I’m into Dawn, The Crow, Blade, Hellboy, Preacher, Bad World, stuff like that. I’m relatively new to the comic community, but i enjoy somewhat of a darker theme, good artwork, substancial storylines and off the wall type things. So i was wondering, i know people here are well informed, what’s out there that would spark my interest? Any replies would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jacquie
Liberty Meadows.
Okay, it’s not a dark or wacko comic, but it is a lot of fun.
Hmm… you kinda hit the high points in a way. Basically the only series I’m getting currently is:
1602 (limited)
Hedge Knight (limited)
Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface (limited)
Liberty Meadows
Hellboy
Maybe a few others when interest sparks (Danger Girl for instance).
— Alan
Hellblazer sounds like it would be up your alley. If you liked Bad World, then you would most likely appreciate other classics from Warren Ellis. Transmetropolitan, the first two TPB’s of ‘The Authority’, Global Frequency, SCARS. You owe it to yourself to pick up Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen’, and his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is awfully entertaining. Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis are also great - Preacher, The Invisibles, The Filth, etc. Recently, I’ve enjoyed Wildcats version 3.0, but it’s not as enjoyable if you haven’t at least read 2.0 (which had some fantastic art, courtesy of Travis Charest). Automatic Kafka seemed promising, but died a premature death due to low sales. That’s all that comes to me off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ll have a ton more for you in a few days.
Look for the collections of the Sandman and Swamp Thing, both from DC comics. They would seem to fit right in with your tastes as well.
Gregory!
Heh. Hellblazer’s a good choice, as someone else pointed out. Books of Magic isn’t as dark, but it’s in the same vein, and it’s good. Check out a few one-offs like the Watchmen or V For Vendetta.
I have almost never been disappointed by Alan Moore. I recommend
From Hell (ignore the movie, it’s got nothing to do with the graphic novel) if you’re looking for something unusual, violent, and sweeping in its range. V for Vendetta I found a little amateurish for Moore, but great by the standards set by his contemporaries.
Of the news stuff, I read Strangers in Paradise and Girl Genius (not exactly dark, though SiP certainly has some darkness, a bit more realistic than most though. Girl Genius is wacky Mad Science-stuff) at the moment, while picking up Alan Moore stuff like Watchmen and Swamp Thing now and then. Haven’t been disappointed with Moore yet.
Sandman if you haven’t read that, definitely.
I second those collected Swamp Thing tpbs. They marked Moore’s first American work and launched Vertigo (and created John Costantine) as a character. The first one, with the story Anatomy Lesson (a fantastic comic), is called: Saga of the Swamp Thing.
Really, this run is the trippiest horror comics ever made.
While the foundation for the concept for Vertigo Comics was setup by Swamp Thing, the success of Sandman is what actual led to it’s launch. What Moore did for DC was to show that comics were more than just superheroes and led to active recruiting of British writing talent. The remarkable thing about Sandman was the amount of freedom given to Gaiman and the fact he was given partial ownership of the characters. The two of them, along with Hellblazer to a smaller extent, are responsible for Vertigo.
I really liked Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing run following Moore’s. He wrote some great stories in an unenviable position of following Moore’s brilliance.
PRIEST by TokyoPop
A priest sells his soul to the devil Belial in order to hunt down other demons. The story is interesting, the artwork is stylish, and the atmosphere is very dark and brooding.
I’ve avoided them precisely because I figured they could never live up to Moore’s. Is the artwork more modern or in the same style? (Also, if you can hint without spoilers, where does one go after the climax of Swamp Thing Moore?).
I’ve enjoyed Wildcats version 3.0
Me too, It’s pretty cool and playing with some interesting ideas.
I read that, GITS:2, Global Frequency, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and various other Moore and Ellis titles that catch my eye. I can’t afford too many titles a month and I should actually stop by my comic shop after my next pay check…
Oh yeah, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, definitely. I can do some manga recommendations too, but there’s already been a thread on that.
Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad
I’m getting a lot of enjoyment out of Empire, fwiw.
I’ve avoided them precisely because I figured they could never live up to Moore’s. Is the artwork more modern or in the same style? (Also, if you can hint without spoilers, where does one go after the climax of Swamp Thing Moore?).[/quote]
Veitch’s run is fantastic, and well worth checking out. He manages to make use of the characters and situations Moore created without it feeling derivative, and really infuses the comic with his own feel.
As for artwork, it’s been a while, but Veitch had art duties on ST while Moore was writing, and ISTR he continued for a least a while when he took over as writer. I want to say they eventually got another penciller, but the style seemed similar.
As for plot, without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that Veitch takes a look at Swampy’s exile from Earth, thinks about what the consequences of that might be, and then crafts a storyline where Swampy deals with that. Along the way, Veitch is able to flesh out more of the history of these man-plant weirdos, and pulls in bits and pieces of the DC Universe in clever ways.
And while he does so, he also manages to make each individual issue tell a complete story, instead of the modern habit of breaking up a long story (to eventually be collected in TPB form) into small pieces which have no individual beginning or end.
So yeah, it’s good.
A lot of this has been mentioned already, but I’ll reiterate. Anything by Alan Moore without question. Watchmen, V For Vendetta, League, Top Ten, Promethea are all by Moore and are all head-and-shoulders above your typical comic. Promethea is flat-out awesome. Ellis’ Authority (which continues from the last part of Stormwatch, available in TPB). Ellis’ Planetary is just as good, also available in TPB. His earlier series, Transmetropolitan (all collected in TPB), is one of the finest comic series ever written. It’ll cost you to get all the Hellblazer TPBs, but they’re worth it. Same for Preacher. 100 Bullets is great too. Fables is a love or hate series, but I love it (fairy tale characters driven out of their reality into ours).
Some older Vertigo limited series (which may or may not be collected in TPB form) that are really good are Human Target (which is in TPB, two volumes, and a running series has just started), Shadows Fall, The Unknown Soldier, and Jonny Double.
Someone mentioned 1602 by Neil Gaiman. I’m collecting it too, but I wouldn’t recommend it just yet. I wouldn’t recommend the Ultimates line so much, either. Marvel has an edgy line, Knights, which is hit and miss. Punisher is by Ennis, and if you read his Hellblazer run and Preacher, there isn’t much there you haven’t seen. Electra and Daredevil are pretty cool.
BDR
I’ve avoided them precisely because I figured they could never live up to Moore’s. Is the artwork more modern or in the same style? (Also, if you can hint without spoilers, where does one go after the climax of Swamp Thing Moore?).[/quote]
Veitch’s run is fantastic, and well worth checking out. He manages to make use of the characters and situations Moore created without it feeling derivative, and really infuses the comic with his own feel.
As for artwork, it’s been a while, but Veitch had art duties on ST while Moore was writing, and ISTR he continued for a least a while when he took over as writer. I want to say they eventually got another penciller, but the style seemed similar.
As for plot, without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that Veitch takes a look at Swampy’s exile from Earth, thinks about what the consequences of that might be, and then crafts a storyline where Swampy deals with that. Along the way, Veitch is able to flesh out more of the history of these man-plant weirdos, and pulls in bits and pieces of the DC Universe in clever ways.
And while he does so, he also manages to make each individual issue tell a complete story, instead of the modern habit of breaking up a long story (to eventually be collected in TPB form) into small pieces which have no individual beginning or end.
So yeah, it’s good.[/quote]
Shawn hit the nail on the head, Veitch really showed no fear in taking over the reins after Moore. Unfortunately Veitch did not end his run as he planned, DC came in and demanded changes in a story dealing with some origins of Christianity and Veitch left the book over it. Mark Millar came in (his first mainstream work I think) and while he had a quite satisfactory wrap up of the story line, I wish Veitch would have finished things the way he wanted to. Rumor has it that DC may include the issue the was never printed in a future collection, I hope that’s the case.
I can’t get to Qt3 from work anymore (damn proxy restrictions!) so sorry I didn’t respond earlier.
Good, because that movie was god awful, as i recall. I’ll definitely check out the alan moore subject matter now that i have a guided light persay. Thanks everyone for the insight, now just to get the money to buy all this with ;)
-Jacquie
Planetary should only be grabbed if you really like Ellis, however - not because it isn’t good, it’s fantastic, but it’s both a) incomplete, and b) tailored more towards a veteran comics reader. A lot of the issues, particularly in the first collection, are about poking fun at old comics stereotypes.