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Indie comics, or perhaps, just not superhero stuff!

post #1 of 30
9/18/08 at 6:53pm
Thread Starter 
Hey yo everybody. I suppose I'm just looking for suggestions on good stuff out now, recently, or essential reading for the "indie" side of comics. I've got nothing against superheroes, in fact i love them dearly, I just tend to get burned out on comics and don't really want to try following the big Marvel/DC crossover universe-shaking stuff right now.

That said, I've loved things like Scotty Pilgrim and Demo, so think along those lines perhaps? I believe i'm going to pick up the new hardcover of Local.
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post #2 of 30
9/18/08 at 6:57pm
Check out DMZ, its from the author of Demo. Exterminators is good, but it might not be for everybody.
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post #3 of 30
9/18/08 at 7:22pm
DMZ started out great, but has been treading water for a while. Then again, I haven't read the latest arc.

A few favorites:

STRANGEHAVEN: Twin Peaks meets the Prisoner in rural England. Comes out at a snail's pace, but I think there are three TPBs out already.

CEREBUS: The first 5 TPBs, anyway. Starts out as a so-so Conan parody, then becomes one of the greatest comics of all time--politics, religion, slapstick, drama, a running superhero parody gag...Cerebus had it all. Later became almost unreadable, but the good times were amazing.

FROM HELL: Alan Moore's masterpiece, in my opinion.
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post #4 of 30
9/18/08 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
I read the first arc of DMZ and then never followed up with tpbs.

Strangehaven sounds great, as Twin Peaks is one of my favorites and word of mouth is so great on Prisoner, I've got to watch that too.

Cerebus is a big one. That and Bone I haven't read just out of sheer commitment issues.

thanks for the suggestions guys.
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post #5 of 30
9/19/08 at 8:00pm
I think my reading might tend more toward crime/action/mystery than you're looking for (certainly more than Scott Pilgrim), but if you're interested in stuff like that, some current don't-miss titles include Jason Aaron/R. Guera''s Scalped, Ed Brubaker/Sean Phillips' Criminal, Warren Ellis/Ben Templesmith's Fell (assuming it ever comes out again), Matt Fraction/Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon's Casanova, and Jonathan Hickman's The Nightly News and Pax Romana (which doesn't really fit any of those categories, but is utterly great).

And if you're looking for that special mixture of stunning artwork and belly-laugh grossout humor, you certainly need to read Eric Powell's The Goon.
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post #6 of 30
9/19/08 at 8:05pm
I've been reading DMZ in Trade Form. Good angry stuff.
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post #7 of 30
9/19/08 at 8:24pm
Thread Starter 
Definitely need to get into The Goon. Also, have all 3 volumes of Criminal on my amazon list. comix get expensive.
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post #8 of 30
9/19/08 at 9:01pm
I will second the Goon. Eric Powell is a pretty great humor artist.
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post #9 of 30
9/19/08 at 9:04pm
Y: The Last Man. It's so good , that I don't have the words to tell you how good it is.
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post #10 of 30
9/19/08 at 9:43pm
Thread Starter 
read Y. i might get back into Ex Machina. I think Goon will be my next adventure, though.
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post #11 of 30
9/20/08 at 1:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mechanic View Post
Definitely need to get into The Goon. Also, have all 3 volumes of Criminal on my amazon list. comix get expensive.
They certainly do. I'm lucky enough to have access to several major library systems, and between them, I can pretty much find any trade collection I might be interested in.
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post #12 of 30
9/20/08 at 1:47am
Double post. Sorry 'bout that.
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post #13 of 30
9/20/08 at 1:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hundred View Post
Y: The Last Man. It's so good , that I don't have the words to tell you how good it is.
You know, while I've read the first 3 trades of Y it really hasn't grabbed me yet. I find it good, but it hasn't insisted on its continued purchase. Am I missing something here? Does it get better?
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post #14 of 30
9/20/08 at 1:56am
Just got The Nightly News loved, loved, loved it till the very end, which was a slight letdown. Pick it up though!
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post #15 of 30
9/20/08 at 2:19am
If you like surreality, humor, and lots of fun action movie style, I don't think you'd be disappointed with the bigass SCUD: The Disposable Assassin volume that just came out.

Strongly concur that Criminal is a must.

Vaughan's The Escapists was a neat little miniseries that is tangentially related to Kavalier & Clay.

Jim Mahfood is entertaining sometime, especially if you're into hiphop.

Will post more later, if I think of them.
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post #16 of 30
9/20/08 at 2:21am
Just read anything by Daniel Clowes.
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post #17 of 30
9/20/08 at 2:31am
DMZ is pretty great. Goes a lot to why people like me keep coming back to New Orleans after hurricanes.

Nightly News is pretty damn brilliant and will lead to a lot more reading. I wish more authors would do bibliographies for their works.

Criminal is good neo noir.

Fell is like a bleaker The Wire.
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post #18 of 30
9/20/08 at 3:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeb View Post
They certainly do. I'm lucky enough to have access to several major library systems, and between them, I can pretty much find any trade collection I might be interested in.
unfortunately my closest library has little to no comics available, beyond manga series geared towards children. they don't have very good book selection at all, to be honest. sucks.

I read Escapists.

Nightly News is getting a lot of nods, I'll look into that.
Criminal, too, but I was already planning on getting that.

Birthday's coming up, perhaps I'll just put it out there to friends and family that I want comic books to mark my exit from the teen years
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post #19 of 30
9/20/08 at 12:09pm
Second Strangehaven. And I actually like the early Cerebus (like, the first collection) better than any of the later bits, which is not to deny that "High Society" and "Church & State" don't have some really awesome and funny bits. Shame about the crazy.

I've just been reading Scott McCloud's black and white ZOT! collection, and it's fantastic. The colour issues were pretty superhero-ish, the B&W continues in that mode, but it turns more and more into an indie-style character comic as it goes on. I'm told that eventually he drops the superhero stuff altogether. Anyway, a great read, and a huge bargain given that it's 577 pages for $24.
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post #20 of 30
9/20/08 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
sheeeeit. They had copies at the b&n i was at the other day, and I didn't pick it up.
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post #21 of 30
9/20/08 at 4:55pm
As for stuff still printing issues, I got three recommendations:

Scalped by Jason Aaron. Prodigal son story set in an corrupt Indian reservation. Fantastically gritty and gripping.

Criminal by Ed Brubaker. Noir tales done a few issues at a time. Some of the best stuff I've had the pleasure of reading in the past couple of years. Get this.

Storming Paradise by Chuck Dixon. It takes place in an alternate history where the US invaded Japan proper. Only a couple of issues have been released so far, but it's already shot to the top of my need-to-read list. Just epic and engaging.

That's what I can think of right now, but I might add some more if I think of them.

I can't believe I didn't mention League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I just finished the Black Dossier recently and I was just astonished at the balls Alan Moore has. The guy imitates Shakespeare, Jack Kerouac, and 17th century English erotica. And he does it well.
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post #22 of 30
9/25/08 at 3:37pm
Definitely Criminal even though it's techinically Marvel. If you love crime movies, get the singles since they do a great writeup on films I'm just discovering.

I like earlier Harvey Pekar American Splendor as opposed to the newer Vertigo ones.

I liked White Picket Fences by APE Entertainment.

Anything by Radical Comics but I'm biased since I work there.
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post #23 of 30
9/25/08 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Just got my hands on a $50 b&n card, should be good for a few trades. This will be a good reference in the future, thanks for all the suggestions, dudes.
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post #24 of 30
9/26/08 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
checking in on matters Goon. In what order do you read this stuff?
I've seen two tales labeled volume 3, but researched further and discovered Rough Stuff is essentially an origin tale. that said, should I read volumes 1-5 what have you, and then the origin? and what about the side stories like noir?
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post #25 of 30
9/26/08 at 6:51pm
FEAR AGENT is the most fun non-superhero book out there.
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post #26 of 30
9/26/08 at 10:47pm
Scalped, for sure. Check out Mike Carey's run on Hellblazer for some terrific horror.
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post #27 of 30
9/27/08 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mechanic View Post
checking in on matters Goon. In what order do you read this stuff?
I've seen two tales labeled volume 3, but researched further and discovered Rough Stuff is essentially an origin tale. that said, should I read volumes 1-5 what have you, and then the origin? and what about the side stories like noir?
There's no 'origin' for The Goon. He just is. "Rough Stuff" is just that, his rough early work. But the world of the Goon is batshit insane from day one, and it won't make more sense if you read volume 0 first.

Start with "Nothin' But Misery" and read them in order. The continuity's not hugely important, but the ongoing story does get particularly satisfying around volumes 3 (Heaps of Ruination) and 4 (Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof).
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post #28 of 30
10/13/08 at 8:20pm
Cemetery Blues is cool...and different...not like the main stream at all..
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post #29 of 30
10/18/08 at 1:48pm
I think the only thing this one is missing is a superhero...

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post #30 of 30
10/19/08 at 12:11pm
The Couriers and Channel Zero - both from Brian Wood.

Astronauts in Trouble.

I would also recommend what I call Warren Ellis Space Trilogy:

Ocean
Orbiter
Ministry of Space
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