The Official Recommendations Thread

[Ben Urich]

Where the hell is the grammar?

 

[The Question]

The Question by Dennie O'Neil and Denys Cowan



Title: The Question
Writer/Artist: Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan.
Publisher: DC comics
Genre: Crime, philosophy, suggested for mature readers.
Summary: Charles Victor Szazs is an orphan. He never knew his parents, and his name was given to him by the nuns of the orphanige. Vic Sage is a rude, arrogant, trouble making crusading reporter for KBEL news. Think if Hunter S. Thompson had Bill O'Riley's job. What's the connectio between the two? Well, they do have alot of things in common. The biggest of which is that they're the same person. And, neither of them are this individual's true identity. What is his true identity? Well, that's the question, isn't it?

In 1986, Denny O'Neil took the reigns of The Question and gave him his own solo series. The Question, along with the rest of the Charlton Action Heroes, had been purchased by DC a few years earlier and integrated into the DCU by the Crisis on Infinite Earths. O'Neil took the character, who was already rather innovative for his time, and expanded upon him greatly. He gave hikm a backstory, a larger supporting cast, and a good deal more depth. With The Question, O'Neil crafted a brilliant series that comprises of, in equal parts, philisophical battles of will and words and well crafted crime noir. The series is heavily serialized, introducing concepts in issues five and six that are resolved in issue 23.

Most interesting of all is the character's motivation. He's not motivated by vengence or the need to uphold a greater good or a devotion to a higher power. He's motivated by curiosity. Curiosity, both in the truth behind mysteries, and in himself. He doesn't know his birth name or his parents. In essence, he doesn't really know who he is. Putting on the mask, solving crimes, beating the holy hell out of people, that's the closest he comes to finding himself. And, since he doesn't know his real name, he simply uses the only answer he's able to give whenever someone asks who he ius. "That's a good question."
Format: 36 issues, four anuals, five quarterlies.
Amazon.com listing: They ain't got it.

 

[Rob H]

no prob, always enjoy helping out a new reader

when you get curious, try branching out into some of the non-superhero comics out there

What can I say? I love superhero stories. Thinking about giving Superman a try aswell. Not sure which one out of the three titles though.

DC seems to have alot to offer. I can tell you now, I'm only a half way through the Quiver trade and Ollie is well on his way to becoming my favorite.

 

[Anubis]

If you wanna read Superman, you can't go wrong with Adventures of Superman. Rucka has put together a damn fine run on that book. Best out of all the Superman books at the moment.

 

[Anubis]

Where the hell is the grammar?

I was in a hurry. I had to take a serious dump while I was typing that. Im' gonna go back and fix it later.

 

[Rob H]

If you wanna read Superman, you can't go wrong with Adventures of Superman. Rucka has put together a damn fine run on that book. Best out of all the Superman books at the moment.

Done. I'll pick up what I can of the current arc this week. Thanks.

 

[Elijya]

is it bad if i didnt like she hulk? his spiderman/human torch was good tho!

yes. you're a terrible, terrible person with no taste. please leave the internet

 

[Elijya]

Done. I'll pick up what I can of the current arc this week. Thanks.

actually, you want to read an arc called "sacrifice" that just finished. It was four parts, ran throughout all three superman titles and ended in Wonderwoman

I hope your store still has the issues, though, they've been sold for most of the country

 

[Punch]

Elektra Lives Again by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley

Matt Murdoch is haunted by dreams of the dead assassin Elektra, his former lover. In the dreams Elektra is being chased by all the people she has killed over the years, and as you may have guessed there happens to be alot of them. Matt becomes convinced that she's alive and that the dreams are trying to tell him something important.

This graphic novel doesn't take place in continuity, but that's good, beacuse Miller is allowed more freedom to do what he does. The artwork is absolutely breathtaking, the pinnacle of the Miller/Varley team.
The fight scenes are among my favorites ever, showing Miller's unmatched skill at making combat look poetic

The story leads Matt into confrontations with the Hand, Bullseye and Elektra herself in a haunting tale of love, regrets and learning to let the past go.

 

[Punch]

Ronin by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley

Ronin tells the tale of a Samurai warrior who must avenge the death of his master at the hands of the demon Agat. Agat is after a magic sword, the only blade able to kill him, that is now in the hands of the Ronin. At the last minute, when it looks like the Ronin will get his revenge, The demon casts a spell, trapping both in the blade seemingly for eternity.
Through a series of events, both the demon and the Ronin are released for the blade in the 21st century, at the site of a huge scientific complex named Aquarius that is made of a substance that is alive in some aspects, it grows and changes on its own.

At the core of operations at Aquarius is The sentient computer Virgo and Billy Challas, a powerful but kind telekenetic who happens to have no arms and legs.

When released from the sword, the Ronin posesses Billy and escapes from Aquarius, stranded in a world he knows nothing about.

Throughout the book, myth and reality become blurred as the worlds of science and magic collide.

This book gets unfairly overshadowed by Miller's Dark Knight book. Ronin is a true masterpiece and paved the way for the work on Batman. There are complexities and moral ambiguity woven into the interactions between the characters, and by the end of the story, few of them end up where they started.
As a side note fans of Samurai Jack will notice some umistakable similarities in Ronin.

 

[DarkKnightJRK]

Someone mentioned earlier on the thread, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell. I haven't read it myself, but I have a feeling that it just can't possibly top its predecessor:

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

Written by one of the three Comic Gods (including Miller and Moore) Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean (worked on Sandman and will be more well known for directing the upcoming Mirrormask).

Before this, I thought I had a preety sick mind and nothing could possibly disturb me. I read this, and was proven wrong. There are some truely frightning moments, but, I'm getting a little far. Here's the story.

The lunitics have tanken over Arkham Asylum. They've taken hostages and the police are trying to negotiate for their safe return. They've been given many things in exchange (mostly crazy things like furnature and stuffed animals)--but they have one last request: Batman. In Arkham Asylum with the rest of them. Batman agrees, and puts himself in the madhouse, and has to play the inmate's demented games...

Also, in-between the narrative with Batman in the Asylum, we learn the origins of the Asylum. We see it's creator, Amadeus Arkham, convert his old childhood home into an institute for the criminally insane, and how he becomes one of it's first occupants...

Like I said before, this is a very dark and disturbing tale. It truely is a gothic fairy tale, one practically stained with blood and insanity. Batman is at his most deranged and out-hinged. Going so far as to mutilate himself just to keep himself from permantly spacing out.

It's also Batman's villians at their best/worst. Dave McKean's vision of The Joker, combined with Morrison's demented writing style, makes one of the most frightning version of the character yet. Mad Hatter is written spectacular as well, showing one of the main themes of the book ("The Asylum is a looking glass, and WE are YOU."). The most surprisingly amazing addition is Maxie Zeus. Morrison made him extremely facinating and it's a shame he's only in there for one scene.

Another cool thing is the explanation of the character's insanity. Joker is diagnosed with a neuratotic disorder, like Torette's Syndrome, who makes himself each day. The way that the doctors were trying to cure Two-Face is a genius way as well. Even Batman's motivations are explained in an amazing new way ("There is nothing to hold onto. No anchor. Panic-stricken, I flee. I trun blindly through the madhouse. And I cannot even pray. For I have no God.").

Get it. Get it NOW.

 

[Rob H]

actually, you want to read an arc called "sacrifice" that just finished. It was four parts, ran throughout all three superman titles and ended in Wonderwoman

I hope your store still has the issues, though, they've been sold for most of the country

That's unfortunate but I'll give it a shot anyway. At least then, I'll be able to get a taste of each Superman book (and WW).

 

[Elijya]

Written by one of the three Comic Gods (including Miller and Moore) Grant Morrison

maybe under the category of "modern day writers", but even then Gaimen belongs on the list. But more overall, you're forgetting guys like Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, William Gaines, etc.

 

[Elijya]

That's unfortunate but I'll give it a shot anyway. At least then, I'll be able to get a taste of each Superman book (and WW).

here's an ebay auction for all 4 parts

http://cgi.ebay.com/SACRIFICE-set-4...553189197QQcategoryZ32768QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or if you want to try and buy the issues individually
http://collectibles.search.ebay.com...ZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsacatZ63

 

[DarkKnightJRK]

maybe under the category of "modern day writers", but even then Gaimen belongs on the list. But more overall, you're forgetting guys like Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, William Gaines, etc.

True, though I've never been able to get through a Stan "The Man" issue of whatever. It's wierd.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I was looking through the first issue of Dream Police at the story yesterday and it looked kinda neat. Has anyone read it that can confirm this and is there any more issue out after the first?

 

[Anubis]

I read it. It was great. But it was just a one shot. Don't know if JMS is gonna get the chance to do an ongoing. Would be nice though.

 

[JewishHobbit]

So is the one shot worth picking up while there's tons of other comics I'd regularly get that I still need?

 

[Anubis]

Well, it's just one comic. I don't see why not.

 

[Venom Drool]

heard goo thing about The Watchman

would be nice if we got a review

 

[Elijya]

Dream Police was ok. Didn't find it particularly spectacular, but it wasn't bad

heard goo thing about The Watchman

would be nice if we got a review

yeah it would. I'm not a big Moore fan, though, so I'm not the one to write it

 

[DarkKnightJRK]

heard goo thing about The Watchman

would be nice if we got a review

It's quite possibly one of the greatest comics ever made.

Get it. Get it NOW. Steal, pillage if you have to, just GET IT.

That a good enough review for you?

 

[Anubis]

I'll get around to it at some point. It just kinda seemed like an obvious recommendation. There are other less known stuff that should be pushed. Besides, what can be said about Watchmen that you haven't already heard? It's like comic book gospel. Just go buy it. Or, I don't know, steal it from the library or something.

 

[Elijya]

I'll get around to it at some point. It just kinda seemed like an obvious recommendation. There are other less known stuff that should be pushed. Besides, what can be said about Watchmen that you haven't already heard? It's like comic book gospel. Just go buy it. Or, I don't know, steal it from the library or something.

that's another good point. I got very sick of new members starting threads asking for recommendations, and people shouting out Watchman immediately, without describing it in the least or asking questions to try and establish if it'd be something they'd like

 

[Venom Drool]

well..im picking it up this week or next... i can write my review of it at thatpoint