What comic books/graphic novels are you reading at the moment?

[alexvss]

No Longer Human. The story of a famous Japanese writer who committed suicide, told by Junji Ito. Based on the novel of the same name.

Ito is a master of Horror, so much so that he can turn anything, no matter how mundane, into dreadful things. This may be, with the exception of his cat and dog diaries, and Rasputin, his most “normal” story. But it is as terrifying as his most Eldritch works. And it all comes down to his drawings.

Strongly Recommended.

 

[Culhwch]

I have a bunch of e-graphic novels I have picked up through Humble Bundles or cheap on Comixology, and I've started finally wading though them.

Today was Southern Bastards Vol. 1, by the Jasons Aaron and Latour. I will say I'm not a huge fan of the dirty, gritty, sketchy art style, but it does work here, for the story that the pair are telling. Kind of Reacher by way of Friday Night Lights. Really engaging, simple story-telling, with an unexpected ending.

Spoiler: Ending

It actually really bummed me out, I really wasn't prepared for how bleak it was. I finished it on the train on the way home from work tonight and I just kind of sat there for a minute processing it, possibly with my jaw slightly dropped....

 

[Culhwch]

I finished Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley today. I read the Fantastic Four version of this recently, but I much preferred this one - even though I'm not generally a big fan of Spidey in his own titles.

The concept is simple - what if Spider-Man had actually aged throughout the eras he's swung through as a teen or twenty-something? It visits all the big stops on the way - Goblin, Doc Ock, Gwen, MJ, the Clone Saga, Secret Wars, Civil War, and more. And in the end surprisingly moving.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Prompted by a mention hereabouts on another thread of Kirby's Fourth World books at DC I realised I hadn't read my copy of OMAC for a while. It's such an odd comic. Really weirdly crypto-fascistic and totalitarian and liberal egalitarianism in equal measure with Kirby at his most show AND tell. Every page's super-science Kapow! action is described in word bubbles and captions in each panel. And it contains one of the best lines in comic history when, in issue 2, OMAC, who we have been told is dead, is revived, sits up, and says, "It's great to be alive again---".

I think it's probably my favourite Kirby and a pity that it was cancelled so quickly. Things were just getting interesting and it ended in mid adventure with OMAC de-OMACed and reverted to his dweeby former self and the wonderfully creepy weird Doctor Skuba in the middle of stealing the world's oceans.

My self-bound copy of the whole run:

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

Last year I discovered the Astro City Metrobook volumes. The first volume was one of the best superhero comics I'd read in a long time. Since then I've been reading the series slowly. Next to get is vol. 4. Many, many years I read and liked Kurt Busiek's Marvels, but aside from that I barely knew his comics. My motivation was to give non-Big Two comics a try.

 

[Rodders]

2000AD: The Helltrekkers.



I've been getting back into one of the architects of my you by way of reading the Judge Dredd and the 2000AD strips. It's been quite wonderful.

Helltrekkers is a story set in the Judge Dredd universe where a convoy of homesteads depart Mega City One to cross the hell that is the Cursed Earth for a better life in the New Territories.

I had kind of merged this with Patrick Tilley's Amtrak Wars in my head, so reading it again after so long has seperated them somewhat.

 

[Chris von shannow]

Dune part one

 

[Chris von shannow]

I have Legend by Gemmell

 

[Rodders]

Tales From The Black Museum



I always adored the 2000AD anthology stories, but I don’t remember these at all. Should be great fun.

 

[Rodders]

FInished Tales From The Black Museum. It was enjoyable enough, but i was expecting more and was a little underwhelmed by it.

Now on to Tharg's Creepy Chronicles.