped just as it really picked up steam.

Which spooky thing should I read next?

The Rush - Looks like gold rush era cosmic horror.
Black Paradox - A gang of suicidal people are brought together by a strange mystery. And since it's Ito and it's not about kitties, things are gonna end bad for them.
The Haunt of Fear - 2 volumes of EC goodness.