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Lesser Known (relatively) Comics for those who want to get into comics.
- Thread starter Angelus Errare
- Start date
- Status
The Walking Dead is a summer vacation compared to Crossed. You would have to read it to understand.
That's kinda the point. They throw it in your face that this is a world that is essentially a living hell for those that are trying to survive knowing what happens if they don't. And then they pound it home, repeatedly.
Hey now, it's not for everyone. Its one of the few times I would honestly agree that the use of a trigger warning would make sense.
Did you find it worth reading?
Everyone really needs to read Locke & Key - I found it captivating. Some of the best horror I've ever read.
yeah, they've come a loooonnnggg way since Savage Dragon lmao
yeah, they've come a loooonnnggg way since Savage Dragon lmao
Spuck-uk
Banned
The problem with the comic is, underneath all the shock value, it's basically just a less interesting Walking Dead.
You can be shocking AND interesting, which is why Preacher is great, and Crossed isn't.
Suggestions:
The Filth, if The Invisibles wasn't mind-bending enough
Like a Velvet Glove cast in Iron. Blistering insanity from the writer of Ghost World
Transmetropolitan, because it's truly one of a kind, and my favourite.
RockTurtle
Member
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel?
anyone that even vaguely knows about superman should give this one a read.
even the art has meaning.
there's one shot of superman and lex together that made me look at superman in a way i hadn't before and for one split second i understood Lex's thematic fear of him.
Don't let The Take Out Bandit hear you. Oh wait, he's gone
oh yeah, i remember him
what happened?
Another comic that might not be so well know, Atomic Robo.
It stars Tesla's greatest creation, a robot capable of independent thought and learning going on super science adventures.
Self-imposed exile. Don't remember what made him want to leave exactly. Maybe he thought gaf was taking too much of his time?
It stars Tesla's greatest creation, a robot capable of independent thought and learning going on super science adventures.
Self-imposed exile. Don't remember what made him want to leave exactly. Maybe he thought gaf was taking too much of his time?
I have my copy of #1 signed by BKV but I'm waiting for it to wrap up before I dive in... it was killer waiting month to month to read it.
He has no plans on stopping any time soon. You could be waiting a very very long time. Multiple years likely.
i know, i'm not going anywhere any time soon
PirateKing
Junior Member
Awesome thread. Been looking for something like this for a while
Angelus Errare
Banned
Accurate.
torre_avenue
Banned
Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is my recommendation. It's one of the best comics out there, with each arc dripping in atmosphere. It's a neo-noir / crime comic, too. I hope Brubaker & Phillips haven't forgot about it, and give us the conclusion to the story they were telling.
Also, Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. It's one of the funniest comic books I've ever read, and really makes use of some lesser known Marvel characters, like Fing Fang Foom, Machine Man, and Elsa Bloodstone. It's 12 issues of hyper-kinetic action coupled with self-aware jokes and absolute absurdity.
Also, Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. It's one of the funniest comic books I've ever read, and really makes use of some lesser known Marvel characters, like Fing Fang Foom, Machine Man, and Elsa Bloodstone. It's 12 issues of hyper-kinetic action coupled with self-aware jokes and absolute absurdity.
I'd like to recommend Scalped, if you haven't read it already. The way it touches on native/indigenous peoples' issues is some of the rawest shit ever.
And his new series, Southern Bastards!
Rug Monkey
Member
For balance ... some non-USA/UK comics I've really enjoyed:
Wake
Morvan/Buchet
Valerian and Laureline
Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières
Luc Besson employed the artist for the design of The Fifth Element and is currently developing V n L as a movie.
The Chimpanzee Complex
Maranzano/Ponzio
Blacksad
Diaz Carnales/Guarnido
Anthropomorphic comic noir.
Wake
Morvan/Buchet
Valerian and Laureline
Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières
Luc Besson employed the artist for the design of The Fifth Element and is currently developing V n L as a movie.
The Chimpanzee Complex
Maranzano/Ponzio
Blacksad
Diaz Carnales/Guarnido
Anthropomorphic comic noir.
sixpackrules
Member
Many, many great comics here, is a pretty good time to be a comicbook fan i want to add
Incognito and sleeper by Ed Brubaker is more pulp than noir but is still pretty great and Hitman by Ennis and mccrea and from Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker Gotham Central or what is like to be a cop in a world where Batman roams the streets
Incognito and sleeper by Ed Brubaker is more pulp than noir but is still pretty great and Hitman by Ennis and mccrea and from Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker Gotham Central or what is like to be a cop in a world where Batman roams the streets
The Way of the Rat is a fantasy adventure book in a Chinese setting. It ended early as the publisher went under, but the first several stories are great. It may be hard to find.
Ex Machina is something comic fans know of, but those that don't visit shops may have never heard of. It's written by Brian K. Vaughn who is one of the modern greats. Modern sci-fi with some socially-oriented stories.
Chew is a humorous elseworld's tale I suggest getting in to for light fare.
Ex Machina is something comic fans know of, but those that don't visit shops may have never heard of. It's written by Brian K. Vaughn who is one of the modern greats. Modern sci-fi with some socially-oriented stories.
Chew is a humorous elseworld's tale I suggest getting in to for light fare.
I'm glad Saga is in the OP.
I truly believe Saga is on some next level shit that will end up as a major film or TV series someday. Everything about it top notch and I feel that it's really accessible to non-comic readers. The pacing and everything is spot on.
I've gotten my previous two girlfriends into it and they never read comics.
I truly believe Saga is on some next level shit that will end up as a major film or TV series someday. Everything about it top notch and I feel that it's really accessible to non-comic readers. The pacing and everything is spot on.
I've gotten my previous two girlfriends into it and they never read comics.
I'm waiting until the story is further along before going in. Maybe when they reach volume 6 or 7.
Eh. I read it for awhile, but I eventually got bored with it.
No way. And I love current-day Image.
squarerootofpie
Neo Member
I'm not sure if any of these have been posted but
Wytches by Scott Snyder, such an incredible comic. Art work is stunning and the story is amazingly creepy.
Across the globe, century after century, men and women were burned, drowned, hanged, tortured, imprisoned, persecuted, and murdered for witchcraft. None of them were witches. They died protecting a terrible and hidden truth: witches, real witches, are out there. They are ancient, elusive, and deadly creatures that are rarely seen and even more rarely survived.
Divinity by Matt Kindt
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union – determined to win the Space Race at any cost – green lit a dangerously advanced mission. They sent a man farther into the cosmos than anyone has gone before or since. Lost in the stars, he encountered something unknown. Something that…changed him.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn
Although I feel like this is already way too popular to be included!
The series is heavily influenced by Star Wars, and based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent. It depicts two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series.
The Wicked & The Divine by Kieron Gillen
Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead.
The Wake by Snyder & Murphy
When Marine Biologist Lee Archer is approached by the Department of Homeland Security for help with a new threat, she declines, but quickly realizes they won’t take no for an answer. Soon she is plunging to the depths of the Arctic Circle to a secret, underwater oilrig where they’ve discovered something miraculous and terrifying...
EDIT:
Fables by Bill Willingham
Once upon a time, a beautiful princess cared for seven amiable dwarves and waited anxiously for her Prince, so they could live happily ever aft—oh, get real! Ms. White is no kept woman! She dumped that two-timing Prince Charming ages ago. Now she’s trying to avoid her attraction to the Big Bad Wolf. And don’t get her started on how much time she’s wasting bailing out her anarchist sister Rose Red and trying to keep the Three Little Pigs off the picket line. It’s all in a day’s work since she became Mayor of Fabletown…
American Vampire Scott Snyder & Rafael Albuquerque
Chronicling the history of a new breed of vampire, American Vampire is a fresh look at an old monster, a generational epic showcasing the bloodlust that lay hidden beneath America’s most distinctive eras.
Like most good stories, it all starts with a question: What if vampires, like all species, evolved? What if, occasionally across generations, a vampire bites someone and creates a new kind of creature—a vampire that takes its strengths and weaknesses—not just from its predecessors, but its environment. So when crusty old Europeans come to the American Old West and turn a thoroughly corrupt gunslinger named Skinner Sweet into even more of a monster, he becomes something entirely new: a new breed of vampire immune to sunlight, one that hates every last one of his aristocratic European ancestors.
Again, kind of popular so not really sure if it counts.
Postal by Matt Hawkins (haven't gotten around tor eading this but really want to)
The townsfolk of Eden, Wyoming wake up to the first official murder the town has seen in 25 years. Their reaction to this isn’t normal, and there’s a reason for that. Eden operates as a haven for fugitive criminals who remain here while new identities, often including facial reconstruction, are created for them. There is zero tolerance for any illegal activity that might draw attention to the town and an “official murder” is the last thing they want. A single, tight-knit family runs Eden with the youngest oddball son Mark Shiffron overseeing the postal branch, the only means of shipping in or out of the city. THE FBI has repeatedly been foiled trying to insert an undercover here; they see Mark as the weak link to exploit. This murder gives them a new opportunity.
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The Surface by Ales Kot (hasn't come out yet, but looking forward to it!)
What would happen if Moebius and District 9 had a baby? Maybe THE SURFACE! Welcome to Africa. Ebola is no longer a problem. The West and the East are moving in—and three hacker lovers are searching Tanzania for the place that can change everything: THE SURFACE!
Nameless by Grant Morrison (again, haven't gotten around to starting it, but heard it's good)
An astronomer kills his family, then himself, leaving a cryptic warning. A Veiled Lady hunts her victims through human nightmares. An occult hustler known only as 'Nameless' is recruited by a consortium of billionaire futurists for a desperate mission. And the malevolent asteroid Xibalba spins closer on a collision course with Earth. But nothing is what it seems—a terrifying inhuman experiment is about to begin. Abandon all hope and experience ultimate horror in NAMELESS.
Wytches by Scott Snyder, such an incredible comic. Art work is stunning and the story is amazingly creepy.
Across the globe, century after century, men and women were burned, drowned, hanged, tortured, imprisoned, persecuted, and murdered for witchcraft. None of them were witches. They died protecting a terrible and hidden truth: witches, real witches, are out there. They are ancient, elusive, and deadly creatures that are rarely seen and even more rarely survived.
Divinity by Matt Kindt
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union – determined to win the Space Race at any cost – green lit a dangerously advanced mission. They sent a man farther into the cosmos than anyone has gone before or since. Lost in the stars, he encountered something unknown. Something that…changed him.
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn
Although I feel like this is already way too popular to be included!
The series is heavily influenced by Star Wars, and based on ideas Vaughan conceived both as a child and as a parent. It depicts two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series.
The Wicked & The Divine by Kieron Gillen
Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead.
The Wake by Snyder & Murphy
When Marine Biologist Lee Archer is approached by the Department of Homeland Security for help with a new threat, she declines, but quickly realizes they won’t take no for an answer. Soon she is plunging to the depths of the Arctic Circle to a secret, underwater oilrig where they’ve discovered something miraculous and terrifying...
EDIT:
Fables by Bill Willingham
Once upon a time, a beautiful princess cared for seven amiable dwarves and waited anxiously for her Prince, so they could live happily ever aft—oh, get real! Ms. White is no kept woman! She dumped that two-timing Prince Charming ages ago. Now she’s trying to avoid her attraction to the Big Bad Wolf. And don’t get her started on how much time she’s wasting bailing out her anarchist sister Rose Red and trying to keep the Three Little Pigs off the picket line. It’s all in a day’s work since she became Mayor of Fabletown…
American Vampire Scott Snyder & Rafael Albuquerque
Chronicling the history of a new breed of vampire, American Vampire is a fresh look at an old monster, a generational epic showcasing the bloodlust that lay hidden beneath America’s most distinctive eras.
Like most good stories, it all starts with a question: What if vampires, like all species, evolved? What if, occasionally across generations, a vampire bites someone and creates a new kind of creature—a vampire that takes its strengths and weaknesses—not just from its predecessors, but its environment. So when crusty old Europeans come to the American Old West and turn a thoroughly corrupt gunslinger named Skinner Sweet into even more of a monster, he becomes something entirely new: a new breed of vampire immune to sunlight, one that hates every last one of his aristocratic European ancestors.
Again, kind of popular so not really sure if it counts.
Postal by Matt Hawkins (haven't gotten around tor eading this but really want to)
The townsfolk of Eden, Wyoming wake up to the first official murder the town has seen in 25 years. Their reaction to this isn’t normal, and there’s a reason for that. Eden operates as a haven for fugitive criminals who remain here while new identities, often including facial reconstruction, are created for them. There is zero tolerance for any illegal activity that might draw attention to the town and an “official murder” is the last thing they want. A single, tight-knit family runs Eden with the youngest oddball son Mark Shiffron overseeing the postal branch, the only means of shipping in or out of the city. THE FBI has repeatedly been foiled trying to insert an undercover here; they see Mark as the weak link to exploit. This murder gives them a new opportunity.
The Surface by Ales Kot (hasn't come out yet, but looking forward to it!)
What would happen if Moebius and District 9 had a baby? Maybe THE SURFACE! Welcome to Africa. Ebola is no longer a problem. The West and the East are moving in—and three hacker lovers are searching Tanzania for the place that can change everything: THE SURFACE!
Nameless by Grant Morrison (again, haven't gotten around to starting it, but heard it's good)
An astronomer kills his family, then himself, leaving a cryptic warning. A Veiled Lady hunts her victims through human nightmares. An occult hustler known only as 'Nameless' is recruited by a consortium of billionaire futurists for a desperate mission. And the malevolent asteroid Xibalba spins closer on a collision course with Earth. But nothing is what it seems—a terrifying inhuman experiment is about to begin. Abandon all hope and experience ultimate horror in NAMELESS.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
God Hates Astronauts.
You start by reading the webcomic which is available here: http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/
You start by reading the webcomic which is available here: http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/
I think the comic is still ongoing, though if I'm not mistaken it mostly just tells stories now.
squarerootofpie
Neo Member
Ahh, I get them on a monthly basis (I love the covers so much I want them all!) such an incredible series. If I could find anything similar I would be over the moon, waiting so long for them is so tough
Captain_Spanky
Member
Fun Home is great! Highly recommended.
My recommendations:
Fear Agent Heath Huston is the last Fear Agent. He spends his days drifting through space taking odd jobs as an alien exterminator and slowly drinking himself to death. Who were the Fear Agents, why is Heath the last one and other questions will be answered in this fast paced tribute to 1950s sci-fi comics.
This description doesn't really do it justice. I mean this is just an all round classic of a series. Written by Rick Remender (who wrote, among other things, Bulletstorm. WAIT! STAY. I mean if you'd played the game you'd be staying, it had a great story) this isn't just a trip through old sci-fi tropes. Yes there are weird ass aliens, fights, gore, cliffhangers every issue, femme fatales and a rough talking, hard living anti-hero. But it uses these tropes to tell a complex (but easy to follow) story that explores grief, vengeance and regret in a surprisingly powerful and moving manner. It is utterly brilliant and has some fantastic art work from various artists (two main actually, they rotate every 4 or so issues, as each 4 is a "chapter", and guest artists for "TALES FROM THE FEAR AGENT" shorts at the back of several issues). Please read it. please.
Locke and Key Their father murdered in a surprisingly sudden and brutal attack the Locke family move in with his brother at the ancestral Locke family estate in Lovecraft, New England. Bode, the youngest, makes friend with a mysterious woman named Dodge that lives in the well in their grounds and discovers a magical key that lets him separate his soul from his body. How these elements are linked will be revealed in this 6 volume series by Joe Hill with art by Gabriel Rodriguez.
This is probably my favorite comic, I recommend it to everyone. It's smartly paced and cleverly plotted and Rodriguez's background as an architect give even the most outlandish of scenes a palpable sense of reality. There's literally no flaws with it whatsoever. It's perfect. I'd say more but I don't want to ruin it for anyone. If you like mythology heavy stories with genuine payoff, dark, horror based fantasy excellent and believable character growth and a strong emotional core this is for you.
More_Badass
Member
I actually just read the first two volumes yesterday. Really enjoyed it, fun characters, great action, a quirky and interesting world.
Tizoc
Member
i KNEW i forgot a series, man I hadn't read Atomic Robo in ages =/
TheBlackMarvel
Member
Can't believe I forgot about this before.
A few books I'm surprised have not been mentioned yet -
Mind MGMT
Matt Kindt, Dark Horse Comics
Meru Marlow is a one hit wonder author, working on her second book that's giving her a long term mental block. Under pressure from her publisher to get something out of the door she focuses on a mysterious flight where the passengers all lost their memory, and is drawn into a world of espionage and the one man who truly knows how everything happened.
This is a great espionage mystery book. You should absolutely read it, and the trades are cheap. The first arc is self contained (with an ending, just in case it was cancelled), so you've no risk to trying it and seeing if you like it without a resolution.
Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye
James Roberts, IDW Comics
The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons is over, and looking for something to do Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and a rag tag band of misfits take to the stars onboard the ship The Lost Light, searching for the mythical Knights Of Cybertron.
I know what people think - it's a Transformers book. But this is one of the best comics on the stands, with humour and pathos in equal measure, together with dense plotting, good dialogue and intricate world building. Most of the characters were previously unexplored (with a couple of exceptions), so you shouldn't be too lost coming in, and you won't regret it.
Zero
Ales Kot, Image Comics
Edward Zero is the best badass covert agent they have, trained from childhood to be a remorseless and loyal killer. And after something happens to him he realises he's on the wrong side.
Zero has a pretty Metal Gear vibe with the future-ish tech joined to a more traditional spy thriller plot, and it's just great.
Mind MGMT
Matt Kindt, Dark Horse Comics
Meru Marlow is a one hit wonder author, working on her second book that's giving her a long term mental block. Under pressure from her publisher to get something out of the door she focuses on a mysterious flight where the passengers all lost their memory, and is drawn into a world of espionage and the one man who truly knows how everything happened.
This is a great espionage mystery book. You should absolutely read it, and the trades are cheap. The first arc is self contained (with an ending, just in case it was cancelled), so you've no risk to trying it and seeing if you like it without a resolution.
Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye
James Roberts, IDW Comics
The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons is over, and looking for something to do Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and a rag tag band of misfits take to the stars onboard the ship The Lost Light, searching for the mythical Knights Of Cybertron.
I know what people think - it's a Transformers book. But this is one of the best comics on the stands, with humour and pathos in equal measure, together with dense plotting, good dialogue and intricate world building. Most of the characters were previously unexplored (with a couple of exceptions), so you shouldn't be too lost coming in, and you won't regret it.
Zero
Ales Kot, Image Comics
Edward Zero is the best badass covert agent they have, trained from childhood to be a remorseless and loyal killer. And after something happens to him he realises he's on the wrong side.
Zero has a pretty Metal Gear vibe with the future-ish tech joined to a more traditional spy thriller plot, and it's just great.
Bought this yesterday because of you. I had it on my list for a while but it was always sold out. Your post reminded me to check again and it was in stock! It came today. So far so good!Like a Velvet Glove cast in Iron. Blistering insanity from the writer of Ghost World
Update: This book is fucked up.
Astro City has a quality even some of the best comics don't - it's often very touching. I've read nearly everything Kurt Busiek has done in the last decade and puts that quality into everything he writes. Makes reading his stuff a unique experience. I think Astro City is the best example of it, though. One of the best comics I've read, I'd put it up with Miracleman and Grant Morrison's Animal Man run in my favorites.
This reminds me of Noble Causes by Jay Faerber.
It's about the closest I've seen to a Superhero soap opera. So much melodrama, it's too bad that Faerber didn't quite know how to finish it, but it was a fun ride anyhow. Total guilty pleasure.
God Hates Astronauts.
You start by reading the webcomic which is available here: http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/
This reminds me of Noble Causes by Jay Faerber.
It's about the closest I've seen to a Superhero soap opera. So much melodrama, it's too bad that Faerber didn't quite know how to finish it, but it was a fun ride anyhow. Total guilty pleasure.
beat
Member
And it's going to a free webcomic / paid tpb model. They've already started: http://www.atomic-robo.com/
Speaking of which, Warren Ellis did this for a close-ended story with a then-new artist (Paul Duffield, I believe) called Freakangels. It was great and I think the website is still up. I bought all the trades anyways because it's great.
my name is ed
Banned
Now you got me curious.
To continue speaking of Warren Ellis, I dont have any connection with the "Supreme" characters, and very little with Ellis, but:
Has been really trippy and really good so far.
Inter-dimensional mysteries and quite possibly murder.
Tula Lotay is gonna blow up. I buy this book just because of that art.
The art is fantastic to be sure, and definitely compliments the out-there story.
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