Sperg about comic books here

[Muppet Molester]

Is it really black for blacks? you cant make shit up like this even if you try.

Yeah, its to "show inclusiveness to POC in the queer community" and also BLM piggybacking

 

[Registration]

Not even sure if this is true, but if it is, it is quite funny to see disney movie right now with the same name.

 

[sKr0n]

Also Peter Milligan is a consistently good writer. I wish he'd do more work for either of the big 2.

I am beyond livid that The X-cellent is still tied up and not out yet.

i do not agree that Snyder is necessarily a bad writer. I think he can write some pretty good stuff like Black Mirror.

I will however agree that everything past his initial Batman run has just been steep degrade of quality. Starting from his JL run to now, it's just been straight downhill.

It's not that I think he can't write anything good, but his runs including Batman have always been spotty and it's not surprising that he did not feel the need to do more since every redditor and reviewer has been sucking his dick for over a decade.

 

[Cyber Bowling]

It's not that I think he can't write anything good, but his runs including Batman have always been spotty and it's not surprising that he did not feel the need to do more since every redditor and reviewer has been sucking his dick for over a decade.

I think Synder works best in a (mostly) isolated bubble for a short arc. He can do bigger things that will have a lasting impact on a character, but he shouldn't wear out his welcome after setting things up. If he is doing something longer, he definitely needs another writer or editor to reign him in. If he absolutely insists on writing something big/cosmic, give him his own universe to play in or make it a black label.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

I think Synder works best in a (mostly) isolated bubble for a short arc. He can do bigger things that will have a lasting impact on a character, but he shouldn't wear out his welcome after setting things up. If he is doing something longer, he definitely needs another writer or editor to reign him in. If he absolutely insists on writing something big/cosmic, give him his own universe to play in or make it a black label.

giving Snyder his own universe to play in sounds interesting.

Now, what if The batman who laughs had a "seperate" miniseries a year before the whole dark multiverse thing, and you only saw the silhouettes at the very end.

the shit he was trying to do takes too much setup.

 

[Super Guido]

Well, it was only a matter of time before they completely tried to co-opt blackness. They already stole civil rights and rap.

When there was a black stripe in the gay pride flag, it was supposed to be for AIDS victims, but the kind of people who make these flags don't care about that.

 

[jspit2.0]

giving Snyder his own universe to play in sounds interesting.

Now, what if The batman who laughs had a "seperate" miniseries a year before the whole dark multiverse thing, and you only saw the silhouettes at the very end.

the shit he was trying to do takes too much setup.

Eh. So long as DC isn't wasting the huge talent they have on him. If he can't sell his shit without someone like Capullo he isn't worth the trouble.

When there was a black stripe in the gay pride flag, it was supposed to be for AIDS victims, but the kind of people who make these flags don't care about that.

No. But that's what you get with that kind of thing.

 

[Stab You in the Back]

John Byrne still writes the best Kitty.

Its a shame Byrne can't publish this shit in a book. Its not great, but its better than anything the mainline X books have produced in years.

 

[IAmNotAlpharius]

Does anyone know of any interesting obscure comics that come out recently? I’m open to looking into anything new. I’m kinda bored at the moment and want something new to read, so preferably something that isn’t cape shit.

 

[GoPro]

Apropos of nothing, I've never been able to take the character of Elric remotely seriously ever since he was parodied as Elrod of Melvinbone in the Cerebus comics. Where he, I say he, talks inexplicably, that is, without explanation, son, in the style of Foghorn Leghorn.

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Come to think of it, this is the sperging thread so I feel a sperg coming on. Who here read the Cerebus comics? They were something on a whole different level, written month by month by Dave Sim who I understand actually went mad from writing it. The series chronicles the life of an aardvark named Cerebus. And no, this isn't a world of talking animals. Or even talking aardvarks. They're all human except for this aardvark walking around. Okay, mild exaggeration - there is an elf, but nobody believes elves are real and kind of sort of Cerebus isn't the only aardvark (but this is spoilers and also sort of accurate and sort of not). Anyway, when I say it chronicles his life, I mean that - the series ran from 1977 to 2004 and over 6,000 pages. Given how meticulous the art is in Cerebus, that's even more amazing. What I'm just now discovering is how absurdly and unrealistically hard it is to find images of these comics in an image search. Like there is so much good art and all I can find are occasional fuzzy and poorly chosen snapshots. I don't know why - I guess because it ended before the Internet era really hit and because it's not famous enough to really be a big Internet thing? I might scan a few pages of mine.

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Sometimes the comic is hilarious and fast-paced. Sometimes it is almost heart-breakingly sad. At other times, Cerebus does almost nothing. In fact, there's a run of months where he literally just sits in a chair depressed whilst the author fills in philosophical rants on the feminisation of modern society. Male-female relations are a significant theme of the series. As a teenager properly brought up to reject all notions of sexism, I found his diatribes on feminism etc. uncomfortable reading. As an adult in the world of today... anyway. So the comic is much like real life in that sometimes nothing happens for long stretches and other times it's all action. Sometimes Cerebus is someone we admire and other times, we're almost yelling at the page for him to not make the mistake we can see he's about to.

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There's also a LOT of economics in the comic. A very major plotline has to do with inflation and debt. This is a great deal more fun than you might think.

The parody characters... I barely know where to start. There's Lord Julius, a blatant Groucho Marx insert. Fuck it, I think I'll have to scan these things myself if I want to find decent examples. There's "the bug" who is kind of a Tick expy but he's so insane that he rotates through a carousel of parody heroes from Captain America to Wolverine to the Sandman (he forces the Elric character into goth-drag to be Death).

Frankly, Cerebus the Aardvark is one of the greatest achievements in comics, imo. An insane mix of talent and willpower. So... anyone else read these?

Cerebus is among the best American comics. Unlike many writers and artists, Sims is a very god sequential storyteller and takes advantage of the comic book medium. In spite of "Cerebus" being is no worse than output of most big names in American comics, Sims is shunned by the industry. In parts because they are cliquish sensitive dunces, and in part because Sims got increasingly more nuts over years. Art is great, but he only drew characters for most of it. Backgrounds are done by Gerhard who deserves to get more credit. Either way, it's a shame that the comic got nearly memoryholed.

Does anyone know of any interesting obscure comics that come out recently? I’m open to looking into anything new. I’m kinda bored at the moment and want something new to read, so preferably something that isn’t cape shit.

How recently are we talking? There were very few interesting American books within last two years.
- Stokoe released "Sobek" and "Orphan and the Five Beasts". Former is a one shot comedy book about an Egyptian good helping his worshipers. Latter is an action revenge story set in a fantasy land resembling ancient Tibet. Only two issues of "Orphan and the Five Beasts" came out, and Stokoe has a mixed track record when it comes to deadlines and not dropping his books before story finishes.
- Mawrth Valliis - book is stylized to be a pulp story from Mars. It is even written in made up Martian language. It's action heavy scifi with great art.
- Resident Alien - Alien scientist stranded on Earth is trying to stay hidden and hopefully find a way home someday. He is disguised as a small town doctor, and sometimes helps local police with detective work.

I recommended some good French comics in another thread.

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/why-is-french-media-so-based.98222/page-2#post-9816376

Books that are recent or ongoing are:
- "Raven: Nemesis" about an unlucky but clever pirate and his adventures.
- "The Undertaker" a western about a scummy traveling mortician taking unusual jobs.
- "Dwarves" "Elves" "Orcs and Goblins" and "Mages" published by Soleil. They are straight forward, competently written fantasy. A bit generic, but good if you want light genre reading.
- "Black Water Lilies" is very good if you like murder mysteries and drama. It is set in a village where Monet did a lot of his work at and his art plays a role in the story.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Does anyone know of any interesting obscure comics that come out recently? I’m open to looking into anything new. I’m kinda bored at the moment and want something new to read, so preferably something that isn’t cape shit.

• Tintin, Asterix, and Radiant are three good series of French/Belgium comics. The former 2 are classics. Radiant is a french manga.
• In the realm of actual japanese manga, there's a lot. I'd recommend Vagabond and Berserk but one's on hiatus and the other isn't going to get finished. There's also One Piece, if you're willing to go 1000+ chapters of shonen action and adventure.
• Korean Manwha: Yongbi is good and solid action/adventure. Solo Levelling and Legend of Northern Blade are both fun escapism. I'm also a fan of Moonlight Sculptor.
• Chinese Manhua-I'm not aware of any really good ones, even for escapist isekaishit.
• also Boom!'s Power Rangers comics are pretty decent.

Cerebus is among the best American comics. Unlike many writers and artists, Sims is a very god sequential storyteller and takes advantage of the comic book medium. In spite of "Cerebus" being is no worse than output of most big names in American comics, but Sims is shunned by the industry. In parts because they are cliquish sensitive dunces, and in part because Sims got increasingly more nuts over years. Art is great, but Sims only drew characters for most of it. Backgrounds are done by Gerhard who deserves to get more credit. Either way, it's a shame that the comic got nearly memoryholed.


How recently are we talking? There were very few interesting American books within last two years.
- Stokoe released "Sobek" and "Orphan and the Five Beasts". Former is a one shot comedy book about an Egyptian good helping his worshipers. Latter is an action revenge story set in a fantasy land resembling ancient Tibet. Only two issues of "Orphan and the Five Beasts" came out, and Stokoe has a mixed track record when it comes to deadlines and not dropping his books before story finishes.
- Mawrth Valliis - book is stylized to be a pulp story from Mars. It is even written in made up Martian language. It's action heavy scifi with great art.
- Resident Alien - Alien scientist stranded on Earth is trying to stay hidden and hopefully find a way home someday. He is disguised as a small town doctor, and sometimes helps local police with detective work.

I recommended some good French comics in another thread.

https://kiwifarms.st/threads/why-is-french-media-so-based.98222/page-2#post-9816376

Books that are recent or ongoing are:
- "Raven: Nemesis" about an unlucky but clever pirate and his adventures.
- "The Undertaker" a western about a scummy traveling mortician taking unusual jobs.
- "Dwarves" "Elves" "Orcs and Goblins" and "Mages" published by Soleil. They are straight forward, competently written fantasy. A bit generic, but good if you want light genre reading.
- "Black Water Lilies" is very good if you like murder mysteries and drama. It is set in a village where Monet did a lot of his work at and his art plays a role in the story.

yeah non-capeshit american comics within the last 2 years is kinda a stretch. Maybe "The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton"?

 

[topsikrets]

• Chinese Manhua-I'm not aware of any really good ones, even for escapist isekaishit.

There are very, very few but The Ravages of Time by Chan Mou is a really good retelling/spin-off of Romance of the Three Kingdoms if people like historical drama and action.

 

[Red Hood]

Does anyone know of any interesting obscure comics that come out recently? I’m open to looking into anything new. I’m kinda bored at the moment and want something new to read, so preferably something that isn’t cape shit.

They're not super obscure, but if you haven't already check out Gou Tanabe's manga adaptations of HP Lovecraft's work. I think Dark Horse has published "The Hound and Other Stories" and two volumes of At The Mountains of Madness. They're very faithful adaptations (despite The Temple getting moved forward to WWII) and have some gorgeous artwork which leans more towards realism than the stylization most manga have.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

There are very, very few but The Ravages of Time by Chan Mou is a really good retelling/spin-off of Romance of the Three Kingdoms if people like historical drama and action.

oh yeah idk why a lot of chinese manhua webtoons tend to be garbage.

They're not super obscure, but if you haven't already check out Gou Tanabe's manga adaptations of HP Lovecraft's work. I think Dark Horse has published "The Hound and Other Stories" and two volumes of At The Mountains of Madness. They're very faithful adaptations (despite The Temple getting moved forward to WWII) and have some gorgeous artwork which leans more towards realism than the stylization most manga have.

I'd also suggest Historie and Kingdom as good mangas. They're historical fiction-type ones that follow Eumenes (One of Alexander the Great's notable men) and Qin Shi Huang's Unification of China.

the hp lovecraft stuff is good. speaking of which, the Professor Munakata mangas by Hoshino Yukinobu are fun. They cover a lot of pseudo-history/myth mysteries.

 

[IAmNotAlpharius]

How recently are we talking? There were very few interesting American books within last two years.
- Stokoe released "Sobek" and "Orphan and the Five Beasts". Former is a one shot comedy book about an Egyptian god helping his worshipers. Latter is an action revenge story set in a fantasy land resembling ancient Tibet. Only two issues of "Orphan and the Five Beasts" came out, and Stokoe has a mixed track record when it comes to deadlines and not dropping his books before story finishes.
- Mawrth Valliis - book is stylized to be a pulp story from Mars. It is even written in made up Martian language. It's action heavy scifi with great art.

They're not super obscure, but if you haven't already check out Gou Tanabe's manga adaptations of HP Lovecraft's work. I think Dark Horse has published "The Hound and Other Stories" and two volumes of At The Mountains of Madness. They're very faithful adaptations (despite The Temple getting moved forward to WWII) and have some gorgeous artwork which leans more towards realism than the stylization most manga have.

Interesting. I am a fan of sci-fi. I also like Lovecraft too.

- Resident Alien - Alien scientist stranded on Earth is trying to stay hidden and hopefully find a way home someday. He is disguised as a small town doctor, and sometimes helps local police with detective work.

I recommended some good French comics in another thread.
https://kiwifarms.net/threads/why-is-french-media-so-based.98222/page-2#post-9816376 Books that are recent or ongoing are:
- "Raven: Nemesis" about an unlucky but clever pirate and his adventures.
- "The Undertaker" a western about a scummy traveling mortician taking unusual jobs.
- "Dwarves" "Elves" "Orcs and Goblins" and "Mages" published by Soleil. They are straight forward, competently written fantasy. A bit generic, but good if you want light genre reading.

I don’t mind westerns, Pirates, or fantasy.

- "Black Water Lilies" is very good if you like murder mysteries and drama. It is set in a village where Monet did a lot of his work at and his art plays a role in the story.

I’ll check it out. I do like murder mysteries, but I’m not so keen on dramas.

• Tintin, Asterix, and Radiant are three good series of French/Belgium comics. The former 2 are classics. Radiant is a french manga.
• In the realm of actual japanese manga, there's a lot. I'd recommend Vagabond and Berserk but one's on hiatus and the other isn't going to get finished. There's also One Piece, if you're willing to go 1000+ chapters of shonen action and adventure.

I’ve read Beserker but I never got into One Piece mostly because I don’t know where to start. A few friends of mine recommended different starting points haha. I’ve never read TinTin but I know it’s been around a while. Is it like Archie?

• Korean Manwha: Yongbi is good and solid action/adventure. Solo Levelling and Legend of Northern Blade are both fun escapism. I'm also a fan of Moonlight Sculptor.
• Chinese Manhua-I'm not aware of any really good ones, even for escapist isekaishit.
• also Boom!'s Power Rangers comics are pretty decent.

I think I’ve seen some of the Power Ranger comics but I’ve never read them. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Interesting. I am a fan of sci-fi. I also like Lovecraft too.

I don’t mind westerns, Pirates, or fantasy.

I’ll check it out. I do like murder mysteries, but I’m not so keen on dramas.

I’ve read Beserker but I never got into One Piece mostly because I don’t know where to start. A few friends of mine recommended different starting points haha. I’ve never read TinTin but I know it’s been around a while. Is it like Archie?

I think I’ve seen some of the Power Ranger comics but I’ve never read them. Thanks for the recommendations!

One Piece is one of the most popular and highest selling manga in the world. Just start from the beginning and you'll see how the world evolves, characters grow, and why so many people cry like bitches over a goddamned boat.

it has amazing worldbuilding and knows how to manipulate the scope of stories.

 

[Registration]

I remember dropping the power rangers after that big crossover that was really shit and went nowhere, also remember the main writer guy leaving. Did it get better or it went downhill after that?

 

[Overly Serious]

Cerebus is among the best American comics. Unlike many writers and artists, Sims is a very god sequential storyteller and takes advantage of the comic book medium. In spite of "Cerebus" being is no worse than output of most big names in American comics, Sims is shunned by the industry. In parts because they are cliquish sensitive dunces, and in part because Sims got increasingly more nuts over years. Art is great, but he only drew characters for most of it. Backgrounds are done by Gerhard who deserves to get more credit. Either way, it's a shame that the comic got nearly memoryholed.

Gerhard's backgrounds are great. But just in case there's any inference people draw from the above that he didn't get credit due to Dave Sim, Sim mentions him in the credits and in writing about working together all the time. Sims may or may not be nuts, but frankly he seems less nuts now I'm older than back then. Certainly I get the nuances of the politics more than I did back then and his whole war of the sexes theme that runs through the work seems less crazy old school to me now than it did as a kid. Astoria is incredibly manipulative and emotionally damaging to Cerebus and I can't bring myself to say she deserved what she got but what we see recurrently in their story is a mutually destructive cycle of physical violence and emotional exploitation, round and round again. Not even Jakka comes out of it with her hands clean in the end.

Anyway, I said I'd had amazing trouble finding even simple scans of this work which is astonishing in this day and age. Cerebus predates the Internet as we know it but also seems to have never been retroactively brought in. I don't know if that's because the themes disturb some people or Dave Sim is just phenomenally good at stamping out pirated works. As a small self-publisher, I don't begrudge him if he did. That said, the near zero-Internet presence of his work keeps people from finding out about it so I took the liberty of scanning in a few pages scattered from different (but mostly early) points in Cerebus the Aardvark. I tried to capture a little of the different flavour and also some of Sim's brilliant caricature.

Enjoy.

A few pages from an issue at the end of High Society, featuring Lord Julius and Elrod of Melvinbone. If anyone is interested in Cerebus, High Society is where to start. If you're a competist, you'll think you want to start at the very beginning but you don't. Get the collected High Society and begin there. Trust me on this. If you really think I'm wrong you can go back to the start of the series afterwards and find that I'm not. Anyway...


High Society was followed by Church and State vol. I and II. It's an amazing work that is both crazy funny in parts, and bleak as Hell in others. The ending is a real gut punch. You can see Sim's style of caricatures which he continued to develop through the rest of the series:


And finally skipping back to High Society just to give a very small glimpse into the politics of it. Today, people would draw parallels to Cerebus's tale of politics and populism with Trump, no doubt. And I can see it. Cerebus whipping up a nationalist fury and spirit of economic rebellion whilst advisors and establishment figures weave webs behind the scenes.





There's a crazy level of detail going on in Cerebus's story which we never get the full details on. To this day, I'm not 100% certain what was going on with the duck statue.

Anyway, hope this small sample of his work piques some interest. Mad or not, Dave Sim is a genius, imo.

 

[Moguro Fukuzou]

Been reading through Moon Knight, largely due to the memes, made my way through Ellis and just finished up the 2006 run. Currently on the Lemire run. Really enjoying the character even if he is entirely different from the memes that original brought me to him. Probably will check out the 80s run after finishing up Lemire, going to just ignore the Bendis run.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Been reading through Moon Knight, largely due to the memes, made my way through Ellis and just finished up the 2006 run. Currently on the Lemire run. Really enjoying the character even if he is entirely different from the memes that original brought me to him. Probably will check out the 80s run after finishing up Lemire, going to just ignore the Bendis run.

i don't think there's ever been a non-memorable moon knight run.

there was even one where he was talking to versions of spidey/cap/wolverine in his head and it was still pretty memorable.