The Comic Book Thread

[RCBH928]

Wearing my flame suite ,

are comic books still a thing today? I know they used to be big way back but I heard that its just gone downhill now , while characters are still extremely popular, do people still buy the comic books?

Are they still in the form of thin magazines or do they come in book size?

They're still popular. You could argue they've dropped off a bit, but they are picking back up quite a bit due to sales of digital comics and trades. (Trades are collections of multiple single comics in a series together.)

Batman sells like hotcakes, so certain characters are definitely extremely popular.

Comic type depends on the story. Some books come in graphic novels, just book sized comics. Others come in singles, the "magazine" style you described. Then there's trades, which many of the companies do, which collect multiple singles into a single book.

Do you recommend any particular comic? Doesn't have to be super hero or new, it can be from the 60's as long as it is worthwhile and not cheesy. I am not looking for something that was written for 12 year olds.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Well, if you want stuff for 12 year old kids, anything from either Marvel or DC from the 60's up can be pretty well picked. I can't give very specific recommendations, because I'm not big on that kind of stuff. I'm mostly a Dark Horse guy, and a lot of their stuff is a bit more mature. I also like a lot of Image and self published... same thing.

Maybe BD can pop in with some good recommendations.

[SpaceBooger]

Wearing my flame suite ,

are comic books still a thing today? I know they used to be big way back but I heard that its just gone downhill now , while characters are still extremely popular, do people still buy the comic books?

Are they still in the form of thin magazines or do they come in book size?

They're still popular. You could argue they've dropped off a bit, but they are picking back up quite a bit due to sales of digital comics and trades. (Trades are collections of multiple single comics in a series together.)

Batman sells like hotcakes, so certain characters are definitely extremely popular.

Comic type depends on the story. Some books come in graphic novels, just book sized comics. Others come in singles, the "magazine" style you described. Then there's trades, which many of the companies do, which collect multiple singles into a single book.

Do you recommend any particular comic? Doesn't have to be super hero or new, it can be from the 60's as long as it is worthwhile and not cheesy. I am not looking for something that was written for 12 year olds.

DC just rebooted their entire universe and the oldest books are only 22 issues deep. Most people I know that read comics are 20+.
Batman (solo title) has been pretty good and definitely for people older than 12. I can also recommend Aquaman, Nightwing, and Batgirl. I also second the opinion about the new Valiant books. They are also low numbered and not for little kids.

[BurningDoom]

It's hard to give a recommendation with such a broad request. Comics are just like movies or T.V. There are so many different genres and styles out there. It would help if you give us some idea on what kind of stuff you're into.

Super-heroes, horror, fantasy, etc.? Do you have a preference on certain publishers (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc.)? Do you have any favorite characters or stories that we could give similar recommendations to?

And yeah, comic in general haven't been written for kids for a couple decades now. In fact, most kiddie comics can't keep an ongoing afloat, anymore. Most mainstream comics are aimed at adult males.

[RCBH928]

I am NOT looking for kiddy comics or cheesy ones. I am also not looking for any comic that is based on a popular franchise like a videogame or a movies because we all know that this was made just to cash on the trend. I am looking for more mature ones, something with a good story.

I am looking for something that is a story with illustrations, not 4 pages of illustrations with 3 sentences. I really do not sit 10 minutes appreciating each illustration and how the inking was done, and try to understand the contrast of colors. It takes me about 1 second or less to look at the illustration.

[BurningDoom]

I am NOT looking for kiddy comics or cheesy ones. I am also not looking for any comic that is based on a popular franchise like a videogame or a movies because we all know that this was made just to cash on the trend. I am looking for more mature ones, something with a good story.

I am looking for something that is a story with illustrations, not 4 pages of illustrations with 3 sentences. I really do not sit 10 minutes appreciating each illustration and how the inking was done, and try to understand the contrast of colors. It takes me about 1 second or less to look at the illustration.

If you're into Horror, Walking Dead fits that bill, perfectly. And the storyline is different than the T.V. show, despite it having the same characters. So even if you watch the show, you'll still be surprised. Oh, and it's not a cash-in. The comic was created before the show, nor was the comic being written in anticipation of the show.

It is in black & white, though. Just wanted to mention that, because that bothers some people.

[Nemoide]

I'd recommend From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. It's a story about Jack the Ripper with occult themes and some great art. It was turned into a shitty movie that totally doesn't represent how great the comic is. Plus it's easily available in a collected book!

JUST TRUST ME AND READ IT!

[isiolia]

Sandman, Y: The Last Man, Fables for a few that have been out there for a while. They've all had announced or rumored TV/movie/game/etc projects, but little that's actually materialized.

Saga is relatively new but good so far.

While I don't tend to read many superhero comics either, I would say that most of them would skew towards a bit older audience than the saturday morning cartoon crowd. Even the big movie versions tend to get sterilized a bit, even if only for runtime/clarity.
I just feel like a lot of them are just stuck with a forgone costumed superhero conclusion, and usually reinventing the same ones over and over to boot.

That said, if you did like, say, the Nolan Batman movies, there are comics like Year One, The Long Halloween, No Man's Land, and so on that they drew from for that version of Batman.


I'd just say to try grabbing the free comics that a lot of the e-comic sites/services offer and see what you might like from those too. Several of the books mentioned you can read the first issue of free on ComiXology for example (which is also an app if you have a tablet).

[Forlorn Drifter]

I am NOT looking for kiddy comics or cheesy ones. .

Totally misread that other post, sorry about that.

[RCBH928]

I will look into all of your suggestions , thanks guys. Excited to try out something new...

@BurningDoom

I am ok if the comic was released to be a comic first , then it got into TV series. We all know what it means if it was the other way around. Ill check if it is on the ComiXology site