five comic strips (Calvin, Charlie Brown, Krazy Kat, Pogo, Scrooge), five indies (Buddy, Cerebus, Enid, Hopey, Maggie), five 2000ADs (Crazy Jane, Johnny Alpha, Judge Dredd, Shade, Zenith), five Marvels (Black Panther, Dr Doom, Galactus, JJJ, Mr. Fantastic), and five DC (Batman, Bullseye, Rorschach/The Question, The Joker).
After this, you're on your own.
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 27 October 2006 08:40 (seventeen years ago) link
I don't think we *need* a sympathetic Joker story, tbh.
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 27 October 2006 08:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― Pete (Pete), Friday, 27 October 2006 09:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 27 October 2006 09:28 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ray (Ray), Friday, 27 October 2006 09:56 (seventeen years ago) link
Air Wave (Air Wave)Angel and the Ape (Angel and the Ape)Awesome Andy (She-Hulk)Badger (Badger)Batman (Batman etc.)Bigby (Fables)Black Canary (assorted DC comics)Black Cat (?????)Black Panther - Priest version (Black Panther)Blue Devil (Blue Devil)Buddy Bradley (Hate)Bullseye - Frank Miller version (Daredevil)Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)Captain Haddock (Tintin)Cerebus (Cerebus)Chubby Da Choona (Seaguy)Concrete (Concrete)Destruction (Sandman)Donna Troy (New Teen Titans)Doop (X-Statix)Dr Blasphemy (Brat Pack)Dr John Warforce (W.A.R.Force)Elektra (Elektra:Assassin)Enid Coleslaw (Ghost World)Enigma (Enigma)Frank (Frank)Fritz The Cat (Fritz The Cat)Galactus (Fantastic Four etc.)Genocide (Sleeper)Horse Race Bet Guy (My Filing Technique Is Unstoppable)Johnny Alpha - Wagner/Ezquerra version (Strontium Dog)Johnny The Homicidal Maniac (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac)Kano (Bad Company)Kitty Pryde (X-Men etc.)Lord Fanny (The Invisibles)Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts)Mafalda (Mafalda)Maggie Chascarillo (Love And Rockets)Maggott (X-Men)Marmaduke (Marmaduke)Mary Simpson (The Four Marys)Mastodon (DP7)Mohammed Ali (Superman vs Mohammed Ali)Mr Fantastic (Fantastic Four etc.)Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind)Nemo (Little Nemo In Slumberland)Oor Wullie (Oor Wullie)Pogo (Pogo)Professor Calculus (Tintin)Ragged Robin (The Invisibles)Rat Creatures (Bone)Rex Morgan, MD (Rex Morgan)Rogue (X-Men)Rogue Trooper (the first one) (2000AD)Shade - Milligan Version (Shade The Changing Man)Silk Spectre - Laurie (Watchmen)Stanley and his Monster (Stanley and his Monster)The Detective (Jason's Norwegian Murder Mystery)the lizard that narrates Enigma (Enigma)The Marsupilami (Spirou and Fantasia)The Mighty Thor (Thor etc.)The Question - O'Neill/Cowan version (The Question)The Spider (The Spider)The Whizzer (?????)Ultimate Peter Parker (Ultimate Spider-Man)Voyager (Psi-Force)William Gull (From Hell)Willoughby Kipling (Doom Patrol)Wulf Sternhammer (2000AD)Zenith (Zenith)
So...
9. Lucy van Pelt8. Enid Coleslaw7. Doop6. Cerebus5. Buddy Bradley4. Calvin3. Captain Haddock2. Batman1. Galactus
Really disappointed The Spider hasn't made it anywhere into the list. Unless you all shock me by voting him into the top ten.
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 27 October 2006 10:06 (seventeen years ago) link
Well, yeah, but I don't think that's necessairly a problem when we're talking about a comic book character. I mean, 80% of the Silver Age to thread, innit? And what about BIZARRO up there?? Or Krazy Kat, come to that?
Anyway, on second thought I *do* sort of sympathise with the Joker, as I did with the Gremlins - discarding all notions of human morality not in the name of revenge or power or wealth or even just pure EVIL but because, hey, it's a laugh, innit? I love loose cannons.
xpost alas, anglo-american axis will certainly insure that my beloved Marsupilami doesn't make the list :(
http://madsenblog.dk/billeder/marsupilami.jpg
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 27 October 2006 10:10 (seventeen years ago) link
60. Opus59. Roy Race58. Corto Maltese57. Martian Manhunter56. Guy Gardner (Giffen/DeM)55. Spider-Man (Dan Slott)54. Acid Archie53. Manhog52. Mo51. Black Lois Lane50. Spider Jerusalem49. Optimus Prime48. Flex Mentallo47. Marv46. Darkseid45. Hellboy44. Mek-Quake43. Tharg The Mighty42. Mona Lisa Ludacristits41. A Homosexual40. Cassidy39. Tara Chace38. Robotman (Grant M)37. Wally West Flash36. Astoria35. Emma Frost34. Robert Crumb33. The Thing32. Jessica Jones31. Dr Manhattan30. Beast29. Daredevil28. Silver Surfer27. Blue Beetle26. John Constantine25. The Spirit24. She-Hulk23. Superman22. Magneto21. Popeye20. Crazy Jane19. Rorschach18. Scrooge McDuck17. Bizarro15. Hopey15. Judge Dredd14. Linus Van Pelt13. Charlie Brown12. Doctor Doom11. The Joker
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 27 October 2006 10:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 27 October 2006 13:12 (seventeen years ago) link
Also the Joker character talk above is reminding me that I actually liked Sam Kieth's Batman/Joker mini from this year a lot.
― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 27 October 2006 13:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ray (Ray), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:38 (seventeen years ago) link
Same trade that has RH/Jason Todd telling the Joker his madness is overstated to insulate himself from his crimes.
― lumberingwoodsman (Chris Hill), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Friday, 27 October 2006 14:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Friday, 27 October 2006 15:00 (seventeen years ago) link
ihttp://www.comics.org/coverview.lasso?id=48250&zoom=4
― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Friday, 27 October 2006 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 27 October 2006 18:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 29 October 2006 10:38 (seventeen years ago) link
(184 points)
http://www.philosophiste.com/images/cerebus_gold.jpg
Cerebus seems to work as a short furry Alexander the Great in his book's plot, cutting Gordian Knots in any of the complicated and delicate situtation he barges into. Seeing how he resists all attempts to take the action to a higher metaphysical level, and how far he can avoid this, is one of the main motors of the book.
Cerebus is an anchor. The epic scope and cosmic inclinations of Sim's storytelling could have gotten tiresome much sooner than they did without the earth-pig born there to provide his own brand of unique rugged pragmatism. Cerebus can be awed, it's true, he can be phased and devastated: but before long, he'll have taken the new facts, no matter how mind boggling, into consideration and determined how and if they can be used for his own ends – which almost invariably consist of battle, wealth and ale (what happens when they cannot be used for such purposes, and as such are irrelevant and/or bothersome to Cerebus, accounts for a great deal of the comic's best humor.) There is a Cerebus quote to go with every state of drunkenness – "Cerebus would kill a yak for you!" has even served me well in times of heartbroken inebriation. (Daniel Reifferscheid)
Best Moment - Throwing the baby (which was stolen from a Giles cartoon in the Daily Express) (David Simpson)
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 30 October 2006 09:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 30 October 2006 10:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 30 October 2006 10:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 30 October 2006 11:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― occasional mongrel (kit brash), Monday, 30 October 2006 11:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 30 October 2006 11:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 30 October 2006 11:41 (seventeen years ago) link
Anyway, I can read stuff that I don't agree with, I've read a lot of Miller for example (and I like some of his stuff regardless of his opinions). Still, I can't see why objectionable views couldn't be a perfectly valid reason for shying away from a certain piece of art. There's enough stuff to read anyway, you gotta choose on some basis.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 30 October 2006 11:45 (seventeen years ago) link
qft
Still, Tuomas, since you're so politically involved, you might want to try giving "High Society" a go.
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 30 October 2006 12:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 30 October 2006 12:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 30 October 2006 12:58 (seventeen years ago) link
The High Society recommendation works well, because you don't really need to read the first volume and High Society comes next. I think you'd like Church & State, Jaka's Story, the Mothers & Daughters books and Guys a whole lot.
And yes, I've just spotted the irony here that we're all trying to encourage Tuomas to read an indie book here.
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 30 October 2006 12:59 (seventeen years ago) link
xpost- Jaka's Story and Melmoth and Going Home have written sections as well!
― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Monday, 30 October 2006 13:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 30 October 2006 13:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Monday, 30 October 2006 13:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 30 October 2006 13:36 (seventeen years ago) link
But yes, basically, you have a few thousand pages before you get to all-text, and many of them are fantastic.
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 30 October 2006 13:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Android Cat (Dan Perry), Monday, 30 October 2006 14:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 30 October 2006 14:20 (seventeen years ago) link
Then, if you pick up High Society, you're going to want to read the rest anyway -- though I'd quit after "Melmoth" and maybe pickup "Guys."
― Chuck_Tatum (Chuck_Tatum), Monday, 30 October 2006 14:22 (seventeen years ago) link
I think Mothers & Daughters is excellent if you skip the text sections in Reads. Guys is way too long and self indulgent. Some good gags, some interesting stuff with Joanna at the very end, that great bit where he punches himself in the face, that's about it.
― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Monday, 30 October 2006 14:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 30 October 2006 14:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:03 (seventeen years ago) link
Actually High Society has a couple of tiny text bits too: the rules for Diamondback and some of Suenteus Po's book on "The Six Crises." But they shouldn't interfere with your reading pleasure.
I'd actually _rather_ read good art that's opposed to my politics than good art that's in concord with my politics, which was kind of the point of that long article about Cerebus I wrote a while ago.
― Douglas (Douglas), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:37 (seventeen years ago) link
I don't remember your article well enough - maybe you said that.
― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:42 (seventeen years ago) link
Not much actual discussion of Cerebus the character here. Is it possible to divorce him from Cerebus the comic drawn by crazy person Dave Sim?
― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:47 (seventeen years ago) link
I thought Reads was a bunch of shit and Minds was a Howard the Duck rip.
― J (Jay), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:53 (seventeen years ago) link
― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Monday, 30 October 2006 15:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 00:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Douglas (Douglas), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 06:45 (seventeen years ago) link