2012 what are you reading thread

fuck, they're up to #5 now? jesus. i still haven't finished the old vol. 2 reprints

what if i think it won't be very good?

love & rockets and extraordinary gentlemen are probably the two most critically acclaimed comics that i do not enjoy

you are just wrong, sorry ;_;

about which? both?

jamie's drawing alone = pure pleasure

about L&R

(I like LoEG a lot but it's not in any realm near to L&R)

I've kind of lost the thread of Gilbert's comics -- if there are subtextual or metatextual levels to his work of the last few years, I'm not getting them, and don't really enjoy the straight narrative enough to want to try.

But Jaime, every panel for me is an amazing distillation of everything great about comics. I get a buzz just looking at it.

Slaine, from the beginning onwards. Currently got him being pursued by Lord weird Slough Feig after he tried to rescue Medb a few issues earlier.

Got up to date with Unwritten over last few days, hadn't realised it was still ongoing.

re: L&R, it prob helps if you enjoyed archie comics as a kid (or now).

i did! maybe i just started reading the wrong one? rosie the mechanic or something - SO BORING

the first half of the maggie the mechanic collection isn't so great. after that it's all good.

I think there are multiple threads devoted to this argument. NEWBIES: skip over the Jaime stories featuring actual rockets and jump straight into the LA punk girl stuff. It gets better. Lots better.

I'm with Mordy. Is there a specific issue or volume number you can tell us to let us start at the good stuff and ignore the boring stuff?

it's still the first collection - just skip past all the stories that kinda look like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs

or just go to Beto's stuff, i think he was pretty strong out the gate

(though much like Jaime, his skills improve immensely over time)

Jaime: start half-way through Maggie the Mechanic, or skip forward to The Girl from HOPPERS.

Gilbert: start with Heartbreak Soup. This is my go-to comics gift for people who don't read comics.

guys, I'm just now reading all the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. stories.

what if i think it won't be very good?
― Mordy

That was exactly what I meant! They're not breaking any new ground but still as solid as ever.

returning to Palomar meant I liked the Beto parts more than I expected

Oh cool, I didn't realize! A return to Palomar is a good move for Beto. I find that I'm generally only really interested in his Palomar stuff or his experimental work (a la Fear Of Comics).

early L&R is mediocre but almost every great long-running comic starts off kind of weak, with precious few exceptions.

I'm a Hernandestan, so I think they went from good to great, and got the mediocre out of the way in 1970s pre-L&R juvenilia, sketchbooks and fanzine illos. Except for Mario, I think his work has always been mediocre.

http://archive.org/details/0476_Untitled_Milton_Caniff_01_45_26_20

Damn. That look's cool.

no sound as far as i can tell

Twitter friend of mine grabbed the first two of those Fantagraphics EC artist-themed volumes. Reading Kurtzman's now. Feeling inadequate.

huh, amazon doesn't have them out yet

He picked them up at SPX, where Fantagraphics was pre-selling them. The Kurtzman and Wood volumes will be out next month or so.

About to start latest volume of Lars Jansson's Moomin comic strip, which am much looking forward too

Kung Fu This is dead?

Got the Prophet TPB since there have been so many positive reviews of the series, so far I've read 4 issues of it, and I dunno... There are some cool scenes and settings, but the plot feels kinda flimsy (if the Earth Empire wants to rise again, why are they doing it via thousands of clones of the same person? isn't that kinda genetically unfeasible?); if I want to a read comic where people wander through alien landscapes and meet alien creatures with minimal plot, I'd rather read Moebius. Also, while the artist in the first three issues is not bad, in my opinion his rough and sketchy style isn't very good for this type of comic. Sketchy style can be good if you're depicting everyday objects and scenes, since people know how they're supposed to look like and can fill in the details in their minds, but when you're drawing otherworldly vision of things readers aren't familiar with, skipping the details isn't a good thing. (See the Worlds of Aldebaran series recently translated by Cinebook for an example of a comic where a detailed, rich art style works perfectly to emphasize the strangeness of extraterrestrial creatures and landscapes.) Thankfully issue #4 features a more detailed artist, but skimming through issue #5, looks like another sketchy artist is reeled in again.

I do think this series has a lot of potential, but I wonder if it gets any better after these initial issues?

Yup, I liked it but also felt a bit muted, same as you.

I'll third the "meh" reaction to Prophet. I read that first complete arc and nothing about it compelled me to read more. It felt like an undistinguished 70s/80s Heavy Metal wannabe.

I like Prophet a lot; definitely see the metal hurlant but somehow transcended the corny big titty stuff

Just got the first Vertical volume of Tezuka's Adolf. It's Tezuka at prime but how that hits you is dependent on how you like him.

Can't vouch for the translation but:
http://manga.animea.net/adolf-ni-tsugu-chapter-1-4.html

http://www.fantagraphics.com/browse-shop/ralph-azham-vol.-1-why-would-you-lie-to-someone-you-love-2.html
oboy oboy oboy, my fave comic writer/artist right now has newly translated work. just knocked out the first volume on contact. it's great.

I just found out Trondheim has a tumblr. Lots of good sketches and the like.

Adolf is great. It gets super-complicated to follow in the middle books though.

Incidentally, I don't say it enough, but those Phoenix books are just batshit odd and SO GOOD.

forks, should i read Dungeon? i love sfar but i've never seen it before...

I'm bot Forks, but emphatically YES! Dungeon is a blast.

Not forks, bot forks, same thing. :)

beep boop beep

exactly.

anyways FUCK YES to Dungeon; it's probably my favorite currently active book.
the difficulty is in figuring where to start; part of the appeal is that all the books inform one another, but often in oblique ways that can take a lot of reading to figure out. I would say start here:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Zenith-Set-Vols-1-3/dp/156163624X/

I bought a slew of Dungeon sight unseen, was very pleasantly surprised.

ok, i ordered that zenith set. if i like it, forks, i'll be relying on you to tell me what to get next.

I would tentatively offer the following order based on what's currently available:
Zenith 1-3
Early Years 1-2
Parade 1-2
Twilight 1-3
Monsters 1-4
Each book is two complete stories, so there's currently 28 dungeon stories translated in English

Yeah, Zenith was what I read first. Really great stuff.