I've only ever read one issue of Ms. Tree, but I liked it. I need to track down more one of these days.
On a related note, I really love The Maze Agency, which is not nearly so hard-boiled as Ms. Tree, but still a fun detective fiction series - a lot like an 80s detective show, really - with (mostly) fair play whodunnit stories and a great cast of characters. It gets revived by a different publisher every few years, but it never seems to last long, nor do efforts to collect the previously published material. Worth the hunt for the back issues, though.
I think Checkers had a Maze Agency reprint last year... always meant to pick it up...
Speaking of fun detective series... Ruse should get a look from anyone who likes a good Holmesian fix, feel like it gets a little lost in the shuffle with other CrosGen stuff.
@nweathington - Yeah, under-rated might be the wrong term for Thor: TMA. TMA started out decent. I don't think it helped competing against its counterparts. Maybe a better strategy would have been for Marvel to hold the all ages book until closer to to the movie release.
It's hard for me to know what others think, these are kind of ones I THINK people don't like much or don't know about:
Potter's Field: Mark Waid can write like a mofo, and the art is gorgeous in these books by Paul Azaceta.
Project Superpowers: not sure what the general vibe is, but I think anything Dynamite related sometimes gets a bad rap. This series was fun, had lots of interesting characters, and the mini series for each character were all really well done. And of course those Alex Ross covers ^:)^
Too Cool to be Forgotten: This is a really really powerful book that gets me to tear up every time I read it (and I don't cry ever!). It's long enough to be a good, full story, but not too long where it becomes a chore. I read it about once a year.
Sonny Liew is an amazing artist and an even better person. He personally sent two sketches when my son was born and my favorite page from Malinky Robot. His is a name that I truly never see come up anywhere and it is probably a bigger shame than all of my listed items combined. He has some cool stuff coming up so definitely keep an eye out @nweathington (and everyone else)!
@Zhurrie, I always keep an eye out for his stuff, but it’s good to hear he’s got something coming up. He’s one of the guys I would love to do a Modern Masters book on, but I’ll probably never be able to because he doesn’t have enough of a following. I used to be able to sneak guys like that into the series every once in a while, but the way the market is now I just can’t do it.
I think Checkers had a Maze Agency reprint last year... always meant to pick it up...
Actually, it was IDW (thankfully—Checker does lousy reproduction work). I picked it up for five bucks at Heroes Con last year.
Potter's Field: Mark Waid can write like a mofo, and the art is gorgeous in these books by Paul Azaceta.
Speaking of fun detective series... Ruse should get a look from anyone who likes a good Holmesian fix, feel like it gets a little lost in the shuffle with other CrosGen stuff.
The art was a little rough in places, but it was an interesting concept and had a pretty strong story. Overall, it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re into mysteries at all. Ruse was a great book, even after Scott Beatty took over, and the Marvel mini-series maintained the quality. Far and away my favorite of the CrossGen line, though I did like Way of the Rat quite a bit too. But then I enjoy Jackie Chan’s films, which is what Way of the Rat basically felt like. They even drew him to resemble Chan.
It's hard for me to know what others think, these are kind of ones I THINK people don't like much or don't know about:
Project Superpowers: not sure what the general vibe is, but I think anything Dynamite related sometimes gets a bad rap. This series was fun, had lots of interesting characters, and the mini series for each character were all really well done. And of course those Alex Ross covers ^:)^
Love this thread...giving my a LOT of books to dig up for my overnight shifts.
I LOVED Maze Agency, but it was very different from the style of detective/mystery story I normally like. When I started reading mysteries, I read some of the "cozies" and "fair play" mysteries and found that most of them were about the puzzle of who did the crime, rather than the personalities of the characters and repercussions of the crime. I think that's why I like the two Richard Aleas written novels for Hard Case Crime - What Happened in the book took a toll on the characters involved.
Did Project Superpowers get a real ending, or did it just fade away? I tend to avoid the indy comic "Big Super-Hero Projects) until they are done after being burned so many times.
The Len Wein/Berni Wrightson Swamp Thing run is a bona fide classic, and sorely under-rated in today's comic world.
After the Moore/Bissette/Weitch run, where the character's premise was re-imagined, this little gem has been shunted further and further out of the spotlight. And that's a shame.
It's a fun and creepy love letter to the monster movies that inspired Wein and Wrightson. Intellectual terror is supplanted by atmospheric horror and visceral action.
The Len Wein/Berni Wrightson Swamp Thing run is a bona fide classic, and sorely under-rated in today's comic world.
After the Moore/Bissette/Weitch run, where the character's premise was re-imagined, this little gem has been shunted further and further out of the spotlight. And that's a shame.
It's a fun and creepy love letter to the monster movies that inspired Wein and Wrightson. Intellectual terror is supplanted by atmospheric horror and visceral action.
Good stuff!
Totally agree with that! Wrightsons artwork on Swamp Thing is absolutely sublime.
It's hard to say that a John Byrne book from the 80s and early 90s would be underrated, but I very rarely hear people talk about his run(s) on Sensational She-Hulk anymore, and it's too bad because I think that might be my favorite thing he's ever done. You could really tell he was having fun on that one, getting to play with as many oddball concepts from out of the OHOTMU office wastepaper basket as possible (U.S. 1, Razorback, and Xemnu the Titan all in the same story? C'mon, that's gold!) while breaking the fourth wall to really play with the comic book format in a way a lot of creators haven't before or since (loved the issue where she tore through the page and led some characters across a Mile High Comics ad parody). And maybe most amazingly, when he came back for his second run all those issues later, it was just as good as it was the first time around. How often can you say that these days?
I know it gets good reviews, but I think Y: The Last Man is the best limited (well, 60 issues) series since 1987. I love it and have read it several times, and have introduced it to one person who knew nothing about comics and fell in love with it. It beats Preacher hands down, and introduced me to non-superhero comics for the first time. Yes, it's Vertigo, but without it as a gateway comic, I never would have picked up The Walking Dead about eight years ago, Invincible, Ex Machina, Fables (yes, I know, still Vertigo, but still way out of the superhero genre), and Chew (and super Poyo!!!). My argument is that it is generally well liked, but I've never seen it mentioned among the best series, so to me, it's underrated. Granted, I've got a lot of sentimentality for it, and it's the first comic that ever made me get a lump in my throat (the good kind, not a growth).
For more recent comics, Planet of the Apes gets mixed reviews, but I love it. I read it best as a trade so I can keep names and the quite sophisticated continuity straight. It is much better than any of the old or newer movies, and probably gets a bad rap because of its ties to the movie series.
I like a comic from the early 90's from fantagraphics called Cereal Killings by James Sturm.. It's a murder mystery involving cereal box mascots later in their lives. It is so funny and imaginative. I've only got the first 4 issues I gotta get the other 4 issues online. I know it's been 20 years and I still haven't read the end yet!!
The series is a fun and charming romp through Art's imagination, with nods toward the Marvel monster comics of the 50s, the Silver Age output of Stan and Jack, and more King Kong/Willis O'Brien references than you can shake a stick at!
This series is easily my favorite thing that Art has done in his career, and he's wonderfully supported by L. Lois Buhalis' terrific hand-letters (I miss her! Between MM&O'B, Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes, and Rascals in Paradise, she lettered some of my favorite books of the 90s).
If only Art had stayed with his book, like another of his Legend cohorts, Mike Mignola, did...
I read the first Beasts of Burden series a few months back, and loved it. I was kind of surprised, but thought it was charming. Dorkin departs from the usual and pulls it off, and Jill Thompson's art was great. It would probably be good for mature kids as well. I think there's more of it out there that I'll be tracking down.
I mentioned this in another thread, but Cow Boy was a very enjoyable recent release. I haven't heard it get too much hype, though I could be wrong about that.
What do you guys think of 'irredeemable' or 'incorruptible' by mark waid?
I think they were AWESOME!
I bought the 'Absolute' and am waiting for the next one because Mark Waid said there was going to be another one but I don't think that will happen. I'll just have to buy the trades & I don't think there will be one for Incorruptable at all.
Market Day by James Sturm Elephantmen (series) by Richard Starkings No Hero (series) by Warren Ellis The Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore Twisted Dark (series) by Neil Gibson Yossel by Joe Kubert Mother Come Home by Paul Hornschemeier Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
But I'm pretty new to the comic 'scene' so perhaps these are all classics?
@Sweet_Tooth: Agreed on Ballad of Halo Jones. I think it's easily one of the best things Moore has ever written. There's a heartfelt honesty that can lack in some of his other work.
If you like that you should definitely check out the Martha Washington Omnibus by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons if you haven't already. I got the Absolute-style release but there is a very reasonably priced softcover edition out as well.
What do you guys think of 'irredeemable' or 'incorruptible' by mark waid?
I think they were AWESOME!
I bought the 'Absolute' and am waiting for the next one because Mark Waid said there was going to be another one but I don't think that will happen. I'll just have to buy the trades & I don't think there will be one for Incorruptable at all.
I picked up all the single issues and the first 3 or 4 trades but I really have a hard time justifying double dipping like that. There is so much I havn't read yet I hate to re-buy something I've already read. Unless I catch a fantastic deal or want to have a format more readily "loaned out".
Comments
Speaking of fun detective series... Ruse should get a look from anyone who likes a good Holmesian fix, feel like it gets a little lost in the shuffle with other CrosGen stuff.
#1 20,076
#2 14,315
#3 12,112
#4 10,887
#5 9,673
#6 8,420
#7 8,244
#8 8,323
Numbers provided by your friendly neighborhood John Mayo.
Potter's Field: Mark Waid can write like a mofo, and the art is gorgeous in these books by Paul Azaceta.
Project Superpowers: not sure what the general vibe is, but I think anything Dynamite related sometimes gets a bad rap. This series was fun, had lots of interesting characters, and the mini series for each character were all really well done. And of course those Alex Ross covers ^:)^
Too Cool to be Forgotten: This is a really really powerful book that gets me to tear up every time I read it (and I don't cry ever!). It's long enough to be a good, full story, but not too long where it becomes a chore. I read it about once a year.
I LOVED Maze Agency, but it was very different from the style of detective/mystery story I normally like. When I started reading mysteries, I read some of the "cozies" and "fair play" mysteries and found that most of them were about the puzzle of who did the crime, rather than the personalities of the characters and repercussions of the crime. I think that's why I like the two Richard Aleas written novels for Hard Case Crime - What Happened in the book took a toll on the characters involved.
Did Project Superpowers get a real ending, or did it just fade away? I tend to avoid the indy comic "Big Super-Hero Projects) until they are done after being burned so many times.
After the Moore/Bissette/Weitch run, where the character's premise was re-imagined, this little gem has been shunted further and further out of the spotlight. And that's a shame.
It's a fun and creepy love letter to the monster movies that inspired Wein and Wrightson. Intellectual terror is supplanted by atmospheric horror and visceral action.
Good stuff!
Great series from Mike Grell that I rarely hear anyone talking about.
For more recent comics, Planet of the Apes gets mixed reviews, but I love it. I read it best as a trade so I can keep names and the quite sophisticated continuity straight. It is much better than any of the old or newer movies, and probably gets a bad rap because of its ties to the movie series.
It's a murder mystery involving cereal box mascots later in their lives.
It is so funny and imaginative.
I've only got the first 4 issues I gotta get the other 4 issues online. I know it's been 20 years and I still haven't read the end yet!!
The series is a fun and charming romp through Art's imagination, with nods toward the Marvel monster comics of the 50s, the Silver Age output of Stan and Jack, and more King Kong/Willis O'Brien references than you can shake a stick at!
This series is easily my favorite thing that Art has done in his career, and he's wonderfully supported by L. Lois Buhalis' terrific hand-letters (I miss her! Between MM&O'B, Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes, and Rascals in Paradise, she lettered some of my favorite books of the 90s).
If only Art had stayed with his book, like another of his Legend cohorts, Mike Mignola, did...
I mentioned this in another thread, but Cow Boy was a very enjoyable recent release. I haven't heard it get too much hype, though I could be wrong about that.
Elephantmen (series) by Richard Starkings
No Hero (series) by Warren Ellis
The Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore
Twisted Dark (series) by Neil Gibson
Yossel by Joe Kubert
Mother Come Home by Paul Hornschemeier
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
But I'm pretty new to the comic 'scene' so perhaps these are all classics?
If you like that you should definitely check out the Martha Washington Omnibus by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons if you haven't already. I got the Absolute-style release but there is a very reasonably priced softcover edition out as well.
Do you mean The Mighty by Peter Tomasi? I loved that book a bunch, and it was sort of like Irredeemable..
Yes that's what I meant,soz had a blonde moment,was unfairly compared to Waids which it wasn't.
DORK by Evan Dorkin - Some of the funniest stuff I've ever read.
Scene of the Crime Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark, hard-boiled yet modern mystery.