Books / Lit Graphic Novels - What Are You Reading and General Discussion

[Crazy Jamie]

Vash saying he's reading Dr Strange in the other thread prompted me to make this one. So what does everyone read generally/what are you reading now?

I got into reading graphic novels only a few years ago, and typically have a reasonable sized collection that I've read very little of. I'm slowly changing that, though. I started reading the main stories and crossovers from Disassembled to get an idea of the general state of things on the Marvel side. I've done Avengers vs X-Men, and am now hitting the main stories and arcs from there to Secret Wars before I read Secret Wars itself, both on the 616 and Ultimate side of things. I've just finished the entire Ultimate Spiderman run, and will move onto Miles next.

I want to get into DC as well, and have got both DC Infinite and Marvel Unlimited subscriptions. I only found out recently that they've made it easy to read comics on your phone now through those apps, which is a massive game changer for how much I'll be reading. I've found a few decent lists of essential DC comics, and I'm going to start with No Man's Land (nothing like staring with something simple!) and work my way through from there, hitting the main 2000s arcs.

Away from both of those, I've read the entirety of the Walking Dead, but have quite a few other full series, including Invincible, Chew, Paper Girls, East of West, Y The Last Man, Saga, Sandman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So yeah, the backlog is real.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

This is most of my physical collection, for reference. But I’m not planning on increasing it much more now that I’ve got the online subscriptions. I don’t value these physical copies in the same way I do with video games, so happy to switch to digital for the most part.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

They’re here and they’re so pretty. @VashTheStampede

 

[Ben]

Wife got me the first few volumes of the One Piece manga, which I'm about half way through. It may be the beginning of a (very big) collection .



She also bought a Seven Deadly Sins manga for my 12 year old son, but when I told her it was kind of raunchy we decided not to give it to him. So I guess that's mine now too.

 

[Ben]

I realize "manga" isn't quite the same as "graphic novel" though, so perhaps I've committed a Jamie faux pas.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

I realize "manga" isn't quite the same as "graphic novel" though, so perhaps I've committed a Jamie faux pas.

It isn't, but I'm just happy that people are reading this stuff, whether graphic novels or manga. No judgement from me.

 

[Nae'blis]

I backed the kickstarter for the Good Omens (Pratchett/Gaiman story) graphic novel, which I have high hopes for! Pretty much the first graphic novel for me! I just waiting for it to arrive, hopefully this Spring!

 

[VashTheStampede]

Need to merge the two comics/graphic novels threads we ended up with but that's a pain in the ass on mobile

 

[VashTheStampede]

Wife got me the first few volumes of the One Piece manga, which I'm about half way through. It may be the beginning of a (very big) collection .

View attachment 26168

She also bought a Seven Deadly Sins manga for my 12 year old son, but when I told her it was kind of raunchy we decided not to give it to him. So I guess that's mine now too.

View attachment 26169View attachment 26170

Ooh when I get home I need to post an updated look at my Trigun collection, as they've been re-releasing it in omnibus format.

 

[VashTheStampede]

This is my current setup. Its my happy place.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Absolutely love it, and makes me think I need to reverse course on just reading digital rather than buying more physical stuff.

So now that I've finished Rhythm of War it's given me brain space to pick up a graphic novel as well as shorter books (thankfully, basically every book is shorter than that). So I've started No Man's Land on DC Infinite, as the first step on what is hopefully quite a lengthy DC reading journey. It's the omnibus collection so a nice, round one hundred issues. Read the first five last night and it is nice and gritty, which I'm led to believe DC generally is compared to Marvel. But looking forward to discovering the differences between the brands myself.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

I am half way through No Man's Land, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. Elements of the storylines are definitely dated and feel very 1999ish, but there are other elements that are much more gritty and mature than pretty much anything I've come across in Marvel so far, and I really like that. I also like that it's less an event and more a backdrop for a lot of different stories, so I'm reading about a lot of DC characters, both Batman related and otherwise, and that feels like a very good introduction to DC.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I am half way through No Man's Land, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. Elements of the storylines are definitely dated and feel very 1999ish, but there are other elements that are much more gritty and mature than pretty much anything I've come across in Marvel so far, and I really like that. I also like that it's less an event and more a backdrop for a lot of different stories, so I'm reading about a lot of DC characters, both Batman related and otherwise, and that feels like a very good introduction to DC.

I'm excited to finally check this out, it's a massive Batman blindspot for me. I've got the Road To and the first omni, still chasing Part 2.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

I'm excited to finally check this out, it's a massive Batman blindspot for me. I've got the Road To and the first omni, still chasing Part 2.

I'd be interested to hear how your experience is as someone who has more experience reading DC, as opposed to someone who is using it as a jumping on point like I am. If anything, if you don't enjoy it as much as I have that'll make me more keen to read into DC and Batman specifically in more detail.

 

[VashTheStampede]

As I continue to make my way through the initial Claremont run of X-Men, I have arrived at the famous God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel.

Its a definite game changer. Because it was produced as a graphic novel and not a monthly floppy, they were able to be a bit more mature and also avoid most of the strict rules put in place by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter. And maybe duck the Comics Code Authority? Not sure on that point.

This shift in tone is IMMEDIATELY apparent, as there's no way a typical monthly Marvel would start with a hate crime murder of children.

Claremont really starts to go HARD into the racism allegory with Mutants here. While it's never been a perfect comparison, it feels much different than the previous tone of distrust of mutantkind, and is a much appreciated grounding of the content, especially coming off the heels of the ridiculous Brood War story. And this story still feels extremely timely with how the right wing of today treats most in the LGBTQ+ groups.

And even though it's especially infamous, Kitty Pryde dropping the N-word on Stevie Hunter is still shocking and incredibly inappropriate. Glad that Claremont has said that he regrets that move and would do it differently in a rewrite.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Finished No Man's Land. I'm just about to go on holiday so can't type extensive thoughts. There are quite a few elements of it that are dated, including entire arcs, but as an introduction to DC (and Batman in particular) I really enjoyed this. As I said before, the storylines are much more mature than Marvel, with some of the twists and action being far more explicit. The ending to this involves the Joker, and again, I felt like it gave me a really good insight into him as a villain. Even though I don't recall this being mentioned in his most notable story arcs, the ending hit really hard for me. It's a 4/5 overall, with me acknowledging that my inexperience in being new to DC and me actively forgiving some of the dated arcs as a result probably bump that up by a mark or so compared to those who are more familiar with DC. But it has very much left me wanting more.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

So I went on holiday and didn't read anything when I was away due to starting Wind and Truth, which obviously is quite a commitment in book terms. Want to get back into graphic novels now that I'm nearish to the end of that though. I'm eyeing up Birthright next to give me a Superman introduction. Not sure on the Marvel side. So much to choose from.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Finally got back to reading some graphic novels, and I should have done it sooner. I am reading Birthright, but I also just read the first arc of Bendis' Ultimate Comics Spiderman last night (so, the Miles Morales origin story). It's really good. I've got that entire run in the Ultimate Marvel universe, so I'm going to go straight through that on the Marvel side of things.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I finished up the first Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman omnibus a week ago.

Came out the gates REAL strong with the Dark Reign tie-in (setting up the Council of Reeds story) I wasn't reading comics at all during this time period, but this 4 issue mini was absolutely great and got me very excited for the rest of the run.

Then it slows down tremendously as Hickman starts setting the table and putting pieces in place. I had a feeling it was coming, but it was still a drag for the whole middle of the omni.

But once you hit the back half it's Hickman operating at his full capacity. I really love his take on Susan. The bit where she's making sandwiches and explaining to Spider-Man why she's not afraid of a gathering of all their biggest foes (and in fact, why they should fear HER) was one of my favorite FF moments of all time.

I'm super excited to read volume 2, but my ADHD has instead convinced me to jump over to New Mutants vol.1 and give myself something to look forward to later.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

I finished up the first Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman omnibus a week ago.

Came out the gates REAL strong with the Dark Reign tie-in (setting up the Council of Reeds story) I wasn't reading comics at all during this time period, but this 4 issue mini was absolutely great and got me very excited for the rest of the run.

Then it slows down tremendously as Hickman starts setting the table and putting pieces in place. I had a feeling it was coming, but it was still a drag for the whole middle of the omni.

But once you hit the back half it's Hickman operating at his full capacity. I really love his take on Susan. The bit where she's making sandwiches and explaining to Spider-Man why she's not afraid of a gathering of all their biggest foes (and in fact, why they should fear HER) was one of my favorite FF moments of all time.

I'm super excited to read volume 2, but my ADHD has instead convinced me to jump over to New Mutants vol.1 and give myself something to look forward to later.

Really interesting to read this. I've been thinking about the direction I want my Marvel reading to go in, and I think I need to get momentum back again to move towards Secret Wars. I've finished the second arc of the first Miles run and it's really quality stuff. We're all familiar with the typical Spiderman origin stories, and those familiar pieces are there, but it most certainly had me hooked. I'm going to finish this run, including the tie ins like Spider Men, and then probably move on to Hickman's FF next. I have a few books that pre date secret wars after that, but I'll need to check how many and whether I need to read them all. I've done Aaron's first Thor book, which is all I need before Secret Wars, and I've then got Indestructible Hulk, Fraction's Hawkeye run, Remender's Cap run bringing Sam in as Cap, and Bendis' X-Men runs post Avengers vs X-Men. I've also got Slott's Spiderman run but I don't think I need to read that pre Secret Wars.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Oh I didn't consider needing to read Aaron's first Thor before Secret Wars. Gonna have to add that to the agenda, as it's sitting there on the shelf.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Fraction's Hawkeye is one of my top 10 favorite comic runs of all time. Absolute best run for 2 of my favorite characters.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Fraction's Hawkeye is one of my top 10 favorite comic runs of all time. Absolute best run for 2 of my favorite characters.

Yeah it's universally praised as one of the best Marvel runs. Looking forward to it.

Spider Men is fun. Basically a story about 616 Peter Parker getting sucked into the Ultimate universe and having some shenanigans with Miles Morales and the Ultimates. It's pretty well done and has some heartfelt moments in it.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Finished the second complete collection volume of Miles. I didn't like the Hydra war arc at all. It may be it's better from the Ultimates' perspective, but it was too much too fast for Miles in my view. The next two arcs, which are Venom and when he gives up being Spiderman, things fast forward a year and he comes back, were much better. Particularly the latter. Felt like a genuine character development arc.

I wanted to move into the third volume, but it starts with Cataclysm, so realistically I'm going to read that event in full including the Miles issues. I'd wanted to read that event anyway because I quite like Galactus, but this seems the right time. I've read the Hunger arc, which is a bit of a precursor to Cataclysm, but I'm moving on to the main Cataclysm arc now.

I didn't realise that Cataclysm happens because of how Age of Ultron ends, but by all accounts I don't need to read Age of Ultron, so I've just skipped to the end of my copy of AoU to see the opening of Cataclysm, but otherwise I'm leaving that event alone for now. It's not supposed to be very good, but I do want to read it at some point.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Alright, I’ve been reading a bit. I read Cataclysm in full, and really quite liked it. That left three runs to go before I was fully caught up with the Ultimate universe pre Secret Wars.

Ultimate Future Foundation was not good. Just a mess with bad art and bad storytelling. Miles Morales The Ultimate Spider-Man (so volume 3 of the first Bendis run on Miles) was good. I’ve seen some criticism of the fact that this just rehashes Ultimate Spider-Man characters, and that’s fair, but I enjoyed it. All New Ultimates was also not good. I actually really wanted to like this because I like the individual characters, but tried to do too much far too fast. The art was inconsistent, and the plot was a mess. Far too much going on.

So a couple of poor runs, and honestly the first runs I’ve read where I actively didn’t get into them. But that’s going to come with the territory when I have Marvel Unlimited. Glad I read them though, because I can now move to the 616 side of the Secret Wars pre reading.

 

[Nae'blis]

Just read that Discworld will be getting graphic novels! So excited!

Announcing the Discworld Graphic Novel Universe | Terry Pratchett

Announcing the launch of the Discworld graphic novel universe, bringing the work of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld to new readers.

terrypratchett.com

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Alright, I decided to focus on getting to Secret Wars, so I've started Hickman's Fantastic Four run. It's the first Hickman I've read, and I agree with Vash's assessment on the first Omnibus (so up to the start of Future Foundation) that there was a lot of build up, but I did like the payoff with

Spoiler

the death of Torch

.

So I'm onto Future Foundation now, and literally the first issue is better than the entire Ultimate Future Foundation. It was that bad, but actually also did borrow a surprising amount from the Atlantis sub arc of the first Hickman Omnibus. So it managed to be bad whilst also not being original. Impressive in is own way.

 

[VashTheStampede]

One of my close friends just started the Hickman FF run to try and learn about the team before the movie drops. Curious if he also has the same opinion as us as he progresses...

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Alright, it actually feels unfair to other writers how good this Hickman FF run is. I wasn’t a massive fan of the art style for Future Foundation past half way, but the actual interwoven story between Fantastic Four and Future Foundation for the third quarter is just sublime. I think Fantastic Four #604 might be my favourite individual comic book issue ever.

Spoiler

Where Nathaniel makes the point that 616 Reed could make one thing that the Council couldn’t, which was Franklin. And then at the end it goes back to Reed convincing Franklin to jump into his arms, and it finishes with him saying “Now, fly!” with Franklin jumping and silhouetted against the sun. May have hit harder because I’m a dad, but I think either way it’s just perfect storytelling.

 

[VashTheStampede]

I really did not give much of a flip for the Fantastic Four for most of my life but it totally hits WAY harder after you have a family of your own.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Alright, I've finished Hickman's Fantastic Four run. And wow. Just wow. Definitely the favourite run that I've read since I've started reading graphic novels properly. This is just on another level to other writing I've seen in this medium.

Going to hit a few others before I roll into Avengers, Infinity and Secret Wars, and Fraction's Hawkeye run is on that list, so I'll see how that compares. I'll probably read the post AvX split X-Men runs as well, given that I own them both, as well as Remender's Captain America run. All the reading guides I've seen not require any of that, but I just like the idea of reading some notable runs before the Secret Wars reset. I have the Secret Wars prelude and Last Days Of The Marvel Universe too, so I'll read them before the main event. Genuinely excited for this.

 

[VashTheStampede]

Were you going to mess around any with the Secret Wars Battleworld stuff?

It was kinda fun revisiting a lot of those old stories with new eyes and writers but it was pretty hit or miss. I have a soft spot for most of it though.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Were you going to mess around any with the Secret Wars Battleworld stuff?

It was kinda fun revisiting a lot of those old stories with new eyes and writers but it was pretty hit or miss. I have a soft spot for most of it though.

I've seen the list of all of the tie ins. I have to admit that I didn't realise just how expansive the event was, and that it involved so many alternative versions of well known stories, as well as the Battleworld stuff. I've seen a few reading lists that suggest going up to Secret Wars 6 and then just going through whichever tie ins you're interested in. So I'll get to that point and then just go for the ones that take my fancy. Almost certainly not all of it, but some do come more highly recommended than others. I've read that none of them are essential to the main story though, so it might be a case of dipping into a few to get a flavour for them, and then leaving them alone. Don't want to be side tracked from the main story for too long, particularly if I can just come back to them.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

So after watching Brave New World I'd been interested to read about Red Hulk's origin. The physical books and omnibus are pretty expensive and hard to get hold of now, so I started to read Loeb's 2008 run on Hulk on Marvel Unlimited. I'd seen reviews saying that it's cheesy, with over the top action, bad storytelling and bad dialogue. And all of that is absolutely correct. It's terrible. It's kind of like what would happen if Michael Bay wrote a graphic novel. Just lots of big fights where the next plot development is to bring in even more characters to fight. Not satisfying at all. Apparently Hulk does get better when Waid takes over with Indestructible Hulk, and I have that book in my collection. So I'm leaving Loeb alone now, which is the advantage of a digital subscription. Think I'm going to pivot to Busiek's Avengers run now in terms of digital reading. I know we're not getting Kang Dynasty in the MCU anymore, but it'd be nice to read a well regarding classic run before I get into Hickman's Avengers run.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

So, Busiek’s run. I think it starts pretty poorly to be honest. I appreciate that this was him bringing the main Avengers team back together after a while with more minor characters, but the dialogue and plots are so dated. They read more like the 1970s than the late 1990s. Something like No Man’s Land is just so much better.

So after 9 or so issues I skipped to Ultron Unlimited. Which was definitely still dated (Ultron in particular just talks like an actual person and isn’t really convincing at all) but was also definitely a notable improvement. The dialogue was better, as was the plot.

I then skipped to Kang Dynasty, and three issues in it is a massive leap again. I did enjoy Ultron Unlimited, but I was still largely going through the motions to finish the story. It never really gripped me. But already Kang Dynasty has been genuinely interesting, and the dated elements are pretty few and far between now. It feels so much more modern, and I’m looking forward to finishing it.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

To give an illustration of how much more modern Kang Dynasty is, here are two frames, one from Ultron Unlimited and one from Kang Dynasty. These are only about a year apart, but the difference in the art is incredible.

 

[VashTheStampede]

So I actually prefer the old art...but I prefer more modern writing and plotting usually. I had been on the fence about picking up the Busiek run but I think I'll pass for now based on your review.

I'm hip deep in the second Moon Knight omnibus currently, about to start his second solo series. The first one REALLY grew on me towards the end of the Moench/Sienkiewicz era (Sienkiewicz might be my all-time favorite artist) but sales did not match sadly and the book got canceled and relaunched a year later.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

So I actually prefer the old art...but I prefer more modern writing and plotting usually. I had been on the fence about picking up the Busiek run but I think I'll pass for now based on your review.

I'm hip deep in the second Moon Knight omnibus currently, about to start his second solo series. The first one REALLY grew on me towards the end of the Moench/Sienkiewicz era (Sienkiewicz might be my all-time favorite artist) but sales did not match sadly and the book got canceled and relaunched a year later.

Completely respect the view on the art. I do like the older art style, so that definitely isn’t what turned me off the run. Most certainly the dated dialogue and plot, so probably best leave at least the first couple of arcs alone.

 

[The Flame]

Never was a comic guy, but over the past maybe year I've been gradually getting into them. Started with the Adventure Zone books based on their podcast, which are solid so far.

When I finished bingeing Avatar last year I wanted to start Korra, but I learned there were comics that take place in between, so I started reading those. I've gotten through 2 of the 3 series so far and they've been great. Feels just like watching episodes of the show.

Marvel Rivals got me interested enough to finally try superhero stuff again. I remember I tried to start reading the first (or at least what I thought was the first) Deadpool comic forever ago, but I gave up immediately and don't think I had access to the whole thing anyway. But I found a free site that seems to have every comic I search for, and this time I went with the 2004 Punisher MAX series because I heard the Garth Ennis stuff was great. I read through the entire 75 issues pretty quickly and really enjoyed the vast majority of it. Felt like watching an old action movie. Only part I really disliked was 6 Hours to Kill because Frank suddenly looked like Christopher Eccleston and the writing got way goofier. Pretty good overall though as long as you aren't bothered by gore, slurs, and dark subject matter.

Spent the last month or so reading through the Infinity event next and I don't really know what to think. It wasn't bad, but I feel like I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I had read it much later. There were a LOT of characters and ongoing storylines that I was not familiar with at all, so it was hard to follow at times.

Spoiler

I remember I googled Star Brand and it was like "this guy has infinite power limited only by his imagination" so all I could think was "how does this guy not just solo everything if he's that strong?", but dude kinda just blew a couple things up. The deus ex machina ending with Thane also felt weird to me, but I guess they were just trying to set up the next story.

I got Vox Machina Origins I & II for Christmas and finally got around to reading all of that in one go last night. Thought it was alright but nothing mind-blowing. Heard it wasn't as good as their future books, so I'll probably still check out Critical Role's other stuff.

Not sure what I'll go for next. I bought the first Walking Dead book probably a decade ago and still haven't touched it, and I think I might still have an Adventure Zone book left. As far as Marvel stuff, I was thinking of checking out Loki: Agent of Asgard, but it sounds like there's a lot of stuff before it that I might be better off starting with.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Spent the last month or so reading through the Infinity event next and I don't really know what to think. It wasn't bad, but I feel like I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I had read it much later. There were a LOT of characters and ongoing storylines that I was not familiar with at all, so it was hard to follow at times.

Infinity is in the run of books that I have coming up next, which will lead me to Secret Wars. By all accounts quite a complex story that isn't really suited to being one of the first that you read. How are you accessing these comics? Digitally or are they physical books that you have? I just ask because it can affect recommendations for where you go next. I started with Avengers Disassembled with Marvel and then followed the Comic Book Herald Guide here. I read the Wade Fantastic Four Run later but it is really good. I've not read the Daredevil run yet.

I have read all of the Walking Dead and I would absolutely recommend it.

 

[The Flame]

Infinity is in the run of books that I have coming up next, which will lead me to Secret Wars. By all accounts quite a complex story that isn't really suited to being one of the first that you read. How are you accessing these comics? Digitally or are they physical books that you have? I just ask because it can affect recommendations for where you go next. I started with Avengers Disassembled with Marvel and then followed the Comic Book Herald Guide here. I read the Wade Fantastic Four Run later but it is really good. I've not read the Daredevil run yet.

I have read all of the Walking Dead and I would absolutely recommend it.

I've been using a site called Read Comic Online. I haven't come across a comic yet that they haven't had, and I've seen a lot of obscure-looking stuff on there, so any suggestions should be fine. Aside from random Reddit discussions, I was partially using ChatGPT for recommendations, so you can blame that for me reading Infinity lol. I fed it a bunch of my interests and dislikes and that was one of the ones it spit out at me. I don't think it was the worst recommendation because it was cool to see what the MCU was inspired by, but it was definitely a lot more complex than I expected. Still got some cool moments out of it anyway.

I really do need to get around to Walking Dead at some point. I've always heard the books were good, and I was one of the few people who liked the show enough to stick with it until Rick left. I know they changed a ton of stuff for the show, so it'd be cool to see what's different.