Ok guys, I'm shifting gears stepping out of DC and into Image

[hondobrode]

I have a fair idea from the buzz what's good, but would like to hear what's super good, and why.

Years ago in the 70's I bought off the newsstands and spinner racks : DC and Marvel mostly.

The direct market brought more competition : Pacific, First, Comico, Eclipse, Topps, Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite, Tekno, IDW, BOOM, etc.

My new comics purchases were down pretty low pre-Nu52. When that hit, I went whole hog trying 50 of the 52 and maintaining 40+ titles.

Until this month.

With DC constantly "churning" creators and approaches, I'm sick of it. Marvel mostly lost me in the 90's. I'm hearing lots of great stuff from the indies esp Image.

What should I get and why.

I think I'm going to pick up Thor from Marvel and keep a couple of DC titles I really like, including All-Star Western, but am ready to shift gears to the fresh new stuff.

Edu-muh-cate me !

[Jay Faerber]

If you like super-heroes, I recommend NOBLE CAUSES (ten TPBs) and DYNAMO 5 (five TPBs). If you like crime, I recommend NEAR DEATH (two TPBs) and the forthcoming TPB of POINT OF IMPACT (out in April).

NOBLE CAUSES is a super-hero soap opera drawn by a bunch of dudes who went on to glory at DC -- guys like Patrick Gleason, Freddie Williams, and Yildiray Cinar.

DYNAMO 5 is about the five illegitimate sons and daughters of the recently deceased Captain Dynamo. It was drawn by Mahmud Asrar.

NEAR DEATH is about a hitman who has a near death experience and decides to start saving lives instead of taking them. It was drawn by Simone Guglielmini.

POINT OF IMPACT follows the investigation of a woman's murder as pursued by three people: the woman's husband (a reporter), her lover (an ex-soldier), and her friend (a Homicide cop). It was drawn by Koray Kuranel.

They're all available digitally via Comixology, as well.

-- Jay

[wiski]

I'll go into the titles I read that I think are super good.

Invincible: A superhero comic told in a world that depicts super powers 'realistically', where someone with super strength punching a thug will do more than just knock them unconscious. It also features a single writer and has only had two artists in 100 issues (mostly just one artist). The characters age and develop, deaths mean something, when damage is done by fighting it isn't just magicked away for the convenience of continuing on without having to reference the events, it's full of fantastic characters, the artwork is some of the best in any comic, and probably more other people could expound upon.

Only real downside is that it's a long-form story so it works best when you start from issue #1, but you can get the trades pretty darn cheap on E-Bay if need be.

Guarding the Globe/Invincible Universe: Basically an extension of Invincible, allowing for a comic that can delve deeper into the background characters of Invincible. It's written in a way that I wish all team superhero books were written, in that not all of the members of the team are incredibly powerful and therefore have to work together to take down threats that ARE incredibly powerful.

Chew: Has excellent art and excellent writing, although the artwork may not be for everyone. I like how it takes the idea of a man who can see the history of anything he eats and manages to make it a comic that doesn't get boring after a few issues. Also, one writer and one artist.

Atomic Robo: It's not Image, but it is still fantastic, so I'll give it a mention. It is basically Indiana Jones if Indiana Jones was a robot scientist. Excellent artwork and writing, and also has the benefit of you being able to jump on at any of the story arcs, since they are all pretty much self-contained. I would recommend Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time personally, as it's my favorite. Check out The Promise the creators made about the comic, which they have stuck to through 7 volumes.

[ThoseBackPages]

Hear is my pull list....

The Walking Dead - *so* NOT "about zombies" . it's about people.

Saga - Adult Star Wars

Revival - Fargo meets comic books

Invincible - Best Superhero Book on the market

American Vampire - Scott Snyder's best work. Best thing the big two are putting out

Thief of Thieves - clever writing, good long cons

Fatale - gritty stories, great nior

Clone - Up and comer, really like the story

Chew - Mega-Fun read. Rob's backgrounds are a MUST study

Bedlam - Violent. Dialog.

Think Tank - New to this, good story so far, could be good long term

Nowhere Men - Beatles homage. Building a great number of story lines

Rachel Rising - 100% done by Terry Moore. This title is fantastic. really enjoy all aspects of this book

[capuga]

My all time favorite comic is Invincible. Wiski does a good job at pitching it:

Invincible: A superhero comic told in a world that depicts super powers 'realistically', where someone with super strength punching a thug will do more than just knock them unconscious. It also features a single writer and has only had two artists in 100 issues (mostly just one artist). The characters age and develop, deaths mean something, when damage is done by fighting it isn't just magicked away for the conveniuence of continuing on without having to reference the events, it's full of fantastic characters, the artwork is some of the best in any comic, and probably more other people could expound upon.

Only real downside is that it's a long-form story so it works best when you start from issue #1, but you can get the trades pretty darn cheap on E-Bay if need be.

Guarding the Globe/Invincible Universe: Basically an extension of Invincible, allowing for a comic that can delve deeper into the background characters of Invincible. It's written in a way that I wish all team superhero books were written, in that not all of the members of the team are incredibly powerful and therefore have to work together to take down threats that ARE incredibly powerful.

I also enjoy:

The Walking Dead - It's a human survival drama wrapped in a horror comic with nice art. See what the hype is about.
Chew - Just off beat humor. Probably the funniest comic around.
The Strange Talent of Luther Strode - Very violent but well done geek gets powers story with energetic art. Creators are a couple rising stars in the industry.
Saga - Lives up to the hype. Sci fi/fantasy family drama with humor (some if it pretty dirty) and pretty art.
Hack/Slash - Basically a goth type chick and her monster friend killing slashers (Jason and Freddy Kruger types). Includes typical slasher horror movie stereotypes like T&A, over the top violence, etc. Doesn't take itself seriously and is a lot of fun.

Other good ones include Think Tank, Thief of Thieves, and Morning Glories. And even though Jay above is biased, Dynamo 5 is an excellent superhero team book.

[dan bailey]

If you like super-heroes, I recommend NOBLE CAUSES (ten TPBs) and DYNAMO 5 (five TPBs). If you like crime, I recommend NEAR DEATH (two TPBs) and the forthcoming TPB of POINT OF IMPACT (out in April).

NOBLE CAUSES is a super-hero soap opera drawn by a bunch of dudes who went on to glory at DC -- guys like Patrick Gleason, Freddie Williams, and Yildiray Cinar.

DYNAMO 5 is about the five illegitimate sons and daughters of the recently deceased Captain Dynamo. It was drawn by Mahmud Asrar.

NEAR DEATH is about a hitman who has a near death experience and decides to start saving lives instead of taking them. It was drawn by Simone Guglielmini.

POINT OF IMPACT follows the investigation of a woman's murder as pursued by three people: the woman's husband (a reporter), her lover (an ex-soldier), and her friend (a Homicide cop). It was drawn by Koray Kuranel.

They're all available digitally via Comixology, as well.

-- Jay

Jay has, shall we say, vested interests in making those recommendations, but I don't, at least far as Noble Causes & Dynamo 5 are concerned. (The other two I haven't read.) The former, in particular, I strongly endorse as a reader coming from a traditional superhero background (as a fan, that is ... I am not now, nor have I ever been, super-powered).

[The Adventurer]

Thirding Nobel Causes as a stand-up Super Hero epic (though I do feel it lost a bit of what made it special in its final act. And went out with a bit of a whimper. Sorry Jay!) But its definitely worth reading, one of the best non-Marvel/DC super-hero comics ever.

[hondobrode]

Dudes, I'm loving the feedback.

and Jay, I've meant for a long time to try your stuff and am gonna do it now. Noble Causes is the one I think I've heard the most about, so there we go.

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm in.

This is exciting !

[Jay Faerber]

Welcome aboard!

And thanks for the endorsements, fellas!

-- Jay

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Multiple Warheads, King City, Prophet, Orc Stain, Planetoid, Chew, and Revival are all you need.

EDIT: Oh yeah, add Storm Dogs and Bulletproff Coffin to that list

[passer-by]

Storm Dogs

To quote Bryan Talbot from the letters page of #2: "Storm Dogs is a glorious mash-up of the murder mystery, western and action adventure genres in a science fiction setting filled with influences and references as varied as Russian SF, HG Wells, Avatar, Alien and Frank Hampton's Dan Dare."


Morning Glories

Excellent gradually developing story with intriguing characters. Hailed as Runaways meets Lost - but Lost done right, I'd add.


Saga

An excellent space opera discussing family relations and accepting the difference with endearing characters (my favourite so far being Izabel). Excellent narrating by Hazel.

[Dark-Flux]

Im currently reading and highly recommend;

Prophet: (high concept sci-fi. Start with the relaunch at #21, Brandon Grahams stuff)
Saga: (Star Wars by BKV. Read it!)
Morning Glories (slow burning mystery, Lost meets Runaways)
Invincible (superhero awesomness)
Storm Dogs (CSI....in space!)
Fatale (Lovecraftian-esque crime noir from Brubaker)
Danger Club (think Teen Titans in the Age of Apocalypse...but good)
The Darkness (Hines current run, twisted Mafia/Horror/Supernatural book)

Also, not Image but you should checkout everything from Valiant. Relaunch done right.

[Reservoir Dork]

Here is the best of what I'm currently reading:

Mind the Gap by McCann (the premise and characterisation really hooked me in)
Bedlam by Nick Spencer (Friend described it as a crazier Dark Knight movie)

This also isn't Image, but a great read nonetheless

Twisted Dark by Neil Gibson (horror - best indie I picked it up at NYCC)

[md62]

Dynamo 5 (described above. One of my favorites from Jay. Also one of my 18 yr old daughter's favorite books), Supreme (the recent run by Erik Larsen that concluded Alan Moore's story & relaunched this Superman analouge was brilliant), Prophet (mentioned above), Savage Dragon (another Larsen book - I see as Kirby influenced), Invincible (already discussed) , Marine Man (fun, fun aquatic themed hero done by Ian Churchill), Hunter-Killer (Mark Waid - think super hero CIA).

[hondobrode]

Picked up first issues of Legend of Luther Strode and Saga. Both great !