American comics
- Thread starter Frank
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Lots of comic books are not exactly about 'real people' without beeing about 'super-powerful, moralistically-overloaded masked semi-gods'. Check out some books written by the likes of Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Death), Frank Miller (Dark Knight Returns, Sin City), or Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen) for example. Also don't dismiss animal protagonists until you have read at least some of Berke Breathed's Outland.
Bloom County was much better.
Aren't both Gaiman and Moore english tho rather than american? 
RussSchultz said:
"Socialized medicine, socialized medicine!"
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My 20 yr old Opus plushie sits atop my monitor. From Thanksgiving thru New Years every year he wears his basselope antlers with the christmas balls hanging from them.
Put those on one of the cats once for a christmas picture. Boy does she look pissed in that picture.
Does it matter that Moore and Gaiman are British?
Only occasionally does it make itself readily apparent that the characters must be British. (i.e. John Constantine, V, etc etc)
If DiGuru wants to stay away from fantasy altogether though.. it might be wise not to seek books by these guys. Only a handful of writings by the top-tier comic writers today are completely down-to-earth and realistic.
Try reading Mr.Punch by Neil Gaiman, or A Small Killing by Alan Moore.
Only occasionally does it make itself readily apparent that the characters must be British. (i.e. John Constantine, V, etc etc)
If DiGuru wants to stay away from fantasy altogether though.. it might be wise not to seek books by these guys. Only a handful of writings by the top-tier comic writers today are completely down-to-earth and realistic.
Try reading Mr.Punch by Neil Gaiman, or A Small Killing by Alan Moore.
Check out vertigo . Its a comic line by dc . Very character driven not power driven though they do have them . Also the Kyle rayner green lantern had a really good run and was very character driven later in the game . Though he was replaced by the card board cut out that is hal jordan
jvd said:
When I was a kid, Green Lantern was a fav hero of mine. Later on when I was collecting comics semi-seriously, Kyle Rayner became the last lantern when Parallax killed the others off. But I stopped following GL soon after even though I liked the direction they were taking Rayner.
But now you're telling me that Jordan is back and Rayner dead? Wha? Fill me in.
i recommend www.fantagraphics.com
you'll find lots of interesting comics there, from the dirty to the surreal to the just plain hysterical. my favorite "realist" comics are probably "Palookaville" by Chester Brown, "American Splendor" by Harvey Pekar, and "Optic Nerve" by Adrian Tomine. Though lots of other artists on this label are fantastic too, if not as realist. Check it out!
though not American, you may or may not be aware of shoujo (womens') comics from Japan. sadly, like here, most japanese males have no patience for creativity and relevance, so good comics get this name. goo ones that have been imported (translated) are "Yotsubato!" by Kiyohiko Azuma, "Secret Comics Japan" (compilation), and "Flower" by Keiko Nishi. slim pickins, but unparalelled in many ways.
you'll find lots of interesting comics there, from the dirty to the surreal to the just plain hysterical. my favorite "realist" comics are probably "Palookaville" by Chester Brown, "American Splendor" by Harvey Pekar, and "Optic Nerve" by Adrian Tomine. Though lots of other artists on this label are fantastic too, if not as realist. Check it out!
though not American, you may or may not be aware of shoujo (womens') comics from Japan. sadly, like here, most japanese males have no patience for creativity and relevance, so good comics
get this name. goo ones that have been imported (translated) are "Yotsubato!" by Kiyohiko Azuma, "Secret Comics Japan" (compilation), and "Flower" by Keiko Nishi. slim pickins, but unparalelled in many ways.Rayner is not dead . Dido who took over dc wanted hal back. So they made a crappy story called Rebirth (it just finished like 2 months ago).
Now hal is back on earth like nothing happened and they kicked kyle , guy and kilawog into space. Kyle lost his series even though it was selling better than about 30 other dc comics (they publish 60 a month).
I came into my comic prime when kyle was starting and I grew up on it . Now i'm displaced so dc can cater to the 40 year olds still reading comics .
With that i droped about 40 comics a month and i'm now down to 4 most marvel
Now hal is back on earth like nothing happened and they kicked kyle , guy and kilawog into space. Kyle lost his series even though it was selling better than about 30 other dc comics (they publish 60 a month).
I came into my comic prime when kyle was starting and I grew up on it . Now i'm displaced so dc can cater to the 40 year olds still reading comics .
With that i droped about 40 comics a month and i'm now down to 4 most marvel
Out of curiosity, what 4?jvd said:
epic
I thought Kilowog was killed by Hal. Same with Guy (he has such a dumbass haircut).
Hmm, I think I'll try and stop by a comic shop soon and see what I can find.
Finished reading the hardcover version of Supreme Power. A most excellent story and art. Story by Straczynski, he of Amazing Spiderman and Babylon 5 fame. Highly recommended by me for its adult content (story, not boobies though there is that as well).
Hmm, I think I'll try and stop by a comic shop soon and see what I can find.
Finished reading the hardcover version of Supreme Power. A most excellent story and art. Story by Straczynski, he of Amazing Spiderman and Babylon 5 fame. Highly recommended by me for its adult content (story, not boobies though there is that as well).
So, almost all American teenager comics feature superheroes and lots of gruesome violence? I wasn't sure about that, but it is strange. European comics (or at least the ones here in the Netherlands) are totally different. They mostly feature more or less normal people doing interesting or absurd things. While some are completely over the top, there is very little actual violence in them. Almost nobody ever gets killed. And if that happens, it's more like a detective story.
In those superhero comics, the limbs, heads and intestines are flying around, skeletons are everywhere, weapons have to be many, bigger and better, and forces have to be as destructive that they at least could destroy the whole Earth. And they are mostly about being all-powerful, to better be able to cut the bad people to pieces, in graphic detail. Doesn't that get boring and gives teenagers strange ideas about values and entertainment and such? Most parents around here would forbid their sons to read those superhero comics when they take a look and see what's inside.
The older ones can be quite entertaining, but the ones from the last few years are just sick. Although YMMV.
Dunno, but I think it is quite weird, when you think about it.
In those superhero comics, the limbs, heads and intestines are flying around, skeletons are everywhere, weapons have to be many, bigger and better, and forces have to be as destructive that they at least could destroy the whole Earth. And they are mostly about being all-powerful, to better be able to cut the bad people to pieces, in graphic detail. Doesn't that get boring and gives teenagers strange ideas about values and entertainment and such? Most parents around here would forbid their sons to read those superhero comics when they take a look and see what's inside.
The older ones can be quite entertaining, but the ones from the last few years are just sick. Although YMMV.
Dunno, but I think it is quite weird, when you think about it.
Blade said:
Thanks, I'll check them out.
I'm not so much against fantasy or sci-fi, but the reoccuring theme of all-powerful, morally black and white icons beating each other up all the time and destroying whole cities while doing so gets boring fast. And I don't like the very graphic violence very much.
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