# Recommend Me Some Good Graphic Novels/Comic Collections



## SenorDingDong (Oct 28, 2012)

All right, so I've been reading THE SANDMAN books, and after these I'll finish up the rest of Gaiman's work I have. After that I'll need some more reading material.

I bought the first WALKING DEAD compendium (volumes 1-10, I believe) in the hopes that it is good, not a soap opera like the show. 

I'm not really in to superheros at all anymore; I want to read graphic novels/comic collections for the story.

Considering getting the SIN CITY collection, WATCHMEN, FABLES, LUCIFER, HOUSE OF MYSTERY (the new Vertigo imprint), LOCKE AND KEY or something along these lines. 


Give me some good graphic novel/comic collection suggestions, if you will. As I said; I'm a reader, and I read for story not for action or crazy art (I think Rob Liefeld brought in the worst era of comic art in history) or flashiness. So comics with great stories (read: cohesive, interesting and engaging) would be much appreciated.


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## mcleanab (Oct 28, 2012)

This might fall into the 'crazy art' category but I think the storytelling is phenomenal...

David Mack's KABUKI. "Metamorphosis" and "Alchemy" are really out there. The earlier works are a bit more linear (for lack of a better word). 

His work on Daredevil was also awesome... the "Echo" run was incredible.


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## MFB (Oct 28, 2012)

Anything by Brian K. Vaughn. He wrote the series "Y: The Last Man" and I read the first half of the trades and it was fantastic. He's working on an on-going right now called Saga that went 1-6 and they're working on the next ones at the moment so it's on hiatus.


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## Bloodbath Salt (Oct 28, 2012)




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## Gothic Headhunter (Oct 28, 2012)

Definitely get Watchmen. One of the best graphic novels of all time. I've also heard very good things about Swamp Thing, which is Alan Moore's other well-known series.


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## MFB (Oct 28, 2012)

^ Watchmen is one of those things that you'll either love the ending or hate it; I saw the movie first and thought "HOLY SHIT! This "villain" is genius and did NOT see that coming!" then read the comic and thought "What the FUCK? This is FAR less dramatic than the movie's ending!"


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## Edika (Oct 28, 2012)

I have read the Watchmen and enjoyed much more than the movie. It's a very well written graphic novel. Everything I read from Alan Moore delivered. I liked V for Vendetta, which makes the movie seem like a piece of crap and the same goes for From Hell. The only thing with From Hell is that there it can get a bit difficult to follow from the amount of information but it is a fine read. I enjoyed also Sin City a lot. From Gaiman the Books of Magic graphic novel was very good. It seems that the ensuing series was good but I haven't read it.
The Preacher was not bad if you don't mind the redneck mentality of the main hero. Also it gets too violent sometimes which for me was a bit annoying.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Oct 29, 2012)

The Bone anthology is both a good read and capable of crushing a small child.






It's kindof a... Calvin and Hobbes meets Tolkien kind of affair. That'll make sense if and when you read it.




One of my personal favorites, though i know you said you aren't really looking for superhero stuff, is the Infinity Gauntlet series.






It's pretty heavy on the superheroes, actually, but I really liked the story. It's fairly grand in scope, and has one of the better endings I've read in a comic. I was going to say it doesn't hurt that I'm a real Thanos fan, but I remembered that I like Thanos _as a result of_ the Infinity Gauntlet series.


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## SenorDingDong (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I've actually been considering Alan Moore's Swamp Man Saga as well. 

Haven't seen Watchmen, so the novel will be an experience for me. 


The only thing I'm not interested in is the Dying Fetus comic which, upon first glance, basically goes against everything I look for in a graphic novel (i.e. little to no real story, focus on cliche gore scenes).



How is Y:The Last Man? I know Stephen King had good things to say about it, and while I respect him very much as an author, some of the things he has promoted have been garbage (novel-wise). Can you give me a very short rundown on what it's all about?


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## MFB (Oct 29, 2012)

It's literally like the name says, there's ONE man left on the entire planet and everyone is wondering: why? (no pun intended) The "Y" in the title is both a joke on the XY chromosome pattern, and the first letter of the last man's name Yorick. The entire time is basically him going from point A to point B and trying to survive along the way while insane things happen to him and you see how various women react to the idea of a world without men; and how they respond when they find there is still a man among them.

Oh - and he has a pet monkey named Ampersand


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## SenorDingDong (Oct 29, 2012)

MFB said:


> It's literally like the name says, there's ONE man left on the entire planet and everyone is wondering: why? (no pun intended) The "Y" in the title is both a joke on the XY chromosome pattern, and the first letter of the last man's name Yorick. The entire time is basically him going from point A to point B and trying to survive along the way while insane things happen to him and you see how various women react to the idea of a world without men; and how they respond when they find there is still a man among them.
> 
> Oh - and he has a pet monkey named Ampersand




That actually sounds very interesting.


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## skeels (Oct 29, 2012)

Ronin by Frank Miller. Great story. Often overlooked. A classic. 

Dreadstar by Mike Grell. Also great. There's a couple stories - gotta read them in order.
Also he wrote Starslayer, Which was a miniseries. Great saga.

Kinda old school stuff, but you will not be disappointed.

Trust me....


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## SpaceDock (Oct 29, 2012)

I liked Y a lot.

Check out 100 Bullets if you like vertigo. It is very cool and dark but more street than fantasy.


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## MFB (Oct 29, 2012)

Also, I can safely say as someone who jumped on the Walking Dead comic when #100 came out - it's SO much better than the show it's not even funny. Obviously things have to be changed for TV or else it'd be a 20 minute show, but the comic takes time to read through since it's still dialogue heavy but not soap opera-ish like the show.

Edit: and when I say "jumped on" I mean I read the first 40 and am working my way up the the ones I own now


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## The Grief Hole (Oct 30, 2012)

The Alan Moore Swamp Thing books are incredible. I could not recommend them more highly. The other 'must read' of his are the two Top 10 books. For their short span they pack so much in. I wish he would write some more using the same characters.


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## DTSH (Nov 6, 2012)

The Grief Hole said:


> The Alan Moore Swamp Thing books are incredible. I could not recommend them more highly. The other 'must read' of his are the two Top 10 books. For their short span they pack so much in. I wish he would write some more using the same characters.



Fuck yes. Stephen Bissette's art is fantastic, too. If you like that and Sandman, read Hellblazer. It's a who's who of great writers and artists, people like Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman, Sean Philips, and then later Warren Ellis and Andy Diggle. Great horror/supernatural stuff.


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## Chiba666 (Nov 6, 2012)

I really liek the 2000AD stuff, so all the Dread ones, think they ahve the major stories out in volumes now, Slaine, Strontium Dog. All classics


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## areyna21 (Nov 8, 2012)

Anything Alan Moore is going to deliver like swamp thing, watchmen, and v for vendetta which are all great. Scalped was pretty good but different in a good way. It has to do with organized crime amongst tribal reservations and Native Americans. Dmz was another really good one about a reporter getting stuck in a demilitarized zone. The united states goes into it's second civil war and shit gets crazy. kinda shows you how things could get out of hand so fast and how far it can go. Stephen kings N. and the stand comics are really good. I like the idea he has in his comic N. which is basically a story of how people can contract insanity as if it was a contagious disease.


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## GlxyDs (Nov 12, 2012)

Great thread, thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm really enjoying Y right now as well!


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## technomancer (Nov 18, 2012)

V for Vendetta
Watchmen
The Invisibles
Lucifer
Hellblazer
Grendel (Matt Wagner authored)

I've been meaning to read the Alan Moore Swamp Things for ages myself.


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## SenorDingDong (Nov 20, 2012)

Signed up for notifications, but never got any 


Thanks for all the recommendations. Come Black Friday, going to be picking up: 

Swamp Thing

Watchmen

Hellblazer (as many sequential volumes as I can find)

Y the Last Man

House of Mystery (the newer one)

Bone

Saga

Maus






Depending on how far those series set me back, I'll be considering Lucifer, The Invisibles omnibus or Sweet Tooth as well.


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## MFB (Nov 20, 2012)

Saga #7 JUST came out last week so luckily you'll have jumped on after the first "intermission"


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## glassmoon0fo (Nov 20, 2012)

Just finished "Y: The Last Man" and I feel like my best friend died. Best thing I've read in years, TWD be damned. Fuck that was great!


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## SenorDingDong (Nov 21, 2012)

MFB said:


> Saga #7 JUST came out last week so luckily you'll have jumped on after the first "intermission"



The description "epic space opera/fantasy" is what sold me


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