DC Desert Island picks: what will you bring with you ?

[Batmannerism]

Okay, so you're castaway on a deserted island. You have the necessities to stay alive, make fire, build shelter, get food and water..... and 1 DC comic book.

Now this could be a single issue or it could be a graphic novel or edition that contains a complete story, up to you.

So what is your deserted island comic book ?

For me.... it's a difficult choice between Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Grant Morrison's JLA: Earth 2, and JLA:The Nail.

Of those 4 it would probably come down to Earth 2 or Dark Knight Returns.

If I could only bring a single issue of any comic it would be a choice between Superman vol1 #400 or Issue 12 of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Okay, other suggestions?

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Nice thread

My graphic novel would be Kingdom Come, no question.

As for a single comic issue, man I'm gonna have to think about that one.

 

[Batmannerism]

Nice thread

My graphic novel would be Kingdom Come, no question.

As for a single comic issue, man I'm gonna have to think about that one.

Thanks dude! Now I think about it, Kingdom Come would be an amazing choice, might have to re think my pick !

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Okay. This might seem a bit of a cheat, but The Killing Joke was originally published as a one-shot comic so I'll take that. The fact that it's my all-time #2 graphic novel is pure coincidence! So that's my comic choice

 

[Batmannerism]

Okay. This might seem a bit of a cheat, but The Killing Joke was originally published as a one-shot comic so I'll take that. The fact that it's my all-time #2 graphic novel is pure coincidence! So that's my comic choice

That's fair because I bought it when it first came out, and it was essentially a one shot comic.

The art is simply wonderful, Bolland at his best, but even Alan Moore wasn't satisfied with the story, and I remember feeling that same way - I don't know how it could have been better but I've always felt that it was a 9/10 rather than a 10/10 like Moore's work on Watchmen or Miller's DKR.

If you like one shot stories I highly recommend Morrison's Earth 2 ( a JLA one shot). While not a one shot, JLA Pain of the Gods is a great story ( best read as the trade paperback).

I guess a collected edition of Crisis on Infinite Earths would be great - it would include the death of the Flash, which was emotional plus a lot of other characters.
TBH none of the other Crisis stories came close.

Kingdom Come would still be a terrific choice though.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

If you like one shot stories I highly recommend Morrison's Earth 2 ( a JLA one shot). While not a one shot, JLA Pain of the Gods is a great story ( best read as the trade paperback).

Have to be honest, I'm not a great fan of Grant Morrison. It's not that I think he's a poor writer because he certainly isn't, but I don't generally find his stuff very 'user-friendly'. For example, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman all have layers to much of their writing, and references to other works (be they philosophical, mystical, or simply classical literature); but if I miss a reference or just don't 'get it' in something by Moore or Gaiman I can still enjoy the work on a surface level, it still makes sense. With Grant Morrison I just end up wondering what the heck is going on! That's on me, obviously; the guy's clearly extremely talented, very clever, and hugely knowledgeable about DC history.

Pain of the Gods looks interesting though, although I'm not sure about the art style. Still, looks like a cool story. I'll have to pick that up - thanks

 

[Batmannerism]

Have to be honest, I'm not a great fan of Grant Morrison. It's not that I think he's a poor writer because he certainly isn't, but I don't generally find his stuff very 'user-friendly'. For example, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman all have layers to much of their writing, and references to other works (be they philosophical, mystical, or simply classical literature); but if I miss a reference or just don't 'get it' in something by Moore or Gaiman I can still enjoy the work on a surface level, it still makes sense. With Grant Morrison I just end up wondering what the heck is going on! That's on me, obviously; the guy's clearly extremely talented, very clever, and hugely knowledgeable about DC history.

Pain of the Gods looks interesting though, although I'm not sure about the art style. Still, looks like a cool story. I'll have to pick that up - thanks

Earth 2 is quite straightforward for Morrison - I agree that some of his work is great as a concept but doesn't quite make it in execution ( e.g. Arkham Asylum and some of the Invisibles and most recently final crisis).

The themes in Earth 2 are pretty obvious, but are still engaging. Can't recommend it enough.

Pain of the Gods artwork reflects the nature of the story and the pain the characters experienc it's about the fragile nature of the most powerful JLA members Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and Wonder Woman - with Batman in the background. There's a great moment where....

Spoiler

where Wonder Woman comes back to the Watchtower, having nearly been killed during a fight with a generic villain, although she won she's clearly very shaken. She wants to talk about it but Flash and Lantern while somewhat sympathetic but busy playing a video game.
WW goes off to another room and Martian Manhunter comes in. He asks if she wants to talk about it. She's really relieved and starts to tell him about it....
and he pretty much says that if she wants to talk about she can go find Superman.
So she goes to find Superman who's trying to make up for a recent failure. He actually sees how upset she is and listens and gives her a hug. She tells him she's afraid of death - he replies that she will never die because if she did he would miss her so much that he would turn back time to bring her back.

it's great seeing the JLA as vulnerable people. Sometimes that's been done and not worked well , like Identity Crisis which is a bit too grim for my liking.

However Pain of the Gods is a great read and re read, it's short but I highly recommend it.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Earth 2 is quite straightforward for Morrison...

I might give it a go then I didn't read your spoiler re Pain of the Gods as I definitely want to read that one. Thanks again

 

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

Sinestro Corps War

 

[Batmannerism]

Sinestro Corps War

That would be a good one - pretty epic!

 

[Batmannerism]

I might give it a go then I didn't read your spoiler re Pain of the Gods as I definitely want to read that one. Thanks again

Glad I had the sense to put the spoiler tags up. After you read it, go back and have a look at the spoiler and decide for yourself whether you like that moment or not. For me it was a really nice touch, a little bit meta and a nod to fans of the characters.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Glad I had the sense to put the spoiler tags up. After you read it, go back and have a look at the spoiler and decide for yourself whether you like that moment or not. For me it was a really nice touch, a little bit meta and a nod to fans of the characters.

Will do!

 

[Babillygunn]

Put me in Milk Tray’s camp with Kingdom Come.

If I were cheating, I might consider No Mans Land collected edition, just because it’s such a long story.

 

[Slade W]

The Long Halloween.

 

[CLARKY]

I think the idea of Kingdom Come is neat. Because if I have to read and re-read a comicbook aloneon my island for the rest of my life, I think it'd be better to have something with many characters.
So regardless of my favorite books of all time, I would choose something like, yeah, Kingdom Come or a huge TPB of Morrison/Porter era on JLA.
I wouldn't pick a comics about one character. And about one issue only? ... ... I don't know.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Watchmen or Kingdom Come as a collection.

Single Issue ?

The first appearance of Superman, Action Comics #1 (June 1938), has been regarded as the "holy grail" of comic books, due to its cultural significance and rarity (fewer than one hundred copies are thought to exist).