[Chair]

This guy's fantastic: http://www.thomasherpich.com/

yessss! i have Cusp!

i need to find more of his stuff!

[A Bad Idea]

I'd just picked this up on an impulse buy (also also subtle memories of recommendation by JED so many months ago, and also because I love me some steampunk). I do enjoy the results.

[James]

I've been knee-deep in the newish(?) Annihilation series from Marvel. So far so good. Some installments are rather shitty, like the Super Skrull bits, but I haven't read a Marvel series for at least 8 years that's kept my attention for more than 3 panels, so I'm thinking it's good.

I love how Drax the Destroyer is essentially just space Conan, and that Nova is turning into a disgruntled war vet with a thousand yard stare. And Annihilus is kinda of BADASS.

They just came out with the entire series in a couple of hardcover books, so if you're into universal tragedy check it out.


MEANWHILE: Fuck it if it has an 8 page spread - The Ultimates is still boring, Paul Pope has descended too far into the realm of suck, Skotty Young still hasn't figured out that whole drawing thing, and Beserk is untouched as the best book being put out today.

[Andre]

His blog has a lot of shtuff, I don't know if ya found it already though but here's the link
http://www.robertvalley.blogspot.com/

and a whole flickr photostream! woo!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68702473@N00/

MEANWHILE: Fuck it if it has an 8 page spread - The Ultimates is still boring, Paul Pope has descended too far into the realm of suck, Skotty Young still hasn't figured out that whole drawing thing, and Beserk is untouched as the best book being put out today.

And yeah James i agree with you about Paul Pope! He really seems to be going through this wierd exploratory phase lately and I just liked him better before when things made more sense and his stuff inspired me. But then again, even if thats the case and his material doesnt light me up like it used to, I still respect him taking new paths, successful or no. But maybe thats also what you call selling out haha.
I also think Scotty Young fans are too caught in the urban style headlights to see he doesnt have the drawing skills we as artists respect. Berserk is amazing. But ive always liked Ultimates.

[reggie]

thomas herpich is my hero.

i am currently re-reading the first part of the JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE SERIES. MADNESS, thats all i've got to say.

[Chair]

okay i might need some education on this,

but since i'm much more into single graphic novels and that can be a totally different program from serial comic books. AND i'm not that familiar with his work...
 
what is wrong with Scotty(Skottie?) Young? i'm not saying he's a super awesome artist. i just browsed through his blog really quick and it didn't look TOO bad (except his big teeth mouths bothered me a tad haha). is it because his stuff is really stylized? especially takes on things like X-Men etc, which to my lame knowledge, has always been drawn more classically in a "realistic" manner (not so cartoony), and thus his different take on such a series is blasphemy? or is there some work of his that i just am not seeing right away that are utter shite?

and well yea that drawing of himself (?) on his "B-Sides" is kind of... BIG TEETH!!!

[Andre]

I think the reason we are picking on Skottie Young is because, you know im sure hes a cool dude and hes doing his thing and all, but kids see his stuff and think thats the way you start drawing. It makes for the whole sub-culture of kids that are starting out on the wrong foot, drawing any wackadoo dis-proportionated shape and calling it "their style" whereas they never had a strong foundation for drawing in the first place. Its just style over substance. I could go on too about how each panel in his comics is just a silly face with no background, or a large looming figure and nothing else, but thats enough for now.

[Enef]

I'm a Skottie Young fan, but whatev, haha.

Image Comics got a redesigned website since i last checked, they also joined the "Online Comics Revolution" shit that everyone is on right now and put up a shitload of comics, they have the first issues of a bunch of their series, Savage Dragon, Ferro City, Pirates of Coney Island and more, i'm eating my way through those and so far Ferro City is my favourite. Sci-Fi Noir!

http://imagecomics.com/onlinecomics.php

Ferro City ended up being topped by The Nightly News and NYC Mech for new comics, my favourites by image are all there too which is cool, Incinvible, Pirates of Coney Island etc etc.

[mr. robot]

Oh i read O'Malley's (of Scott Pilgrim fame) Lost At Sea recently--


Now I've hardly read any Scott Pilgrim, but the tone of this, if not the art, is so different it's surprising it's by the same artist. I love seeing artists do different sorts of things. Sort of trite standard teenage-self-discovery story, but I really enjoyed it. Some really great moments. The guy has a really great grasp of how to draw a good looking comic.

& Everybody listen to Andre!

[Craqued]

I hate...my Borders. Theres nothing..there. Just manga. The only thing worth reading there is Neil Gaimans Sandman and Flight 3. Nothing...barren wasteland...BUT hey, I saw this and didnt know where else to talk about it. Maybe Cali people or whatever can check it out, it might be cool, its supposedly and "underground" I dont know..


http://www.volcom.com/news/article.asp?articleID=1814

[Marley]

MARTHA WASHINGTON!!!!





I love it love it. Its basically an Orwellian satire with a campy edge. The US is a complete disaster. In the not too distant future those of low income are forces to live in cramped housing projects lined with barb wire, large corporations like FAT BOY have grown into a corporate military, Aryan terrorists are all over the place, and who is gonna make it all right?? MARTHA WASHINGTON... well its more involved than that, but just read it... its epic. Gibbon's art is on point here, and I enjoy his work on this more than I did on Watchmen. This is also in my opinion one of Frank Miller's most well written book to date! 

(Don't you say shit sheldon!! If you don't like dark knight returns then you don't like comics!!! GO READ SOME SKOTTIE YOUNG HUMAN TORCH)




Did anybody else read Civil War?? McNiven deserves a MEDAL because his art his hot. I like that his interiors are far superior to the regularly shitty Michael Turner covers. McNiven's punisher is so awesome... he should just draw the Punisher and Namor all the time =P Susan Richards shoulda tapped that Namor ASS!! Writing was entertaining, but pretty standard Millar. I wasn't surprised by anything that happened, but it was still a decent read. 

LAST ISSUE OF ULTIMATES DRAWN BY BRIAN HITCH IS OUT! I enjoyed it... james didn't like it cause it didn't have enough cosmic turds in it. I personally don't like when artists clearly model their characters after actors though... samuel l as nick fury I dunno. Its just too fanboy for me hahaha!! Now we get to watch the series collapse when Joe Mad takes over!! WOO HOOO

Last couple of issues of X-men hasn't sucked too hard. Astonishing X-men and just plain old X-men. Astonishing has kinda lost steam, but its okay. The red data issues of X-men have been pretty cool, and bachalo's art looks nice. I'm kind of a sucker for x-men though, but we all have our super comic vices. Don't read the Milligan/Larocca back issues of X-men though because they seriously suck balls to the walls.
 

[Qyzex]

So many awesome looking comics.

As for me, i'm lame, and sheltered, and havn't read a comic that wasn't online in AAAAGES.

but, just the other day, my dad visited, and brought me some Graphic Novels
of Fist of the North Star.

[Jed]

Caught up with an old friend-

Epic military mythology, too bad they got out what, 3 issues since I stopped reading it in something like 2003?

[Jed]

Rocketo!
Rocketo: Journy to the Hidden Sea

Just read this tonight, and it's awesome. Rocketo Garrison, an inheritor of the Mapper bloodline established after the breaking of Earth by the space monster Ultamo, goes on adventures and explores the hell out of the New World. It's fantastic and wonderful, and well worth a read.

The author, Frank Espinosa talks about it here

[Andre]

Written by Cecil Castellucci; Art by Jim Rugg

Just a really well-done comic. Begining to end, I really couldnt put it down. Great art too, by the guy who used to do Street Angel.

[Chair]

i've decided that i need to bugger off from buying comics for awhile because. i need to be saving for travels and future adventures. so ill probably slink off to my grand local library that has a huuuuge selection of graphic novels/comics, love!

but within the last two weeks or so i've picked up:

Moomin by Tove Jansson

i recognized the cover from this thread and picked it up and leafed through it! it encompasses all of the 1950's Swedish comic strip. it's so delightfully whimsical, and just a good fun get-your-thoughts-off-everything-else read. plus the art does parallel the styles of the 1950's period, with some obvious European touch and is so neat to look at now.

-De Tales: Stories From Urban Brazil by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Bá

i'm part way through it, but these twin authors are damn talented. they switch it up with who does the art etc, and just do sort of autobiographical stories so well.

-Cusp by Thomas Herpich
(see above at top of page 11 for cover image)
Herpich is more of an alternative comic and twisted (twisted) humor artist. its a neat, if you can handle skullfucking and rape that's really the "worst" of it.

-D'Airain Adventure #1 & 2 by Ashley Wood

COMICS by Ashley Wood, TOO SHORT I'M DYING TO KNOW WHATS GONNA HAPPEN NEXT!! there's three running stories and they all have my attention. the art is just to my liking since i'm already a fan of his other work.

-The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert

preview: http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/professorsDaughter/professorsDaughterGift05.html
Lovely art, the whole book is done in watercolor and fits the moods well, even the characters. the story is short and it feels almost too short or rushed to fit it into the fair number of pages. it's just kind of. odd.

-Creature Tech by Dough TenNapel

the first graphic novel by the creator of Earthworm Jim (i didn't know at first and was all... those cat's kind of look like Evil the Cat from EJ haha). it's a fun reaad, minus some odd thoughts about dialogue of certain "historical" characters. like The Professor's Daughter, it feels like it could have been longer, to not rush the pacing so much and really give the story the well-deserved time. still entertaining.

-King City by Brandon Graham

picked this up because of the suggestion (i think it was Marley earlier in this thread?), and it looked good. AND IT IS. definitely the best thing i've read or seen out of Tokyo Pop in ages. it's just a lot of well-played imaginative, funky concepts. as odd as it may be to say, i really like the drug featured in King City.

-some Dave Crosland comic i can't remember

-Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola
i saw Jho raving about Hellboy so i picked up the first book and.
HOLY SHIT ITS SO GOOD. I NEED MORE BUT GOD I NEED TO SAVE MONEY, WHAT A CRUEL CRUEL CRUEL WORLD.

[Aluísio C. Santos]

And to think I was happy just by finishing JoJo's fifth part ='\

[jho]

chair: GOOD JOB ON BUYING HELLBOY, glad you likes it chicka!!!!!!!

[Marley]

I hope this picture works, but THE HORDE by Igor Baranko!

This is an intro from the Mars Import dudes.

In the year 2040, Ivan Apelsinov, former science fiction writer and current Russian dictator, has a uniqe vision: to invoke the spirit of Genghis Khan and his Golden Horde to create an empire reaching from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. To do this, his secret service must find the corpse of the latest reincarnation of Genghis Khan. Their path will cross with the last Chechen, the survivor of a nuclear holocaust on a mystical quest. He has nothing to lose and fears nothing, especially not the Russian army and secret service.

Its seriously crazy! The art is amazing, and the characters and environments are rich. Baranko grew up during the cold war and served in the soviet military... and you can really sense how much he despised it through his writing. Its all a crazy mix of clashing cultural and religious beliefs.

PICK IT UP!

[Aluísio C. Santos]

After this hype I just bought one of Hellboy's too.. mine was Strange Places. It's very interesting because after the story there are the inital design and story he plan ned for it but lost interest. Also there are some neat studies and even sketch pages with consecutive finals, it was worth the price =O (kind equivalent to US$ 17, which is doubled here in Reais to R$34).

[Der Dada]

I've been following "Bear" by Jamie Smart.


And after scoouring DA for comic artists, I think I'm going to order Schmaltz's "Mess".

[Jed]

DMZ Words: Brain Wood. Pictures: Riccardo Burchielli

America has been split in two: On one side, the Free States Army, and on the other, the Unites States of America. The demarcation line and battleground? New York City.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm fucking sick and tired of every story revolving around New York City, but DMZ is really something else. Seen from the view point of Matty Roth, photojournalist intern turned embedded reporter in the DMZ that is New York, DMZ (the comic) really feels true to the idea that a war zone that we are all-too-accustomed to seeing in the news could exist in the glorious continent of North America. Brian Wood, who I enjoy to no end, has really pulled of a coup here. While I, at times, have some issue with his stuff, I can't argue that the hometown pride that echoes in his comics has really come forth in these issues.

DMZ is really worth a read. While at times it can read, well, a little off, it's still good fun and a bit to think about. It's interesting to read something that could be classified as "post-apocalyptic", but still being set within the political apocalypse that spawned it.


ps. I hope you bought it by now, but the criticisms. I can't help but think that Wood's New York is more than a bit idealized. Yes, it's a rad idea that vegans will feed the city and that everyone will get along. I just can't help but think that the idealism of the NYC folks caught in the middle is a bit optimistic. REGARDLESS, I found this to be a hell of a series thus far.






edit: Not that it applies, but Wanted was a pretty bad comic, guys.

[Enef]

DMZ is fucking DOPE

I've just been reading free shit on i can find, webcomics and such.

Though i found one of the new Tokyopop comics interesting, i'm not sure if i like it cos it's only a preview.

Bombos vs Everything or something like that.


(I'm also waiting for my copy of...BUMBUMBUM Wonton Soup to arrive)


Hey, do you guys know anywhere i can get a copy of King City except TP, their shop doesn't like me or something and won't let me buy it.

[Marley]

Love and Rockets by los bros hernandez







Its a great series, and I should have mentioned it before. The series isn't focused on just one ongoing tale its actually an eclectic mix of short stories and some continuous stories. The two core stories are Locas and Palomar.

Locas is Jaime Hernandez' creation and it focuses on the lives of hopey and maggie and the various personalities around them. The environment of the story changes often. Sometimes its Sci-fi sometimes it focuses on the local punk scene and hopey's band. Sometimes its a love story. Despite all of the crazyness, the time progression and character growth  is consistant and realistic. I love it and everybody should read it!

Palomar is Gilbert Hernandez' creation and it focuses on Palomar, a small village in central america. The stories are fantastic! Everybody should read "heartbreak soup" Luba, the fiery tempered hammer weilding woman, is one of the greatest character in comics!

Comics should all be put together like this! I think that this would be an ideal comic structure thick Bi quarterly installments that include ongoing tales as well as shorts that the artists throw in. Its just a really satisfying read!

Gabe you should read Palomar. I think you specifically would get the most out of it (not just cause you're mexican)



ps - I tried to read an old popbot I found of mine, and I've come to the conclusion that Ashley Wood's comics are fairly unreadable.... HE's a good illustrator?? I just think he should stick to illustration. =/

[Wei Ingnan]

Love and rockets is awesome ( and the comics came before the band.......and most of you are still to young to recognize either aren't you?).....I was never able to decide what was better.... the artwork or the stories



.....and Zombies vs. Robots is a lot more coherent than popbot....I agree that popbot is really hard to follow