Comic Series or Arcs that you Were Surprised You Liked

[random_havoc]

So this is just to list off some comic series, mini series or story arcs that you expected not to like but realized you quite enjoyed when you gave them a shot. Here's some from me:

-Ultimate Spider-Man. First few issues I read the art irritated me (big head on spidey for example), but I got used to it and now I own every issue of the series

-Son of M mini series. Not sure why I didn't expect to like it, but just read it a few weeks ago and it was great. Highly recommend it.

-Dark Wolverine. The whole thing of giving superheroes sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, etc with the same basic powers is soooooo overplayed it sickens me. That combined with Daken's stupid haircut made me pretty sure I'd never like the character. But this mini series was actually really good.


All from me for now. Anyone else?

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I'd agree with Dark Wolverine. It was actually pretty compelling, and before that I hated Daken, but I've grown to like him (a little) now

 

[CBG]

None that I can recently recall to mind.

 

[bryanss3]

Dan Slott's She-Hulk run. I honestly couldn't give 2 sh*** about the character till I read that. Also I completely agree about Daken in Dark Wolverine. Did anyone like Daken at all? probably after the first issue I think anyone who read it changed their minds.

also Random Havok X-Factor(i dunno if you read that) and the Silent War mini continue on from where Quicksilver left off in Son of M.

 

[random_havoc]

Dan Slott's She-Hulk run. I honestly couldn't give 2 sh*** about the character till I read that. Also I completely agree about Daken in Dark Wolverine. Did anyone like Daken at all? probably after the first issue I think anyone who read it changed their minds.

also Random Havok X-Factor(i dunno if you read that) and the Silent War mini continue on from where Quicksilver left off in Son of M.

Yeah I picked up Silent War due to Sentry being in it and enjoyed it a lot. been collecting x-factor recently too.

 

[kguillou]

One word: THOR. If you would've told me 2-3 years ago that I would be reading and loving Thor i would've laughed hysterically. I'm usually into dark, street level superheroes (Batman, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Ironfist, Punisher, Captain America, Spider-man etc.) but Thor is just so damn well-written and awesome. Its a shame JMS is leaving.

 

[WolfCypher]

New Ways to Die.

I hated Gargan/Venom, I hate gimmicks (Anti-Venom), and BND Spidey is not doing it for me, but I enjoyed this arc.

 

[Punisher RULES]

Young Avengers. It seemed like such a dumb idea but it ended up being one of the most fun, compelling storylines ever from Marvel.

 

[Havok83]

I have to say Son of M as well. Man I wanted that to be an ongoing. I generally do not like solo series, but that one defiently srurpsied me. Ditto on the current Cable series

Another one is X-force. I had my reservations bc the initial lineup of Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane seemed redundant and not too interesting but man was I wrong as it is now my favorite book

 

[Blader5489]

Garth Ennis' run on Punisher MAX

The Punisher never really interested me as a character before, but Ennis' work is one of the best comic book runs I've ever read. Love it.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Man o' man... I'm sure there's tons. Some recent ones are:

Skaar: Son of Hulk - I skipped it when it first came out because I didn't read Hulk or Planet Hulk or anything, so I didn't care. But I love Cosmic stuff and when I learned Silver Surfer was showing up I thought I'd give it a shot. I ended up LOVING the book and have ever since. Even now with the shadowpriest kid, I still like it. I wish Skaar would have stayed since I'm not buying Incredible Hulk, but it's still a good book.

Immortal Iron Fist - I've never liked the character and I had no love for Brubaker at the time so I had no interest in the title. Then a friend at work kept telling me to try it and so I finally said whatever and 'aquired' the series. I couldn't stop reading the stuff! That was about an issue or two from the end of the 2nd arc. I immediately went out and bought every issue I could find and I collected it ever since. It became tied for 1st place for my favorite book (with Nova).

X-Force - I hated the idea of the black ops team pulled together by Cyclops. I felt it was a betrayal of Cyclops' character and of the X-Men in general... but MAN is this book good. I just love every issue, every story, every character. And I loved the student book, New X-Men. This title picks up a lot of the storylines and characters began there. Great stuff.

 

[Speedball]

The Incredible Hercules - I read the Hercules mini that came out a few years ago, thought it was alright. It was my introduction to the character actually. When I saw they changed the title of the Incredible Hulk to Herc, I thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot. And it's probably become my favorite Marvel comic now. I actually look forward to reading it every month.

 

[WolfCypher]

Skaar, too. I thought "really? Right after Planet Hulk and WWH? We get this? The whole Gladiator Hulk-in-Space schtick should be a one-time thing, and how the hell does baby Hulk magically grow to an adult?! Don't get me started on the Hulk having too many kids already! (New Scorpion)" when I saw the preview at the end of WWH, but I love what Marvel gave us.

 

[Docker2.0]

Blackest Night. I'm a die hard Marvel Zombie but so far the series hasn't disappointed.

Deadpool by Way. I'm REALLY surprised given Way's past writings that I thought sucked but his DP is #1 in my eyes!

 

[bryanss3]

Yeah I picked up Silent War due to Sentry being in it and enjoyed it a lot. been collecting x-factor recently too.

that scene with Blackbolt and Sentry is probably one of my favorite scenes in a comic ever.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'd have to say Skaar as well. I picked it up because I was interested in Sakaar, but I was surprised to find myself really enjoying Skaar's characterization more than anything else. Pak made him interesting and complex while fully retaining the smashing that his pedigree demands. It was a great comic for its short run. (I pretty much consider it ended now, even though Jenkins is continuing Son of Hulk, because Skaar and Sakaar itself are now gone.)

I'd also have to say Thor: Son of Asgard and Wolverine: First Class surprised me. I expected to enjoy them but they both far exceeded my expectations. Both are aimed at younger audiences but are actually better than the mainstream versions of the characters being put out.

Son of Asgard came around during a relative lull in the main Thor series (around the future part of "The Reigning," which I felt dragged on a bit too long). It rewrote a bit of established continuity with Thor's youth here and there, but overall it was a compelling set of stories that really fleshed out the relationship between Thor, Sif, Balder, and Loki in interesting ways.

Wolverine: First Class is going now, while the other Wolverine comics are off in an inconsequential alternate reality (Old Man Logan) or just geekfests of Wolverine killing everything that moves (X-Force, probably whatever other Wolverine comics are coming out). First Class features a more "mortal" Wolverine, for lack of a better word, and a good dose of humor that's missing from a lot of Marvel's current mainstream comics. I didn't read much of the Claremont era, but if Kitty was this good a foil for Wolverine back in those days, I kind of wish that era had never ended. It's so good, in fact, it makes me miss Kitty in the present even though I felt absolutely nothing when she "died" in Astonishing X-Men.

Marvel's younger readers lines are vastly underrated, in my opinion.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Oh... bit of a semi-oldie story...

X-Man after the Counter X relaunch... the whole mutant Shaman thing. I was so mad at the idea of killing his characterization in such a stupid way but I ended up LOVING the series. I still prefer his original brash ways, but his Shaman stuff still ended up being really good and I'm glad that he's coming back here in a month or two.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I love seeing super-powerful people gain a measure of enlightenment. My favorite version of Cable is the messianic one early in Cable/Deadpool, too.

 

[Max J Power]

Gotham Central. I saw the first book on the shelf at the library and it looked like just an excuse to have a Batman book (although if I had been familiar with Brubaker, Rucka, and Lark at the time, I probably wouldn't have thought that). Awhile later I checked it out and it was really good.

Young Avengers. I thought it would be immature and too heavy on the teen drama. But it wasn't.

 

[Manic]

The Order. I didn't know who the hell those people were, but I picked it up anyway. It knocked my socks off. Then it got canned a few issues later.

Captain Britain and MI:13. I avoided the first 3 issues because I didn't want to read Secret Invasion and I thought it'd be a continuation of Excalibur. It knocked my socks off. Then it got canned a few issues later.

Alias. I didn't read it when it was being published because I thought it was a comic adaptation of the TV series with the same name. When I found out it was totally different, I took a chance with the Omnibus. I loved it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Then it got canned a few issues later.

A sad recurring theme in many of the comics I've gotten invested in, too. X-Men: First Class springs to mind. I thought it would be a Marvel Adventures-style kiddy version of the X-Men, learned it was actually untold tales of the original five X-Men, picked up the mini-series' trade, loved it, read the ongoing, loved it, and then it got canned a few issues later.

 

[Manic]

At least X-Men First Class got a "Finals" miniseries to wrap it up after the ongoing got canned.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

True. Then it got replaced with Wolverine: First Class 2 Uncanny X-Men: First Class.

 

[Manic]

Wolverine is barely in Uncanny First Class. So far, all he's done is get punched into another country while the rest of the X-Men sprung into action. If that kept happening (Wolverine gets beaten up, the rest of the X-Men save the day, and Wolverine recovers when it's over), Uncanny First Class may very well become the greatest X-Men comic ever written.

 

[Dread]

Thanks, Manic. Someone else praising UNCANNY X-MEN FIRST CLASS. The only reason Wolverine is there is because he was on that 1975-1976 team and to omit him would be inaccurate. He's barely been much of a factor in the stories so far. It was a shame that FIRST CLASS had to end, but it did last some 30 issues via mini's and ongoings, a long run by today's standards.

When I bit on X-MEN FIRST CLASS to begin with, I was surprised that I liked it, but grew to accept it.