So in my review for 300 I saw in the comments that Mom and Dad were both reading the Frank Miller comics although it sounds like comics are not Mom’s style. Working at a geek place like Microsoft has exposed me to some really quality comics in the last year or so (my co-worker Steve is the maven of all that is good in pop culture). So I thought that I would give a recommendation or two. I really love that the Kirkland library carries comic collections, I don’t think that I would ever buy these on my own (too pricy) but by checking them out, I’m having a lot of fun.
Ex Machina
This series by Brian K. Vaughan is basically the story of the one man in the world who has superpowers and how he fairs after getting elected mayor of New York. Despite that opening sentence, it’s entirely serious in tone as it covers his first one hundred days in office while flashing back to his previous career as a superhero.
Invincible
To use the format of the SATs: Movies::Comics as “The Incredibles”::Invincible. Invincible is aimed more at kids (or at least has no adult content, unlike many other trendy comics) but like “The Incredibles” it contains a lot of humor that adults would appreciate as well. It drops much of the angst that drips over modern comics and focuses on why comics were fun in the first place. That being watching teenagers learn how to control their superpowers while still living normal lives (think the Spiderman movie as well).
Fables
This one is my personally favorite; it has a great story and the best artwork of any of these comics (the “Homelands” collection from Fables is sublime). This book covers a self-regulated community of fairy tale creatures that are forced out of their home country (and into New York) by an invading force. The characters are compelling, the plots are original and the action is well paced. Really, there should be no reason for anyone who likes fairy tales to not read this series.
Bone
A combination of Pogo and The Lord of the Rings. Falls into the same category as Invincible in that you don’t need adult content to tell an adult story. Sometimes the blend of humorous sections with dramatic fantasy storytelling can be a little odd. But if you reach the end of this series and you don’t care for the characters then you are mean and heartless and I don’t like you at all. If anyone ever needs an idea for a gift for Ian just pick up the massive one volume collection of this comic.
Y: The last man
Another Brian K. Vaughan comic series which I enjoy, but might stop reading soon. It’s gotten a little too heavy into the violence and sex for me recently. Wikipedia has a great summary, so I’ll just steal it.
“Y: The Last Man is Vaughan's attempt to subvert the classic male fantasy of being the last man on earth. In the series, something (speculated to be a plague) simultaneously kills every mammal possessing a Y chromosome - including embryos, fertilized eggs, and even sperm - with the exception of Yorick Brown, a young amateur escape artist, and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand.
Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivors' guilt, and the knowledge that humanity is doomed to extinction. Vaughan meticulously crafts the new society that emerges out of this chaos, from the conversion of the phallic Washington Monument to a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist Daughters of the Amazon, who believe that Mother Earth cleansed itself of the "aberration" of the Y chromosome, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.
Over the course of their journey, Yorick and his friends discover how society has coped in the aftermath of the plague. However, many of the women they encounter have ulterior motives in regard to Yorick. Though the subject matter of the series is entirely serious, Y: The Last Man is also noted for its humor. Yorick in particular is a source of one-liners, although the other characters have their moments as well.”
~Ian
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2 comments:
Ironically, we purchased the Bone "biiiig book" for my Dad last Christmas. He has intermittently harbored aspirations of being a comic book artist. He said he read through it and liked it (btw, we only knew it because Ian had brought home one of the volumes for Christmas--3 years ago?).
Bone I can stand behind! I've heard of most of those, but sadly have no access to them.
I'd like to point out that the Gunslinger has a comic series. There's currently two issues, and I can vouch for the first one being cool. Of course there will be 7 of them, and they'll eventually be collated. Cool stuff.
Yeah, it can be hard to get access to comics considering how expensive they are. I don't think that I would have read any of these if not for the greater Seattle library exchange system.
Although for the most recent Fables collection I did the whole "go to Barnes and Noble and read the whole stinking thing in like an hour." Honestly, it should not cost the same for a comic that I can read in 45 min. as it does for a used video game that will give me a minimum of 10 hours of so of amusement.
Yeah, I heard that the Gunslinger is hot stuff, as soon as the collection is out I'll have to start checking the library catalog.
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