Graphic Novel Reviews?

[The Qwardian]

I am creating this thread so that other readers can come and ask questions about graphic novel's. People can tell others "whats a good read" "what's carp" and everything in between. So everbody enjoy.

I will start.

DC Kingdom come 5 out of 5
Great read well worth the $14.95 american.

DC The Nail, 4 1/2 out of 5
Great story line, nice artwork.


Now for some questions;
Anybody read "Tower of Bable?" or "Faster then a speeding bullet?"

Are they any good? Let me know:laugh:

[DreadDormammu]

Kingdom Come is overrated. If you want to see Alex Ross' amazing art, Marvels is a better story.

The Nail bites. :)

You're not going to get much consensus on a thread like this.

[Ignatz_Mouse]

I don't hitnk concensus is as valuable as a good, well-written review.

I don't have time to write one now, but I will later.

I liked the Nail, but I think you'd have to be a serious DC fan from 76-85 to like it, and even then you might not.

[spideysean102]

Batman also has some nice ones

Hush 5 out of 5
This is my favorite comic book series/Tpb of them all, it just rocks

Terror 4 out of 5
This story introduced me to the Scarecrow, and boy did it do a good job!

Arkham Asylum 3.5 out of 5
This one is a little hard to read due to the artwork being, well hard to look at. But overall a good story

thats all for now, I recommend all of those, but AA is for more mature readers due to its graphic content.

-Sean-

[NickFury15]

For an over-all amazing book, check out Watchmen.

It gets an 11 out of 10 from me.

The writing is nothing short of . The art fits very well. Great story, worth every penny.


As for Batman:

Long Halloween- 5/5
Dark Victory- 4/5

[NickFury15]

Has anyone read V For Vandetta? I heard it was Watchmen level, but haven't read it myself.

[Q99]

Tower of Babel's good, as are pretty much all the JLA ones to various extents.

The 'big three' of comic TPBs that changed the industry are considered to be Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchman (which isn't DC universe, just published by them. It's stand alone).

Some non-DC/Marvel ones include Kabuki for an incredible artistic comic, Hellboy for a great pulp adventure comic, Crossgen's various works for great horror (Route 666), detective stories (Ruse), fantasy (Sojourn), and SF (Negation) to name their 4 best titles, as well as their other efforts (Sigil, Meridian, The First, etc.) which all tend to be at least solid.

[Q99]

Originally posted by NickFury15
Has anyone read V For Vandetta? I heard it was Watchmen level, but haven't read it myself.

No, but Alan Moore does good work in general. There's also Top 10 from him.

[Rokk_Krinn]

"V for Vendetta" is like watching a Prisoner marathon. It's excellent and welldone, but it's also dark, depressing and definitely requires multiple viewings (readings). V is the both the ultimate freedom fighter (terrorist?) and anti-hero (defender of innocence?). Just for its' place in comics history, I strongly recommend reading "V for Vendetta" - it's not my favourite Moore by a longshot, but it is a good impressive read.

Some other great stories you'll find in TPB mode:
*Sandman (one of the best extended stories of all) *Enemy Ace: War Idyll 8/10
*Enemy Ace: War in Heaven
*Sgt Rock: Between Hell and a Hardplace
*John Constantine: Dangerous Habits
*Swamp Thing: the American Gothic TPBs
*LSH: Great Darkness Saga

Actually, there are tons more but I should probably keep this short. :)

[Maniac_nmt]

For Graphic novels

Dark Knight Returns:

Written in the 80s by Frank Millar, this has become one of the most widely regarded Batman stories of all time. Set in the future, all of Earth's heros have been forced into mandatory retirement by the world's government. The story opens with Bruce Wayne having become a playboy after giving up the mantle of the Bat. After a near death car crash during this future's Indy 500 equivalent, Bruce begins to contemplate having given up the mantle to begin with. Gotham is decaying even worse that it was when the Batman prowled her streets at night. Do to various influences, the Dark Knight once again puts on the cowl, and takes to the streets just when everything seems lost. Some cheer his return (such as a retiring Comissioner Gordon), others fear the hysteria he will unleash, and still others come out of decades long neurosis to unleash hell on Gotham (the Joker). Batman undergoes a series of trials, and even comes close to killing his arch enemy only to see him commit suicide. Batman is pushed to his limits, mentally and physically, and you get a good look into what drives the bat. The climax comes when Superman (who has been secretly working for the US government) and Batman come to a showdown at the exact spot Bruce's folks were murdered. Using every trick up his sleeve Bruce defeats Kent in a match for the ages, only to apparently die of a heart attack. Is this really the end for the Dark Knight Detective, or is there more? Guess you'll have to read that part for yourself.

Score - 4.8/5

Batman Year One:

Batman Year One traces the opening career of the Batman. It offers a fresh look at Batman, gone is the confidence, and 'uber' bat from modern comics. Instead we have a Bruce Wayne who is somewhat insecure with his role, unsure in a fight, and certainly doesn't have an answer for everything. His first night out doesn't even involve a costume. A nice change of pace, and very good piece of Batman's history/possible history.

Score - 4.0/5

[DreadDormammu]

Originally posted by Q99
The 'big three' of comic TPBs that changed the industry are considered to be Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchman (which isn't DC universe, just published by them. It's stand alone).I think most people would put Sandman above Kingdom Come. Personally, I wouldn't choose either in my top three.

For those out there who actually haven't read Kingdom Come and/or Marvels, let me say why I think Kingdom Come is overrated. Kingdom Come was a big hit primarily for its art. Be honest: if it had been poorly drawn in a typical art style it never ever would have received the acclaim it has garnered.

Kingdom Come pros:
* Fantastic painted art with "real" look
* Nostalgic value for Golden & Silver Age fans
* Good basic story idea with classic heroes "vs" new-style characters

Kingdom Come cons:
* Point of view character is weak and tacked on. The character of the priest is a very poor story construct that does nothing to aid the telling of the story. His intercession with Captain Marvel at the end is a hokey device. Removing the Spectre/priest part of Kingdom Come would make the whole story better.
* Magog is a weak character. We learn virtually nothing about this character. We are told he is the enemy but nothing effectively builds the character as a good nemesis.
* Poor dialogue. With the previous two, this all just adds up to substandard writing. Waid and Ross had a good story idea but Waid didn't have the writing skills to make it excellent.

Compare it to Marvels:
* Same great art.
* Same Silver Age nostalgic value. But this time it is not just the characters but the actual events. The key in the back of the TPB lists the issues referred to panel by panel giving you inspiration to seek out the old stories that inspired it.
* Point of view character makes sense. The story is actually about someone who makes a living chronicling super heroes rather than having a forced story construct. It all works better.
* Busiek is still not a fabulous writer, but he does a better job here than Waid did.

In conclusion: you should read both, but don't ignore Marvels just because people talk about Kingdom Come more. Neither Waid nor Busiek would ever deserve to be mentioned in the same breadth as writers such as Moore or Gaiman.

[NickFury15]

I seem to be the only person in the world that absolutley hated DK Returns!

I actually really enjoyed JLA: Year One

For another really good graphic novel, pick up the first one, Life and Death of Captain Marvel!

Of course, Maus gets an honorable mention.

As for Watchmen, the first page is the best writing I have ever seen in a comic book ever.

[bluebeetle]

DD can you give some more info on Marvels???

[T'Chaka]

Stray Bullets vol. 1 TPB

***** (out of 5)

I swear to God, you'll thank me.

[T'Chaka]

Oh yeah, DreadDormammu hits it right on the head with Marvels.

It really is just more fun.

[Mister X]

Personally, for me, I think that I enjoyed "V for Vendetta" more than almost any other Alan Moore story. In reading it, it's obvious to me that Moore isn't quite up to the level that he would reach later on. That being said, I do think it's better than almost all of the stuff he has done since "From Hell."

Others that I've really liked:

Captain Britain TPB: Again, Alan Moore and the INCREDIBLY talented Alan Davis. A really terrific story, and fantastic art. Plus Marvelman/Miracleman and the Fury (for anyone who thinks Nimrod is bad@$$, the Fury kills EVERYONE, not just mutants...)

Elektra Lives Again: While I wasn't crazy about the story, I thought that Frank Miller's art was terrific. Although, it was miles and miles beter than that DK2 mess....

300: I'm thinking of the hardcover with the expanded art, the widescreen format added quite a bit to the story I thought. And any graphic novel about the Greeks and Persians duking it out in the ancient world is OK by me....

I guess that I'll leave off with the graphic novel for which I have the most respect:

Maus. It's hard to explain the sort of impact that Maus had on me, specifically the first volume. Art Spiegelman has told an amazing story, and told it beautifully. It certainly won't appeal to most comics fans and that's sad. I think that there is a market for comics that inform as well as entertain, but the average 13 year old probably isn't interested....And that's their loss.

[DreadDormammu]

Marvels is a four issue series collected in trade paperback with fully painted art by Alex Ross. Sounds the same as Kingdom Come so far! Heh.

It's written by Kurt Busiek and it is the story of the Marvel Universe as told from the perspective of a newspaper photographer. Basically, Busiek looks at all the early Marvel Comics as one big story and tells us how it would appear to the normal people living in that world. It deals with their shock and wonder as superhumans first begin to appear right before WWII. It addresses early mutant hysteria. It covers the type of negative press that is mostly associated with the Daily Bugle and Spider-Man. And it has a great issue about the fear that humanity feels when Galactus comes to Earth.

Throughout, this character is photographing superheroes and following them as part of his job. In the back there is an index that goes page by page, panel by panel telling you which comic the story came from. For example, there is a scene with the photographer taking a picture of Giant Man walking through New York and in the back it tells you which issue of Avengers it is from.

It's great because Ross' artwork is great, because it gives a convincing feel of how ordinary people might feel about the events in the Marvel Universe, because it gives the reader a sense of the combined history of the early Marvel Universe and because it makes you want to read those old stories (and gives you the references to do so if you choose).

I recommend checking it out. It's not my all-time favorite, but it is very very good.

[DreadDormammu]

Also, for more Alan Moore, his entire run on Swamp Thing is available in six trade paperback volumes. Sin City is good; the first two (Sin City and A Dame to Kill For) are the best.

Other things compiled into TPBs: Mage, all the big Ultimate books (Ultimates, Spider-Man, X-Men), tons of DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks...

Didn't we just do a topic like this yesterday? ;)

[dj_sha]

DD, I love both Marvels and KC. I can't really say which is better (though it took a couple read throughs to really get the great story of KC), but I think some of your observations are a little unfair about KC. The priest makes sense as the narrator, as this story has many biblical references and, like Marvels, it takes a normal human to balance out all the superhumans that are the main plot of the book. Could you imagine having the apocalypse just shown without any sort of interaction with at least one person who represented the "everyday man"? What I love about Marvels is the everyday man perspective, which just throws away the superhero stories and shows how it affects an ordinary mans life and world, bringing much more humanity to the book.

Magog a weak character? That's the point ;). He's supposed to be weak. He's just the manifestation of the future, showing that, while he has brutal force on his side, he's just a pathetic excuse for a man on the inside. I thought the dialogue was nicely done, and one of my favorite scenes in any comic book is the final scene of KC where Batman, Supes and Wonder Woman are all eating at a restaurant together.

Maus only "honorable mention?" Maus is one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, forget comic books. I read it and was moved by it's portrayal of such a horrific event in history, and liked it even more then other holocaust stories I've read with it's sub plot of the sons bad relationship with his father.

I'd recommend any Y: The Last Man TPB's. Y: The Last Man is very enjoyable with amazing writing and has easily become one of my favorite comic books ever. Also check out all the JSA TPB's, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and Kid's Game, and Hellboy: Chained Coffin to name a few.

[RawShark]

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Study/4273/graphic.html

Check out this site for a bunch of great reviews (Including the perfect counter-argument to Mr. Dormammus's praise of Marvels).

Some great books I've read that haven't been mentioned:

Preacher (*Especially* the first 30 or so issues)
Akira (Non-stop action from start to finish)
DD: Born Again (Not as good as Miller's Batman works but still a great story)
League of Extraordinary Gentleman (Fun little book to read)


And here are the books that I've heard great things about but haven't had the chance to read (lemme know if they're worth getting):

Miracle Man
Squadron Supreme
Lone Wolf and Cub
Cerebus: High Society
Magnus Robot Figher: Steel Nation (no, it's not a typo)

[dj_sha]

Oh yeah, forgot Supreme Power: Contact. The new Supreme Power series is great.

[SeeD Commander]

My review of Batman: Year One - 10/10

I thought it was completely brilliant. I was about to take a point off cause Batman had to share the stage with Gordon. But as I thought about it, Gordon has almost as much to do with the Bat-mythos as Batman himself. And he's one of the few major characters that have been around since the beginning of Bat's vigilante career.

It's also refreshing to see that Batman wasn't always perfect. He was almost killed multiple times and sometimes relied on luck rather than pure skill. The Catwoman cameo was cool too.

[DreadDormammu]

Originally posted by RawShark
[BCheck out this site for a bunch of great reviews (Including the perfect counter-argument to Mr. Dormammus's praise of Marvels).[/B]I think you misread me. I don't rank Marvels an all-time great or a must-read. I just like it better than Kingdom Come. ;) I thought this guy's review was pretty fair overall and he's probably right that casual comic fans will enjoy it less since they don't explain much of the references.

[Maniac_nmt]

Sam and Max Hit the Road:

Sam and Max are two independant comic chars who spawned a same named game by Lucas Arts, and a short lived cartoon on Fox Kids.

The book isn't serious by any means, but is tounge in cheek humor all the way through. Sam is a large dog that wears a grey suit and fedora, while Max is his dimminutive rabbit pal. The two are 'Freelance Police', and recieve their missions through a hotline much like the old Bat Telephone from the Adam West show. Prone to gratuitous violence, and inanity the comic will make you laugh and groan. The stories are broken up with one or two page shorts, and the end contains a series of shorts in color. Spoofing all things Lucas Arts, they range from Indiana Jones, to Full Throtle, to a slew on the Star Wars franchise. Not suitable for younger readers, anyone who enjoys the Tick, or similar humor will get a real kick out of this. So tune in for some zany adventures of the popsicle eating Sam, and his psychotic lagomorph partner Sam.

Score: 4.4/5

[RawShark]

Originally posted by DreadDormammu
I think you misread me. I don't rank Marvels an all-time great or a must-read. I just like it better than Kingdom Come. ;)

i gotcha :)

[Rokk_Krinn]

Maus, as others have noted, is truely outstanding. Honestly everytime one of this TPB/GN threads comes up (like the one currently running in the Marvel comics forum as DD reels from deja vu :) ), I think of Maus but, honestly, it seems unfair to mention it with "comics". Yes, Maus uses a graphic art format and is, essentially a "comic" but the story and the message it focuses on makes it seem demeaning to Maus to classify it with Superman and the Avengers. Don't get me wrong - I'm obviously a massive lover of comics and have been for decades (heck, I even have gotten to be associated with at least one title mentioned in this thread :) ), but Maus is as much a message and a history lesson as it is a "comic". It's like mentioning Schindler's List in the same category as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - both are fantastic and special and great, but they're from two totally different worlds. Nontheless, read Maus and broaden your horizons.

[Rokk_Krinn]

Oh, and on a more frivolous note I forgot one of my all-time favourites:

The Dr. Mid-Nite TPB: Introducing a new legacy character for the modern age, this story by Matt Wagner (with painted art by his frequent art collaborator John K. Snyder) is fun, involving and even lets your mind get in some work. Pieter Cross is truely a crusader for the modern age - whether he's handing out condoms to prostitutes or finding a way to finance soup kitchens, he was already a hero prior to his "empowering" accident. An outstanding and highly original supporting cast makes sure the Doctor is not left out alone in the dark. Frankly, the book just oozes style and the "mystery" Dr. Mid-Nite sets out to solve really lets him strut his stuff. I hate to say it but as much as I love "JSA" and Mid-Nite, he's seemed like a pale shadow compared to his role in this book.

[ASpaceBoyDream]

Originally posted by Mister X
Maus. It's hard to explain the sort of impact that Maus had on me, specifically the first volume. Art Spiegelman has told an amazing story, and told it beautifully. It certainly won't appeal to most comics fans and that's sad. I think that there is a market for comics that inform as well as entertain, but the average 13 year old probably isn't interested....And that's their loss.

No argument here; Maus is a classic. Is it true that it won't appeal to most comic fans? No, I don't think so. Most comic-book readers aren't comic fans at all; they're super-hero fans. They read comics because that's where the heroes are (this is why the best selling comics are the ones that appeal to the least number of people). Most of these guys will "graduate" to liking all kinds of comics (I did). Y'know, as soon as they read Maus!

Other Graphic Novels I'd Heartily Recommend:
Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth, by Chris Ware
Stuck Rubber Baby, by Howard Cruse
From Hell, by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
David Boring, by Daniel Clowes
Nightmare Alley, by Spain Rodriguez
Palomar, by Gilbert Hernandez
Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Kim Deitch
Safe Area Gorazde: The War In Eastern Bosnia, by Joe Sacco
The Golem's Mighty Swing, by James Sturm (who also wrote Unstable Molecules)

*Phew!* That's ten. No super-hero books, just because everyone else will mention them. I will say that The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen are masterpieces, and Kingdom Come stinks.

[Agent_X]

Originally posted by RawShark
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Study/4273/graphic.html

Check out this site for a bunch of great reviews (Including the perfect counter-argument to Mr. Dormammus's praise of Marvels).

Some great books I've read that haven't been mentioned:

Preacher (*Especially* the first 30 or so issues)
Akira (Non-stop action from start to finish)
DD: Born Again (Not as good as Miller's Batman works but still a great story)
League of Extraordinary Gentleman (Fun little book to read)


And here are the books that I've heard great things about but haven't had the chance to read (lemme know if they're worth getting):

Miracle Man
Squadron Supreme
Lone Wolf and Cub
Cerebus: High Society
Magnus Robot Figher: Steel Nation (no, it's not a typo)

If you are referring to Mark Gruenwald's 12 issue series of Squadron Supreme, I can say that it is easily one of if not the best Trade I have ever read. It was written in 1985, so it is really one of the first stories to deal with the role of the superhero in government and how to best utilize their power while keeping in mind basic freedoms. It is on the same page as Black Reign and Red SOn in ways. If you have 30 bucks it if definitly worth picking it up, they just started reprinting them.

[The Qwardian]

Just read all for of the JLA/Avengers.

Overall good read. A little confusing if you arent totally firmiliar with all the Avengers or all the JLA members. Nice ending. leaves it a a hint that the two comic companies may merge one day, this would be the catalst that would begin this new universe. Good relations between characters. Interesting ending. It should be released as a TPB soon.
4 out of 5.