If you liked that I'd suggest you look into his other series Runaways. I don't know where the series went after Brain K. Vaughn left (Joss Whedon apparently) but the first volume is a pretty interesting read.
I just read the seven (eight counting the prequel) released issues of Crossed recently, and all I can say is that Garth Ennis must be one seriously disturbed individual. It's not even that every single page is full of people getting their limbs ripped off and the Crossed then using those limbs to masturbate with, as a large part of each issue is actually just dialogue. But the couple of pages that ARE the actual violence, they definitely stay with you. And it seems like there's no respite or hope for the characters...even at the end of the 7th issue, when there's a brief "HELL YEA MOTHERFUCKER, ITS TIME TO GET SOME!!!" moment, the way it ends just fucks with your head even more.
Re: The Official Idiot Board Picture Book Thread I'm singling you out for being the first to recommend Preacher. I just finished racing through book 4 and want to thank you. Fantastic stuff.
mastert: Thank you-now I absolutely have to read Crossed. Without giving away too much, how 'extreme' would you say it is? Sherwood: You're welcome-everyone seems to hold Watchmen up as the greatest graphic novel of all time, but I've read it twice and to be honest I found it a bit tedious. Preacher is the series that I recommend to anyone looking for an excellent story with fantastic art.
Not really the best of all time, but the first major breakthrough in the genre. I was in high-school when it came out, and we were all blown away that something like that could exist. It definitely helped pave the way for bigger and better things. It's up there with Star Wars, and how it ushered in the CGI era. At the time, Star Wars was mind-blowing and people were lining up to see it 10+ times. Now, it's almost comical.
I find Alan Moore to be tedious in general. The thing that makes Watchmen so special is it broke out of the standard comic genre in a big way. Between it and Dark Knight Returns it showed comic book in a darker, more serious tone. A more recent example would be Warren Ellis's Stormwatch/Authority run, which was the first real example of big wide screen action comics, paved the way for things like Mark Millar's and Bryan Hitch Ultimates Vol 1 & 2, which are also awesome super hero comics. Stray Bullets by David Lapham is a great crime series, Northlanders by Brian Wood (He also writes DMZ) for Vikings, and Queen & Country by Greg Rucka is a great spy series, if you guys want to try reading something other than the normal Millars, Ellis, Ennis, Vaughn, Leob, Bendis, Gaiman, Moore and Waid. There are 10 or 12 guys that pop up all the time as the thing to read, with maybe 30 different titles, all excellent. You should also give Robert Kirkman's Invincible and the Walking Dead a shot. They are both excellent books, and Kirkman might be the best writer to pop up in the last few years. It helps neither are Marvel or DC books, but creator owned and written.
Okay, so I have a brother that is really into DC comics. I know he is a huge fan of Superman, but he also has read and enjoyed a bunch of the DCU's better graphic novels (Identity Crisis, Kingdom Come, The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again), but I am looking for something to get him for Christmas. Within the DCU, what are some of the better graphic novels and storyline I might be able to get him. For the record, he is pretty familiar with most of the DCU's lore, so something like Infinite Crisis isn't out of the question, but I've not heard good things.
I'd recommend New Frontier The book is a beast, but the Absolute edition is a downright beautiful hardcover with tons of bonus material in the back. And the art is fantastic http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/06/a-year-of-cool-comic-book-moments-day-310/
I had read some of Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai a few years ago and could not for the life of me remember what it was called. I found it on a best-of-the-decade list. Basically, it´s a rabbit samurai roaming feudal Japan and the book is heavily influenced by japanese folklore. The rabbit is based on famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. That and Kabuki by David Mack are two books based in Japan that I have re-discovered. Kabuki´s art is astounding, I am currently finishing up Circle of Blood. I have the book in black and white, and the imagery and symbols Mack uses are stunning. The book is set in the near-future Japan, and he ties the new to the old to the ancient flawlessly. Truly good stuff, in terms of story telling and art.
Sort of on-topic: Here is a video of Alan Moore singing. It's fucking painful, but probably not as painful as reading through Frank Miller's "All Star Batman". I almost feel the need to jerk off to The Lost Girls to get this song out of my head.
Akira: Epic, awesome, and completely badass. Somewhat overshadowed by the film version, which happens to be an absolute technical masterpiece. Black Hole: One of the best ever, period. I'd sell my soul, my neighbor's soul, and my dog's soul to be able to draw like Charles Burns.
Black Hole. One of the best? Really? Personally, the art style turned me off. Mother Fucker threw ink everywhere.
I'm not a fan of the classic "comic book" look. Watchmen is great but the art is stale as hell. If you opened to a random page and told me it was an old Batman comic, I'd probably believe you. In Black Hole the art and story are absolutely inseparable from each other. Sure, you can appreciate it for the stellar plot (who doesn't love a good tale about STD's?) or the art (bold line work, outstanding use of symmetry, seamless consistency that hides a 10 year effort), but it's how the two factors work together that makes it what it is. The art isn't used as a crutch for shitty writing, it's an integral part of the story. That's pretty much my definition for a great graphic novel.
Has anyone read Umbrella Academy? We were talked into purchasing it this last weekend, but I don't know much about it.
Picked up a new stack from the library the other day, and two really stood out for me: Scarlet Traces (Dark Horse Comics)-Set in London in 1903. Basically, Britain has becomes the worlds greatest superpower due to them adapting Martian technology left behind after a War of the Worlds style invasion. It's a murder-mystery with a sci-fi twist. Marvels (Marvel Comics)-Yet another twist on character origins and the usual Marvel fare, but what makes this an above average read is the artwork-it really is some of the best I've ever seen.
Some of my fondest memories reading came from graphic novels. -Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. AWESOME comic. The guy who bought it for me remains a close friend for a reason. -Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. From what I gather, a lot of people like this less than its predecessor. Personally, I still loved it. -Batman: Hush. Full of cryptic clues and Batman kicking ass. Enough said. -World of Warcraft: Ashbringer. I've been a longtime fan of Warcraft. Part of what makes it awesome is the immense amount of lore behind it. A lot of people, both characters and players, talk about the Ashbringer, but I had known nothing about this until I read the comic. It was a pretty short read, but I found it to be thoroughly knowledgeable and enjoyable. -World of Warcraft: Book one. The first book book detailing the adventures of Lo'Gosh. Having played a warrior in WoW, I can identify with this guy in many ways. On my wishlist: WoW: Book two.
Hellboy graphic novels are really badass. The first movie wasn't bad, the Golden army was a complete fabrication and didn't follow any of the Hellboy storylines from the Comics, It was Crap. Also, Darkhorse comics Publishes THE GOON, which I like even better than Hellboy. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's really entertaining.
I don't know if this will really fit the taste of many of the posters in this thread, but I have to recommend Jeff Smith's Bone. Smith has a background in animation and it really shows in the artwork and how he brings his characters to life. It's classed as a kids comic, but I still enjoy this epic as an adult and it will surely be passed on to any kids in my life.