A lot can happen in 2 years 4 months 21 days which is how old this post is! Enjoy the post but be sure to check out the new stuff too!!Comic book Thursday* has become firmly ingrained into my weekly schedule, often the promise of new funny books on a Thursday will get me through Tuesday and Wednesday and even the overflow might make Friday bearable. I think this year though really cemented the weekly event for me and I’ve been branching out in the types of books I read.
Now I should clarify that these are personal discoveries, most of these books have been around for a while and I was introduced to them throughout the year and they’ve helped define what I’m reading.
- Scott Pilgrim - I knew vaguely of the character and I knew that they were making a movie but one of the guys through Twitter demanded I read the books and I’m really glad he did! They are hilarious, jam packed full of pop culture references and despite the simplicity in the artwork I think it is great because it is effective.
- The Walking Dead - I can’t remember if I started reading these last year or not but I think I discovered the zombie apocalypse series early this year, either way it is worth mentioning as it is all shades of awesome, really well written and a very neat idea. I like that it is in black and white as well, colour would change the tone completely.
- Crossed – I place Crossed here not necessarily because I recommend it, to be honest I don’t know if I would. It is pretty much the sickest comic I’ve read, but I didn’t say these discoveries were all good. You see I don’t really get “torture porn” films like Hostel or Saw, I’m just not interested and I’ve spoken about this before so I won’t bore you all again. But Crossed is like a Walking Dead torture porn comic book, with some imagery that I am so surprised to see in a comic book, or any book really. I’m not going to recount the madness but I must say that I am completely hooked by it and really want to see the end of the series (it’s a nine parter – issue eight was released today). It’s not going to end well, nothing has gone well for these characters.
- Powers - This book wasn’t even on my radar and now I love it, I love the art and the stories are enjoyable, they are a mix of superhero and crime writing. I guess what appealed to me most was the complete creation of a new universe with new characters with their own rules. I’ve got a bunch to catch up on before I read the new monthly series but I’m really enjoying it.
- Daredevil - Never been a huge Daredevil fan, never really saw the point of the character, but I picked up a couple of trade hardbacks and whilst I’m not really interested in pursuing the character on a monthly basis I did get a much better idea of why people love him. I read Guardian Angel, Born Again and The Man Without Fear. All of which I quite enjoyed.
So for you comic book guys and gals out there what comic book discoveries did you make this year?
*For those in the US who think it’s weird I’m talking about Thursday rather than Wednesday, remember we’re a day in front of you and the comics are shipped over to be released at the same time.
Not sure I discovered anything new… just kept reading all the same old I enjoy.
Have a great Xmas, Lee.
My favorites from this year:
Y: The Last Man -- Great writing in this one. So well done.
The Losers -- This just screams “action movie” -- love it.
Ex Machina -- I'm still in the midst of this series, and a little worried that I might not get through it, because my source just got a different job so I rarely see him.
I suspect that 2010 may be a little like that for me, I've gotten into a groove with some of the titles and I'm reasonably happy with them.
Wow that's like three books that EVERYONE is telling me I have to read. I think it may be the nail in the coffin as this weekend it's 20% at the comic book shop.
You may need to visit my cousin Larry to check out the remainder of Ex Machina