Recent/ongoing COMIKK!!!!!11 arcs worth picking up?

Click here and disable ads!

So I haven't been following any comic series in the past year or so (bar The Boys and the odd tie-in), and wondered if there's anything going on right now that might be worth glancing at? I don't really care what kind it is - could be a totally new series, or a particularly good Batman arc, a generic superhero comic or a thriller - so long as it's not something I need to read sixty back-issues for before I can start. Also, if it's "satirical" or "fearless social commentary" then I'll probably think it's shit.

Suggestions?

Incorruptible/Irredeemable
Starborn/The traveler

Since you're already into Dynamite Entertainment, maybe Jennifer Blood/Green Hornet

Anna Mercury/Ignition City

Kill Shakespeare

or maybe Flashpoint/New 52?

Punisher MAX by Jason Aaron just finished and it's only 22 issues long, it's more "comicy" than Ennis' MAX but less so than Ennis' Marvel Knights Punisher with some very nice insights into Frank that Ennis only hinted at; it really is more a case of PTSD than just the initial revenge and then only killing because it's what he's good at/all he has left. I only learned it was ending when the last issue came out, I thought I was going to have a great new ongoing comic to go with Hellblazer, but it was not to be.

Well for current ongoing, from the New 52, at the very least the first issues of Action Comics (haven't remembered to follow it, but it was excellent stuff), Voodoo and Superboy (these two were fun to read). I hear the new Resurrection Man, Animal Man and Swamp Thing are good stuff (though the last is kind of off-limits for me, since I refuse to accept Alec Holland as ST).

You can also follow StormWatch if you want to experience butthurt of epic proportions (assuming you've read StormWatch and The Authority previously).

EDIT: And if you haven't read it yet, Grant Morrison's Batman & Robin is stellar stuff. Must-read.

It's not recent, but CrossGen had a lot of comic series in a wide variety of genres (sword&sorcery, superhero, detective, wuxia, sci-fi) so they're probably worth checking out as well.

Marvel bought CrossGen, in fact, it's possible they rebooted some of their old series.

Speaking of Marvel, I hear that the comics based on the Dark Tower series are good.

Next month Marvel starts the Avengers vs X-men 12-issue arc, probably worth checking out?

Chew(it's an action/comedy so you might no like it)
Morning Glories(horror/mystery in a high school)
Unwritten(fantasy story about stories)
Xombi mini series(sci-fi/fantasy)

Ther are others I could recommend but they are probably older and require more issues which you said you don't want

Yes, I believe Ed123 would enjoy the masterfully wrought writing of these two titles.

Not to threadjack, but anything recent (last 10 years) that's very highly regarded? Like Preacher or Sandman?

Criminal series by Ed Brubaker, if that counts.

Transmetropolitan finished 10 years ago if that counts.

Fables was really good for a long time. I haven't read the last 40 issues or so though.

Planetary
Sleeper
We3
Seven Soldiers of Victory
All-Star Superman
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Tom Strong
Top Ten
Smax

Also, after over a decade of being out of print (due to butthurt from Charles Atlas Company), DC Comics is finally reprinting Flex Mentallo: Man of Muscle Mystery next month. It's one of the best comics ever written, get it.

Thanks for the suggestions:

I've read Brubaker's Sleeper 1&2, good stuff but it's not the same caliber as Ennis' writing in Preacher or Dangerous Habits.

I tried getting into Transmetropolitan but found Warren Ellis' writing style very obnoxious and self-insistent...again, not of the caliber of Ennis, or Gaiman, or Moore.

I know you're the resident uber-comicsfag so I'll have to parse through those one by one. I enjoyed Sleeper; haven't read anything else on your list. I'll start with your last suggestion. I should probably mention that I don't like superhero comics, would that narrow things down any?

Thanks again.

Disagree. Brubaker is on a pedestal when it comes to noir / crime stories for comics. :monocle:



Though Ennis isnt bad at all.

I'll check out Criminal.

Is Jenny Quantum still Singaporean?

I stopped reading after third issue, but the subject wasn't touched on. What matters though is that she's a member of Stormwatch before Apollo and Midnighter are recruited, Apollo and Midnighter are gonna have an unfolding gay romance before getting together, and Jenny is NOT adopted by either of them.

bros the first Avengers vs X-men is out and it features machete rape squads

Since Nova popped up in Avengers vs X-Men, it's worth mentioning one of the biggest and most ambitious projects Marvel has pulled off in recent years that NO ONE seems to have heard of.

While Marvel was busy doing all these big events on Earth starring Earth's Mightiest Heroes, they were also running a story set in outer space. A story that's 6 years in the running and only taking a breather before coming back soon for more.

It starts with Annihilation Wave, then goes into Annihilation Conquest, then War of Kings, Reign of Kings and finally The Thanos Imperative (though there's plenty more to it) and basically chronicles how the galaxy gets messed up by 3 massive wars that end up tearing the fabric of the space-time continuum and opening a pathway to a universe where Death does not exist, only Life. The Guardians of the Galaxy also get involved, and they're easily the most fun rag-tag crew of Cosmic Police you've seen in a while.

This doesn't really need a lot of back issues to become fun and engrossing, but it really helps if people are familiar with some of the characters, like Adam Warlock and Thanos.

There's a torrent somewhere that has almost all of the issues, plus those "guide" issues that give character backgrounds and backstory where needed.

Worth a look if you're into epic space operas, but beyond that I second almost every title that Vaarna_Aarne mentioned.

Didn't Nova die at the end of Thanos Imperative? How is he even alive again?

Following may not be recent but Pick up Superior, Nemesis and Kick-ass from Millar. All single read action packed and fairly straightforward enjoyable stuff. Much better than other pretentious shit floating around.

^ Millar, to me, is just a mediocre-at-best comics author. It's like he looked at classics like Preacher, Watchmen, and Transmet and decided it was the shock value that made them great. Totally misses the point.

Vaarna posted some great stuff, but I think a lot of it, for being stand-alone, only works if you're already in pretty deep. He's gay for meta-genre-fiction, not that there's anything wrong with that - but Morrison's Batman is rooted in obscurities (and long in its own right,) LoEG, Top Ten and Smax can border on being tomes of in-jokes, and as much as I hate to say it, I think the cast and history in the Annihilation series might be equally alienating (oh ho ho.) 7SV is neat but has that "I don't have a degree in this shit" feeling unless you can give in and "go with the flow," which is funny, because it's almost entirely self-contained. (Vaarna, I'm curious - what did you think of Final Crisis?)

Fuck the new 52, you're only encouraging them to write plots to explain the plots which explain why they can't explain their plots. I've heard it took them precisely NEGATIVE ONE issues to start hinting. I'm making a special exclusion for Animal Man, but I've never wanted it to turn back into a wandering, rambling book so I'm secretly hoping the Swamp Thing crossover is axed and it dies gracefully at a conveniently collectible size, without any disruption of the creative team. Buddy's stories end - it's the ethical thing to do.

Morrison's We3, by all means - a great book through and through. Same author did "All Star Superman" and it's the best take on the character in... well, forever. Mike Carey's "Unwritten" is shaping up to be something truly special (and frankly already is.) If you've actually read Sandman, read Carey's "Lucifer." Every bit as literate and genuinely epic - the brave sometimes call it better.

His run on Dick!Batman was also pretty damn good, and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is always a good counter-balance to all the 'badass and gritty' depictions of Batman.

I didn't read too much of the New 52, but I gathered that: 1. Starfire's acting more like a whore than usual and that's upsetting people 2. Power Girl became Mr. Terrific's fuck buddy and that's upsetting people 3. The Amazonians became even worse feminazis and that's upsetting people, and 4. All the woman in general are acting more whore-ish than usual, and that's upsetting people.

I personally just dropped the whole fucking thing after reading the first new entry in one of the ongoing Batman titles where The Joker gets his face cut off.

And All-Star Superman's definitely a must read for any comic book fan, even if you don't like Superman.