Search
Forum Home | Login
chiprj
chiprj
Join Date 06/2004
+1

Comics you can get in trade paperback form that I recommend

There's more, but these are some of my favorites...

July 22, 2004 10:45:38 AM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Pseudosoldier (Link) wrote an article about comic book movies (Link) and I quickly hijacked the comments to talk about comics themselves, so I decided to write a little about some of my favorite comics that can be bought in trade paperback form now... Some of these are still ongoing, but back issues have been collected in trade form for the most part.

Warren Ellis writes the first few on this list (Stormawatch, Authority, Planetary). Ellis comes off as a bit of a prick in some of the interviews I’ve read, but his take on comics is some of the edgiest, most thought provoking, and freshest out there. The underlying theme in all these books is that the 'heroes' believe they can and should make the world a better place.

Stormwatch is about a team that works for the UN. He picked it up towards the end and eventually killed off most of the team. He then transformed the remainder into the Authority.

The Authority is a JLA type team that works outside all forms of government and basically takes the approach that they will stop the bastards of the world, any way they have to. When this books first came out it was billed as the wide screen version of comics because the artist did such a great job, making everything seem cinematic. Truly beautiful artwork.

Planetary is about a team of three characters that explore the hidden history of the 20th century. They call themselves the 'archaeologists of the unknown'. Each issue is an individual story that connects to the central theme that it's a weird world (ain't that great). Each story is told in a different style and pays homage to a different genre of comics or character from comics. My favorite line from this series is, "You want to know the secret of the world? It's this: Save it, and it'll repay you, every second of every day."

100 Bullets (written by Brian Azzarello) asks the question “What if you were given an attaché case that included an unregistered handgun, 100 untraceable bullets, and a guarantee that you would be completely above the law if you used the gun and bullets? And, moreover, you also received a picture of a person and proof that the person in the picture had wronged you in a way that had drastically changed your life for the worse”. There’s also an underlying central story surrounding Agent Graves (the man that hands out the attaché cases) and why he chooses the people he does and how it relates to how he was betrayed.

Lastly, for one shot trade paperbacks, I have to recommend the following:

Kingdom Come – simply one of the best Superman stories ever told. I can read this one anytime.

Joker: The Killing Joke – One of the best Batman/Joker stories I’ve ever read.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – no list of trades can be without this one. Stay away from DK2, though, as that wasn’t all that good.

Watchmen – Another trade that I can read any time. Opened the door to the idea that comics weren't just kid's stories. So thought provoking that it's been added to some college literature classes around the country.
blogging
Locked Post
Search this post
Advanced Search
Subscription Options
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
CS Guy
Join Date 06/2004
0
Reply #1 July 22, 2004 11:13:12 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Kingdom Come – simply one of the best Superman stories ever told. I can read this one anytime.


Watchmen – Another trade that I can read any time. Opened the door to the idea that comics weren't just kid's stories. So thought provoking that it's been added to some college literature classes around the country.


I have these two, and I agree with your assessments. I'll have to check out some of the others.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
pseudosoldier
Join Date 04/2004
0
Reply #2 July 22, 2004 6:36:23 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I'm not big on the TPB scene. But some of the comics that I've gotten as monthlies have been collected.

Black Panther: The Client, by Christopher Priest. Link This was followed up by Black Panther: Enemy of the State. Link The Client reprints the first five issues, and Enemy brings it up to the twelfth. Not really a superhero book, there's a huge amount of political undertones here. It's some of Priest's best work, and makes his current run on Cap&Falcon look heavy-handed.

Kurt Busiek is one of my favorite comics writers (perhaps THE favorite), and I loved his work on the Thunderbolts. Thunderbolts: Justice, Like Lightning Link collects Incredible Hulk #449 (their first appearance), Tales of the Marvel Universe (their second appearance, this book was a teaser book for four series that were all launching around the same time), Spider-Man Team-Up #7 (wait... I don't have this one!), and the first 4 issues of their series. You'll really appreciate the plot twists in this one if you're a long time Marvel and Avengers fan.

Speaking of the Avengers, Busiek also wrote the Avengers after the relaunch following Heroes Return (which followed Heroes Reborn, which followed the Onslaught x-over...). A good TPB from this time is Avengers: Living Legends Link. Busiek also wrote the continuity heavy (is there a word for heavier than heavy?) Avengers Forever Link , which I can only really recommend to the true Avengers fanboys out there (or continuity freaks like me).

I really enjoyed Peter David's Supergirl Link (that's the first nine issues) Link (that's the last six), but I know a fair number of people who didn't like it (it was cancelled, after all). There also aren't any TPBs that cover the intervening 65 issues...
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
chiprj
Join Date 06/2004
+1
Reply #3 July 22, 2004 7:48:27 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I made this an article about trades because of CS-Guys comments on the movie post. I mostly like to collect books every month, but trades are a good way to get back issues of titles you get into late or just get a specific story arc (that is, if the issues are collected).

A few years back, I had to narrow down the amount of books I bought every month. I ended up simply giving up all Marvel books. So, I've not read any of Busiek's work there. DIdn't he do Astro City, too? I haven't read any of that either, but all I've ever heard was how good his writing is.

I like Peter David's work. I enjoyed Young Justice quite a bit. I had the entire run, but sold it a few months ago.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
CS Guy
Join Date 06/2004
0
Reply #4 July 22, 2004 8:13:06 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Well I just donated a substantial amount to Amazon and ordered several of the trades you guys suggested. We will see how that works out.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
chiprj
Join Date 06/2004
+1
Reply #5 July 22, 2004 8:18:10 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Excellent! Let us know how you like them. I took my Planetary trades in to work today so I have something to read on not-so-busy days.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
pseudosoldier
Join Date 04/2004
0
Reply #6 July 23, 2004 8:34:15 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Busiek did (and does still, occasionally) write Astro City. His overall writing schedule has been pretty hampered the past few years due to a pretty serious illness (I heard mercury poisoning, but I haven't researched to see if it's true. I'm sure he has said somewhere, as he is very good about communicating with the fans). He is an upcoming writer for JLA, which is very cool as his work on Avengers was excellent. He also did the recent JLA/Avengers crossover, which will be (if not already) collected into trade paperback form. This crossover was originally conceived by him and George Perez 20 years ago, and they had actually done some pages of a story at that time. They were finally allowed to do it...

I understood that you wanted this to be about TPBs for CS's (and other's) sake. They're more n00b friendly. I was just saying that I don't have a lot of experience with trades. Hmm. I guess if you like Dark Knight Returns, you could pick up the Daredevil trades that are written by Frank Miller. He's really the writer that made DD relevant, and a lot of the movie (the major plot points, anyway) was taken from his work. Miller also did a bunch of Sin City trades, which is his own really really dark and gritty non-superhero characters.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
chiprj
chiprj
Join Date 06/2004
+1
Reply #7 July 23, 2004 9:30:18 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I forgot that Busiek was on JLA/Avengers. I knew it was Perez and someone, but for some reason, I brain farted who.

Oooh, I forgot all about Daredevil: Man Without Fear. That's one of my favorites, too. I picked up the original five issues real cheap a few years back. I haven't read any Sin City, but I've heard it was good. I did read Hardboiled and thought it was pretty good.
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
View all recent posts
Mark all posts as read Delete cookies created by the forum Return to Top
Stardock Forums v        Server Load Time:   Page Render Time:
Facebook Twitter YouTube Google+