Dark Comics?

[Lindsay Loyd]

Hi everybody.

I've been obsessively re-reading my SQUEE book over and over again, so I guess I need something new. No one I know likes comics (not that I really know anyone) so I need advice from strangers I guess.

Are there any other "dark" comics that I should check out?

[Agent Helix]

Squee is dark now?

[Ryan Day]

Well, from Squee the obvious next step is Lenore, if you haven't read it.

Jamie Smart's Bear is in a similar vein. Maybe even funnier, i think.

[Ryan K]

I've never read Squee but I can tell you the same people who buy it at the bookstore I work at also buy Emily the Strange and Lenore (as Ryan Day mentioned). And of course Jhonen Vasquez's other book, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.

Those books seem to be a popular stepping stone from manga to American comics for a lot of teenagers.

[Ray R.]

I thought "Death Jr." was entertaining in a dark if free-spirited way.

[Kid Omega]

What everyone else said.

You might also try the INDEPENDENTS forum, although you run the risk of people suggesting SPAWN and RED SONJA.

[Lindsay Loyd]

Thanks I guess.

I've read most of those. They're okay. I hoped I could find something new but there's nothing new out there. It's hopeless I guess. Maybe comics aren't going to fill the emptiness.

I also liked Action Philosophers. Has anyone read it?

[Ed Cunard]

Yeah, I liked ACTION PHILOSOPHERS a lot.

It sounds to me like you might not necessarily be looking just for dark--you might be looking for funny as well.

[Lindsay Loyd]

Yeah, I liked ACTION PHILOSOPHERS a lot.

It sounds to me like you might not necessarily be looking just for dark--you might be looking for funny as well.

No. Not really. There's not much to laugh about in my life. I just like reading about philosophers.

[Ryan K]

A couple others that might interest you:

Death by Neil Gaiman
The Dead Boy Detectives
Outlook Grim
Serenity Rose
Gloom Cookie
Poison Elves

And I found this site whichmight be able to help you:

Dark and Gothic Comics (http://www.darklinks.com/dcomics.html)

[thespianphryne]

What about Blacksad? If it's not dark, it's noir.


-Das

[Lindsay Loyd]

A couple others that might interest you:

Death by Neil Gaiman
The Dead Boy Detectives
Outlook Grim
Serenity Rose
Gloom Cookie
Poison Elves

And I found this site whichmight be able to help you:

Dark and Gothic Comics (http://www.darklinks.com/dcomics.html)

Oh, that's cool. Thanks. I might blow off my lunch today and look at what I can find from that site.

[Tadhg Adams]

Everything Can Be Beaten is a short little mini-comic by Vasquez that I thought was some of his better work.

[gary bolt]

The Marquis by Guy Davis is pretty dark. Lot's of creepy demons and a major creepy depiction of Hell.

[mgs]

And I found this site whichmight be able to help you:

Dark and Gothic Comics (http://www.darklinks.com/dcomics.html)

cool link.

Lindsay, another one people often miss is Arsenic Lullaby (for dark humour) especially the earlier books, there was also this one that had parodied Peanuts (forget the name, I'll check later) that was more comedic dark humour, and there's also Black Boar Press. I think I could also nominate the Max line version of the Punisher (sorry, Kid) and of course, From Hell. I'm not sure how much those indie companies are doing currently though.

it's been my experience, for some reason, that a lot more of the dark comics seem to come from overseas and the South (of the U.S.).

[Paul McEnery]

Leaping sideways, I'm gonna recommend Sloth by Gilbert Hernandez.

Like it says on the tin, it's a little bit like a David Lynch movie.

[Generic Eric]

Marquis by Guy davis
Hellboy
B.p.r.d mini series-plague of frogs,the dead, the universal machine, Garden of souls, killing ground, black flame.
Courtney Crumrin
Arsenic Lullaby
The Goon
The Walking dead
Exterminators
The Nevermen

[Rabid Trekkie]

I haven't finished it yet but Midnight Nation by the guy who made Babylon 5 (can't spell his name) seems pretty dark. Rex Mundi is also kind of dark, grissly murders and occult rituals and the like. That's all I got.

[BoosterBronze]

Snaps. I thought this thread was about Milestone.


I KID I KID!!!

[shawnh]

I don't know how dark you want to go, if you just want something slightly goth or you want something completely evil and sick. For the latter, there's always Boiled Angel. Mike Diana's crudely drawn serial killer fantasies have been collected in a book. I've got it, and I even managed to read some of it before getting too depressed. It's one of the few comics I have that I went out of my way to put in a secure place so my young cousins couldn't get ahold of it.

[Dan Apodaca]

Stray Bullets might be up your alley. Nihilistic crime noir.

[Winslow]

Thanks I guess.

I've read most of those. They're okay. I hoped I could find something new but there's nothing new out there. It's hopeless I guess. Maybe comics aren't going to fill the emptiness.

I also liked Action Philosophers. Has anyone read it?

Action Philosophers is fun. I've read the first two trades I picked up at MoCCA.

I've heard great things about Courtney Crumrin from Oni Press, but I haven't read it yet.

http://www.onipress.com/display.php?type=bk&id=47

[Pól Rua]

Courtney Crumrin's pretty good. Ted Naifeh does some great work.
Avoid ANYTHING by Tommy Kovacs. His artwork is very pretty, but his writing is self-involved and self-indulgent to the point of wankery.

I'd also recommend anything by Japanese horror guy, Junji Ito. 'Uzumaki' is probably his best work, but he's damn good.
Jim Woodring's 'Frank' doesn't LOOK dark, in fact, it's brightly coloured and cartoony, but it's full of pretty nightmarish stuff.
Probably the best 'dark' comic ever is the incredibly out-of-print horror anthology 'Taboo', published by the late, lamented Tundra Press.