[Kevin Birtcher]

I've been reading a ton of stuff lately, trying to get through a backlog of books...

Read Programme vol. 1 cover to cover last night.

Awesome.

Then I started on

from the same guys that did Girls, which I probably recommended a while back.  Strange, but good so far.

I've got the latest DMZ trade up next, read vols. 1 and 2 of Sea of Red... very weird pirate vampire book with a sometimes confusing art style.  I think there's just one book left and I'm gonna snap that up when I find it, though I'm not really sure where else the story could go.  Real Monster Zoo a few weeks back - I LOVE anything from Doug Tennapel, his shit is so good.

I've been reading X-Force which is kinda good but I wish would pick up the pace.  Cable was interesting for an issue then I realized I really can't stand the writing OR art (Olivetti really sucks).  Final Crisis might be good when it's done, but is largely incomprehensible now.  Secret Invasion had promise but just dragged it's feet for issues on-end for no reason (oh wait, it was to prove Bendis is a genius, I forgot).  And Wildstorm reset their universe, again.

[Kuro]

apocalipstix by ray fawkes & cameron stewart. think josie & the pussycats meets madmax. but only with giant ants & nick cave!

and since i needed tundra references, the perennial classic:

no reference for yetis needed though

-J

[Andre]

Notes for a War Story by Gipi


City of Glass by Paul Auster and David Mazzuchelli


Notes for a War Story was one of the best graphic novels I ever read. Of the two, I recommend it more just for the inspiring art which seems to have been done in watercolors. I would have bought it just for the art, but the story ended up actually being amazing and substantial as well.

City of Glass is just one of those books that screams classic the moment you are done with it. I would say storytelling-wise, you could probably use this in a class to teach narrative art. If I were a teacher, I would make it an assignment to read and study this masterpiece.

You can find both of these books on amazon.

[reggie]

Trencher
I found this in the dollar bin and almost shat a brick. Way back in 90's, I bought a shitty comic and found an advertisement in the back for Trencher and have wanted to read it ever since. its pretty over-stylized and the digital fonts are horrid but you can tell the dude just loved drawing each page. check out the grunged out image logo on the left.

[Kevin Birtcher]

Dude, that's Keith "Lobo" Giffen.  The man's a legend.  I really dug his Heckler series way back in the day... it's probably also in the quarter bins now.

[Snakemeat]

 Sure would like to read anything but the first DMZ. It's a plan yeah.
beleive or not; Kishimoto's Naruto volumes 17-2o are what I've Had my face nuts on ast of late.

Psht-Library mulanomics for yah.

[electricpanda]

On an less-published side, Sarah Ellerton's art never stops my jaw dropping.



Plus she does five of these a week. As a hobby.

From The Phoenix Requiem.

[squid]

I've been busy falling in love with the Hernandez Brothers' work... am currently reading this:

I also liked Gilbert's Sloth. His Chance in Hell was really abstract, but I enjoyed that, too..
Only book of Jaime's that I've found is Ghost of Hoppers, but I'm keeping an eye out for more of course..

[Kevin Birtcher]

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/ts2.0
Look who's at the top right!

Been reading Hawaiian Dick books recently, really good pulp slightly noirish mysteries, set in pre-state Hawaii:
http://www.hawaiiandick.com

[Kevin Birtcher]

I read the Wanted comic, but I'm not sure why.  It was clear from issue 2 the thing was going to be crap, but I kinda wanted to see just how bad it got.  Trust me, don't waste your time on the comic, just watch the movie instead.

[reggie]

if i dont get my hands on a copy of this i am going to shit all over the place!

[Robosockmonkey]

if i dont get my hands on a copy of this i am going to shit all over the place!

I totally want this now, I own the movie version and until now that is all I thought it was.

[garic]

I wish Kevin Huizenga would put out more collections, but as far as I know this is the only one.  Curses is a collection of some of his numerous short stories.  He uses a deceptively simple style, but he really understands comics as a medium, and some of the things he's saying really makes you think.  This is pretentious art-comics at its best.

[Kuro]

i went on a spree today. came to a crazy figure i had no business really spending actually. but i did.


technically i guess that last one is more art book but i grew up on art adams' x-men comics. i really like his style a lot. can't go wrong with monkeys & godzilla all over the place.

my wallet says ugh but my brain knows it's right.


-J

[Angie]

Hajime No Ippo. I had my doubts as the thing is 800 chapters and still going strong but 2 weeks later I'm up to chapter 417 and can't stop. It's truly a masterpiece when it comes to action and I highly recommend it to anyone. I never thought battle scenes could make me cry.

http://www.onemanga.com/Hajime_no_Ippo/

I don't normally link where to read stuff illegally but I highly doubt it will ever get licensed since it's 800+ chapters, isn't in Shonen Jump, and doesn't have much marketability over here.

[Enef]

I've read all 800+ chapters of Hajime No Ippo, it is masterful, very much worth the read.

The jokes can be pretty childish occasionally and that can grate on my nerves because it is obvious pandering to the shonen crowd, but the story and art improving over the course of the series is great and it's really involving to read from start to finish.

[(Pi)]

The anime is just as good.

and yes, the fight scenes make me cry (almost).

[Freakconformist]

Do web comics count? I can't afford paper comics anymore. 
I have a list of favorites that I check on every week or so.
www.dominic-deegan.com
www.thedreamlandchronicles.com
www.girlgeniusonline.com
www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate
www.rhjunior.com/totq

All great free comics that people should check out. That is if web comics aren't the "enemy" or something. <_<

[j.allen]

All the scott pilgrims again. X force, Allstar Batman and Robin, Invincible Ironman, Robots vs Zombies vs Amazons, Robo Duro, Supermarket for the 5th time.

[CrimsonViper38]

for class

pretty good

[Enef]

Link for size


Bakuman.

A manga about two kids making manga.

Same artist as Death Note.

Fantastic start to what looks like it is going to be a fantastic series.

Buy it if you can find it, until you can find it it is available online on scanlation sites.

[Belledraco]

You're reading Sandman for class?! Oh, I am so jealous... What class is it for?

*sacrifices her sister to the god that is Neil Gaiman*

[Angie]

You're reading Sandman for class?! Oh, I am so jealous... What class is it for?

*sacrifices her sister to the god that is Neil Gaiman*

At my college we haven't gotten to read Sandman but we have a few classes where Watchmen is part of the required reading and is hilarious seeing it amongst the school textbooks

[Belledraco]

One of my humanities classes had a big pink storybook version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as required reading. That was fun!

[Kuro]

heh-hem
comicsenextincion.blogspot.com/search/label/GIRAUD%20%28Jean%29 ( via brandon graham's lj ) good stuff there to be seen.

-J