That reveal with the Hulk was brilliant. I thought it was going to be a cheesy, sentimental moment and ... BOOM. I can't wait to see what Iron Man Six is and the inevitable battle royale between the Ultimates and the Liberators.



Man, it feels longer than that. Not as long as waiting for Seven Soldiers #1, but still...



Work-In-Progress: Hipinion Guide to Comics

As soon as I get that guide done, I'll be doing a feature every week on my blog going in-depth into each of those titles.

Really, though, it depends on what you like. Do you want Superman, but without all the backstory? You can't beat All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Don't like superheroes? Try Fables, Ex Machina or Y: The Last Man. Want something completely removed from the fantastic? Try Persepolis or Art School Confidential. Interested in the best the medium has to offer? Pick up Watchmen at any book store.

There's tons of great stuff out there, from your usual superhero fare to more diverse uses of the medium.

I thought that Thor was going to show up at the end and totally geeked out when I figured out it was the Hulk. I think it's been 2 months, I haven't really been keeping track.



Girls, Ex-Machina, Y The Last Man, DMZ, Punisher, New Avengers, 100 Bullets (though you might want to pick up some of the trades to get caught up on the story), Daredevil, Nextwave: Agents Of H.A.T.E., X-Factor and Astonishing X-Men.

Jonah Hex and Warren Ellis' Fell are pretty good if you want self contained stories.

edit: I forgot Loveless

WOAAH fucking awesome, thanks1

i am interested in that starman, or the new x-men. are they good places to start?

i like superheroes i guess

do you have like a top 10 of all time?

cool i check it

Yeah, in terms of graphic novels, anything by Dan Clowes, Adrian Tomine, or Harvey Pekar is well worth your money. I can vouch that Fables and Persepolis are awesome too and I love It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken by Seth and Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories by Gilbert Hernandez.

In terms of ongoing superhero titles, New Avengers, Daredevil, and the Civil War miniseries are pretty stellar right now. And Incredible Hulk's more interesting than it's been in a long time.

Hey, this is a great idea. I looked through that thread and came up with a list of things I want to pick up.

Having just bought New X-Men: E is for Extinction, I have to ask: what does everyone like so much about Frank Quitely? I've only glanced through the book, but his artwork doesn't seem to me like anything special. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading some more Grant Morrison stuff and the lead-up to Astonishing X-Men.




I also like Ex-Machina, Y The Last Man, Ultimates, New Avengers, 100 Bullets, and X-Factor. Astonishing X-Men is OK but has been on a decline IMO, and I still can't make up my mind abut Nextwave. Ellis' humor often seems really awkward and forced to me. Also, I didn't like Fell at first, but have recently decided that it's really good. I've never read Girls, Punisher (probably won't), Daredevil*, Jonah Hex, or Loveless. Thoughts on those?

*I've wanted to read the Bendis issues, but I didn't know if I'd be jumping into the middle of something to just start where he starts. Should I start from the beginning with the Smith/Quesada stuff? I've thought about picking that one (Daredevil Vol. 1 trade) up several times, but it just doesn't look very good to me.

Indie comics: I also like a lot of Daniel Clowes stuff, and Adrian Tomine is a great artist and storyteller. I can't say that I really like his stories, and I guess I feel the same way about Chris Ware, too. Charles Burns' Black Hole is excellent, and I just picked up Craig Thompson's Goodbye Chunky Rice which seems really cool. I've been looking for a copy of Epileptic by David B. that doesn't have a fucked up cover, but I haven't yet been able to find one.

Other stuff I like and will buy when and if any more ever come out:
Shaolin Cowboy
Justice
Stray Bullets (really hit or miss and mostly miss these days)
Sock Monkey (I'm tired of Maakies, but if Millionaire ever does another SM comic, I'd but it)
Planetary (need to find issues 19-23)
Desolation Jones (need issues 3-5)
the Seven Soldiers stuff, which I've just started reading

ACTING!

I tried reading Jimmy Corrigan because I'd heard such good things. And the artwork is pretty incredible. But yeah, the story was so boring and non-existant that I didn't even finish reading it.

I just got Goodbye Chunky Rice from the library and, while it was good, I just love Blankets so much that I couldn't help but be let down.

And Epileptic I too didn't finish. I got about 3/4 of the way done but ended up giving up on it.

Anyone who hasnt read this, should.



McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Issue #13. Guest edited by Chris Ware, about 300 pages of guest-work and history of comics type stuff interspersed with articles and stories. McSweeneys puts out right proper stuff anyway, but this might be the best thing theyve done.

I wouldn't call the story "non-existant" in Jimmy Corrigan. It certainly has its moments, like the dream sequences with the horse and most of the stuff with Jimmy's grandpa and the World's Fair. Ware's artwork is good enough, though, that I'll buy anything he ever puts out. Some of the recent stuff has just been glorified coffee table books, but they're some of the most awesome-looking coffe table books you could ever buy.

I'm gonna have to read Blankets soon. I mainly like the style and the spirit of Goodbye Chunky Rice, but some of the dialogue (what little there is) seems a little off.

I'm disappointed to hear that about Epileptic. I was flipping through it at the bookstore today, and it looks incredible. I'm still going to have to pick it up for the artwork alone.

Also, I've come close to buying that McSweeney's on several occasions. I'm sure I'll pick it up eventually.

Last thing: did anybody read Batman: Year 100 by Paul Pope? I can't begin to tell you how burnt out I am on Batman stories, but I just read and really enjoyed the first issue of this. I'll be picking up the other 3 really soon.

Fell is awesome. The entire first issue is online here


I haven't bought any comic books in awhile, but I've been meaning to pick up the new avengers and walking dead i've missed.

is it me or does 52 blow? I've been sorta following civil war and like it so far. no fucking clue about that hulk thing.

i just kinda skimmed through the first issue of 52 awhile ago and it seemed pretty boring. civil war is pretty good though. what hulk thing?

Planet Hulk?



Also, who reads Runaways?

are they still making Powers? That shit's been so sporadic lately. I guess being the marvel dude and adapting Jinx is keeping him busy.

52 is pretty awesome so far, though the weekly format and pacing does take some getting used to. They're fundamentally altering the DCU week by week, and giving the spotlight to (and creating) some good characters. Of course, basic knowledge of the DCU and an idea of what happened during the Crisis and what's happening One Year Later helps. If you're new to DC comics, then keeping track via the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52_%28comics%29]Wikipedia[/i] page makes sense of certain things.

Civil War is far more contained, but still tons of fun. It'll be interesting to see if it leaves the MU changed, or if it'll be a repeat of House of M. Marvel has a tendency to make big chanes (see New X-Men) only to undo them down the road (see every X-Men title following). I was hoping that House of M would be a crisis-like shift of the MU, but all that came out of it were crappy tie-ins.



Planet Hulk is a bit weird, but fun. It essentially removes him from the MU and the big Civil War event, but it'll be interesting to see what happens when he gets back to Earth.



Such a fun book. Young Avengers is a good companion book to this, and the Civil War tie-in will bring together both teams. DC is also doing some fun stuff with the Teen Titans and Doom Patrol, to round out the "young" superhero teams.

Yeah, Bendis is still actively writing it. Unfortunately, he lost me during that whole faux-Green Lantern thing.

I lent my sister the hardcover of volume 1 of Runaways and it's the first time I've managed to get her into comics at all. She really likes it and borrows every new issue when it comes out after I've read it.

That said, any ideas on what other titles she might be into? I lent her the first six of Young Avengers but she said she tried a couple of different times and gave up. I think the problem was that she has no real background knowledge of the Marvel Universe. So all the Kang and Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch references were too confusing to follow.

I'm thinking she might like New Avengers, but it's hard to say. She said one of the things she likes about Runaways is that it's not a really typical superhero book. Which is pretty true with the lack of costumes and secret identities and no continuing presence of supervillains.

So I'm thinking of trying her on the NYX mini-series, the last New Warriors mini-series, and maybe New Avengers then Civil War. Since she's going to want to read the Runaways/Young Avengers four-parter either way.

I've been reading Planet Hulk at the store but haven't been buying it. I'm not as into it anymore though, like Hypertime said, it will be interesting to see what happens when he gets back to earth.

I read Runaways but have stopped buying it. It's pretty good when your friend runs the comic book store.

Anyone read the first issue of Eternals?

Yeah, a basic understanding of the Avengers is kind of par for the course with Young Avengers. Try Leave it to Chance - it's about a young teenage girl following in her monster-hunting Dad's footsteps. It's also written by the guy who did Starman and is just wrapping up a brilliant run on Batman and Detective Comics. No capes or anything like that, and really accessible to a new comic book reader.

What else? Scott Pilgrim is fun. If you can find old trades of Impulse, she might be into that in spite of the spandex. Promethea is pretty awesome, and written by Alan Moore of Watchmen and V for Vendetta fame. Fables is always something I toss out for girls interested in comics, since a large share of its fan base is female. The first issue of the Wonder Woman relaunch was pretty awesome. Also, Dan Slott's She-Hulk series is an all-around good time.

I wouldn't recommend New Avengers. It requires way too much knowledge of recent events (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Alias and other more obscure aspects of the MU) for someone new to the Avengers to take in. I never really liked the title, though, so my opinion may be a little biased. It always seemed like the steak to the Ultimates' sizzle. NYX is a good idea, though. Alias would be an even better one, and would be a good lead-in to the Avengers.



Yeah, I'm a sucker for anything related to Kirby's space comics. The first issue was pretty strong, but I hope it doesn't take the meandering downturn of 1602. Gaiman is a great writer, but he has yet to prove himself on a non-fantasy book.

Planet Hulk is interesting just because of the slow climb. You get the feeling he's going to take control of the entire planet, amass an army, head back to Earth and kick some serious ass. Which is possible. That would be awesome.

But that also seems a tad predictable so I wouldn't be surprised to see them go another way. Seriously though. We've seen Hulk mad and we've seen Hulk smash but I don't recall ever seeing Hulk just flat-out pissed off with a purpose. I would love to seem him smash the shit out of Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the rest of the Illuminati. All while Sub-Mariner stands back and laughs about it.


And I haven't read Eternals yet but I intend to. I'm not a big Neil Gaiman fan but I'm a sucker for anything that focuses on the lesser-talked about parts of the Marvel Universe.