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[FortNinety]

Hope you don't mind me helping a few friends out, but I just wanted to spread the word on one the best comics everyone should be reading: Quicken Forbidden.

Here's look at the cover:

This edition is volume 2 and collects issues 6-10, plus there an all new 8 page bonus story.

Instead of telling you what Quicken Forbidden is, I'll simply quote the book's tag-line, which is <em>"What if Alice came back from Wonderland, and Wonderland came back with her?"</em>

QF is seriously one of the best comics going on today, and I'm not just saying that cuz I'm friends with the creators. It's sharply written, with a story that's totally unpredictable and wonderfully paced, and features some damn fine art. Plus it stars one of the best flesh-out characters in comics today. I simply cannot say enough good things about it, and the fact that it was recently nominated for the very prestigious Harvey Awards proves that others feel just as strongly.

You can order it right now at your local comic shop via Diamond Previews (if you don't know what that is, just mentioned it at the store; they should know what you're talking about). It should be listed on page 206, plus there's a really nice ad for it on page 205.

And just in case, it might help to know that Diamond Order Code JUL04 2530, is published by AIT/PlanetLar, and is available for just $14.95. Do my friends, small press comics, and yourself of course a big favor and order your copy today!

And for more info on the comic, just check out their official site, http://www.quickenforbidden.com/.

 

[FnordChan]

I've been meaning to check out Quicken Forbidden for ages. Tell your friends your plug worked; I'll be picking up the first trade in the near future.

FnordChan

 

[FortNinety]

Awseome! I passed along the good word to the writer, and he's quite pleased. Thank you!

 

[Dujour]

I think Matlock requested I read Powers: Who Killer Retro Girl? I might be going to the comic shop in the city today, so please! tell me what I have to catch up on. And then Buddy told me something about... pillows? I kinda forgot. :/

 

[Yossarian]

you mean Blankets?

 

[FnordChan]

I think Matlock requested I read Powers: Who Killer Retro Girl? I might be going to the comic shop in the city today, so please! tell me what I have to catch up on. And then Buddy told me something about... pillows? I kinda forgot. :/

Give us a quick list of the sort of comics (or books, movies, whatnot) you've already enjoyed and we can give you some feedback. Powers is a good solid choice to begin with, doing a great job of a police proceedural in a superhero world. I'm not sure what Buddy was referring to, alas. Do you like fantasy? Zombies? Wacky hijinx? Straight up adventure?

FnordChan

 

[Dujour]

Yeah, Blankets! I've read:
Batman: The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, all the miller ones, Dark Victory.
Watchmen
Spider-Man: Blue

I'll pick up Daredevil: Yellow and Maybe the Hulk one that Loeb and Sale did. I just want to read good comics, not just one certain, um, genre.

 

[shoplifter]

I'll pimp it again:

 

[FnordChan]

I just want to read good comics, not just one certain, um, genre.

Okay, works for me. Let's see:

- If you liked Frank Miller's Batman, be sure to check out his 80s Daredevil material, particularly Born Again and Elektra: Assassin.

- If you have any interest in zombies whatsoever, check out The Walking Dead: Days Gone By. It collects the first six issues for a mere ten bucks and is top notch horror, capturing the vibe of the George Romero Dead films.

- It wouldn't be GAF if I didn't plug Sleeper, the saga of a superhero turned deep cover agent in a supervillian group...perhaps a bit too deep cover. The first collection, Out in the Cold is readily available.

- On the manga front I can't recommend Planetes highly enough. It's charcter-driven hard SF about space exploration and the poor bastards who clean up debris from Earth's orbit. Even Nomo likes it! Three volumes are out, but the first will do ya just fine and is only $10. In a completely different vein, Miyazaki's Nausicaa is freakin' astounding and available in a lavish new edition. It's far future fantasy about a world slowly recovering from ecological disaster, the rise of a new threat to what's left of the planet, and a young woman named Nausicaa who has the power to change everything. It's lavish, beautiful stuff, filled with intricate world-building and environmental themes, as well as the charm and heart Miyazaki's known for. Seven volumes total, with the fifth being released this week. Again, ten bucks.

- Finally, a few recommendations from the fine folks at Oni Press. Blue Monday is romantic comedy about a teenage girl growing up in the late 80s. Key influences here are boatloads of manga, Britpop, and wacky hijinx galore. Start with the first collection, The Kids Are Alright. And, in an entirely different vein, try one of the Courtney Crumrin titles, about a middle-school girl who begins to learn magic. It's like Harry Potter, but not, and has a great Goreyesque macabre vibe to the whole thing. The first volume is Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things and is just grand. Finally, my favorite Oni release is still Whiteout, the story of a female Secret Service agent who sent into exile at a South Pole research facility, where she finds herself dealing with a homicide. If you liked any of Greg Rucka's Batman writing, here's where he got his start in comics. All of the Oni titles are around $12 or so.

Good luck at the comic shop, and let us know what you like!

FnordChan

 

[FortNinety]

Wow, I didn't realize that there was love for Craig Thompson on the GAF!

Well for those of you who love super powered teen angst, I've got another comic for you, done by the same duo that does Quicken Forbidden, Teen Boat!

Once again, the tag-line says it all: "The ANGST of being a teen... the THRILL of being a boat!" It's a pretty hilarious read, and quickly becoming a cult sensation of sorts; it does phenomenally well at every con it appears at. Hell, at the recent MoCCA art fest in NYC, Isaac from the Love Boat got himself a copy...

If that doesn't convince you to start reading Teen Boat, nothing will. To find out more, and to order a copy, simply go here:

http://www.opticalsloth.com/authors/john_green.htm

Also, be sure check out Astronaut Elementary, written and drawn by the writer of QF, Dave Roman. Aside from the strips on that aforementioned page, you can check out a new installment every week here:

http://www.girlamatic.com/series.php?name=astronautelementary&view=current

Yes, you'll have to pay to check out the full archives, but it's soooo worth it; there's tons of awesome comics to check out and you'll be supporting those who make them, for just pennies a day!

Speaking of others, if you're into more down to earth stories which anyone can relate to ( stuff like Blankets), be sure to check out Smile by Raina Telegemeier, who's also a friend of mine and Dave's....

http://www.girlamatic.com/series.php?name=takeoutcomics&view=current

 

[FnordChan]

You know the creators of Teen Boat? Okay, you win. Teen Boat rules, and would completely whip Seaguy in a fight.

FnordChan

 

[FortNinety]

You know the creators of Teen Boat?

Indeed I do!

Hey, FnordChan, you're a mod right? How about making that my tag? That or I'll gladly take the one I had before GAF went Neo, which referred to my love for Virtua Hamster.

 

[Crazymoogle]

As a heavy manga and TPB buyer who has been operating under a "I will never buy one of those shitty pamphlet sized comics again" motto, I have to admit Teen Boat looked pretty schoolin' the last time GAF covered it.

And yeah Fort Ninety, Craig gets a big thumbs up around here. I only wish Paul Pope's 100% would hit TPB...

 

[Wellington]

Yeah, Blankets! I've read:
Batman: The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, all the miller ones, Dark Victory.
Watchmen
Spider-Man: Blue

I'll pick up Daredevil: Yellow and Maybe the Hulk one that Loeb and Sale did. I just want to read good comics, not just one certain, um, genre.

Get Red Sun.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I'll pimp it again:

MON-EL IS GONNA BE BACK?!?!? please say yes. he was my favorite pre crisis legionnare. is superboy gonna saty in the legion or not? what's the verdict?

 

[FnordChan]

Hey, FnordChan, you're a mod right?

I'm not a mod, I just play one on #ga. Hopefully a comic lovin' mod will swing around to make your tag dreams come true. Besides, you don't need a tag - you know Team Teen Boat!

FnordChan

 

[nomoment]

Blankets is VERY good. One of the best, if not the best of last year.

I'd recommend Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson, and Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine.

These titles are permanent bookshelf residents. A book like Powers, while good, is not.

 

[sefskillz]

I've been pimpin Blankets for ages Sera, why hast thou forsaken me. If you can find Adrian Tomine's Sleepwalk and other Stories, consider yourself lucky.. then buy it.

 

[BuddyC]

If you haven't read it, you should. This means you, Sera.

 

[ohamsie]

woah this looks neat, what is it?

 

[shoplifter]

[IMG-LEGION

woah this looks neat, what is it?

The Legion of Superheroes, right now their book is just 'The Legion'. My favorite book ever, and it should be yours. Just be ready, it's got over 40 years of baggage, though it was rebooted after Zero Hour in '94.

I'd recommend picking up the 'Foundations' trade (which is either out now, or will be) and THIS. The second one is basically the beginning of the post-Zero Hour run. Back issues are pretty easy to find, and they ran at two books per month until around '99 or 2000 IIRC.

Post ZH, they've tried to keep true to the characters' established personalities while making slight changes here and there, as well as modernizing the whole thing, since it had been around in one continuity since 1958. Hell, they kicked Superboy out of his own book.

I'd also advise you to pick up the older DC Legion Archives, as there are some -awesome- Silver Age Legion stories in those. The Legion run in the 80's was equally awesome, as they finally made Darkseid into a true badass and the Legion were no longer teenagers. They now had adult lives and such. It was a relatively groundbreaking book on that front.

 

[Quadrophenic]

Astro City....why doesn't anyone ever mention Astro City?

And Preacher too. Preacher is good.

 

[krypt0nian]

I'll pimp it again:

YES JESUS! My all time favorite title...

 

[way more]

I've heard about this, what is it?

 

[Ryu]

I'll second mac's post and all the weird stuff nomo just mentioned. Explain please.

 

[Alucard]

Bastards. I still need to get Blankets.

Sera, if you like self-contained stories and graphic novels then I think you might like to venture into the world of Oni Press. I highly recommend:

It's a fantastic story about growing up, self discovery, and just generally finding your way in the world. Plus, cats stole a poor little girl's soul.

Get it. That goes for all of you.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Astro City....why doesn't anyone ever mention Astro City?

Care to give a explanation of how many trades, and what order they go in?

 

[8bit]

I'll pimp it again:

I picked up Legion lost and the Legion after you mentioned it a while back, it was very good, although the end felt a bit rushed. I especially like the appearance of

Spoiler

Ras Al G'hul

.

 

[Quadrophenic]

Alright...

Astro City is a comic about a city, and the various super heros that take place within it. Stories take place in various different time periods. The stories often take on unique perspectives uses comic traditions in a unique, interesting, and insightful way. Though a lot of the characters are based off of comic-icons (Samaritan=Superman, Confessor=Batman, First Family=Fantastic Four), the characters in Astro City are treated in such a way to give them thier own unique characteristics, and purposes within the context of the story. If you have read the Marvel tradepaperback "Marvels" , then you will be familiar with the kind of writing and approach to this series.

The first trade paper back is called Astro City: Life in the Big City.. This tradepaperback includes a couple different stories of some of the superheros in the city. This trade will set up the basic premise of the book.

The second trade is called Astro City: Family Album and deals mostly about the lineage of a superhero named Jack-in-the-Box, and how his work as a superhero could affect the life of his unborn son. There is also a couple other stories here, including a Fantastic Four-type superhero family.

The third trade is called Astro City: Confessions and is my favorite. It revolves around a Batman-type superhero named the Confessor, and his new Robin-like sidekick, Altar Boy. This is first trade paperback to be one extended story (Life in the Big City was a couple individual issues, the second had a couple inidividual issues with a short story arch in the middle, this one is one long story arch...well, six or so issues long). This paperback takes the perspective of Altar Boy as he trains, and becomes the sidekick of the Confessor. Meanwhile, there has been a series of supernatural serial killings, and former heros delving into criminal work. Because of this, public opinion of superheros has been changing. As this is going on Altar Boy is becoming increasingly suspicious of the Confessor's unusual behavior...

The last trade is called Astro City: Tarnished Angel, which, like Confessions, is one long story arch. This trade deals with a recently released from prison supervillian, Steeljack, who is trying to go straight in his old neighborhood...however having steel skin, and always being recognized as a former supervillian makes it hard for Steeljack to have any kind of normal life, or a normal job. He ends up getting work investigating a string of murders of other supervillians.

 

[TheAdamantShot]

when does the new Bone trade come out? The one that collects every issue?

 

[MC Safety]

Sock Monkey.

Strangers in Paradise.

Akiko.

 

[Bowser]

when does the new Bone trade come out? The one that collects every issue?

Next month, I believe:

Pre-order at Amazon.com for only $27!

 

[BuddyC]

someone else (Bowser) do a write up on Fables. I gotta get back to work :/

 

[FortNinety]

To whichever mod gave me my tag.... thanks!

 

[Bowser]

Ah, Fables. I must say BuddyC, you will be disappointed in me, as I have only read the first two trades (issues #1-#10). I will, though, be picking up the book in trades and will be picking up the third trade (#11-#18) soon. But, even though I have only read 10 issues, I can tell you a little about the series and I definately whole-heartedly recommened it.

Fables is a book about the fairy tale creatures we all know and love (Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Snow White, the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, etc.) in a real life (I can't remember if it's a New York-like setting or if the setting is New York itself; I'm leaning towards the latter, though) setting. The book has 27 issues out (with the 27th issue coming out this coming Wednesday, the 14th) and three trades (the trades collecting issues #1-#18).

Fables: Legends in Exile is the first trade, collecting issues #1-#5. The story arc introduces us the the world of Fables, and all the creatures, as well as giving a bit of backstory as to why the Fables were exiled from their original homelands. The arc focuses on the murder mystery of Snow White's sister, Rose Red. Big Bad Wolf is the detective of the case, and he uses some good old fashioned reasoning and deductive skills to figure the case out. I thought the two most memorable characters in this arc were Big Bad Wolf and Snow White.

Fables: Animal Farm is the second trade, collecting issues #6-#10. The story arc is revolved around the creatures of the Fables world who aren't human or who cannot be sucessfully disguised as humans (Three Little Pigs, Three Bears, etc.). The arc is about a conspiracy that makes these Fables' believe that they are being "imprisoned" on the farm by the human Fables and they attempt to breakout of the farm , even if it means killing their friends to do it.

Fables: Storybook Love is the third trade, collecting issues #11-#18. I haven't read this trade, so I'll list the contents from Midtown Comics:

Included in this volume is the 4-part title story originally presented in FABLES #14-17, featuring the final showdown between Snow White, Bigby Wolf and Goldilocks. Also included is "A Sharp Operator" from FABLES #12-13, a 2-part caper story that dramatically demonstrates the dangers of trying to shine the light of publicity on the Fables, as well as the one-shots "Bag o' Bones" and "Barleycorn Brides" from FABLES #11 and #18.

That's all I can tell you. I highly recommend this series; from what I've read, it's an amazing book.

 

[BuddyC]

READ MORE YOU SLUT. It's gotten even better lately, and the next issue looks even awesomer.

Also, pick up Fables: The Last Castle - a retelling of the final battle the Fables and the Advesary before he completely conquered their lands.

 

[lordmrw]

The Legion of Superheroes, right now their book is just 'The Legion'. My favorite book ever, and it should be yours. Just be ready, it's got over 40 years of baggage, though it was rebooted after Zero Hour in '94.

I'd recommend picking up the 'Foundations' trade (which is either out now, or will be) and THIS. The second one is basically the beginning of the post-Zero Hour run. Back issues are pretty easy to find, and they ran at two books per month until around '99 or 2000 IIRC.

Post ZH, they've tried to keep true to the characters' established personalities while making slight changes here and there, as well as modernizing the whole thing, since it had been around in one continuity since 1958. Hell, they kicked Superboy out of his own book.

I'd also advise you to pick up the older DC Legion Archives, as there are some -awesome- Silver Age Legion stories in those. The Legion run in the 80's was equally awesome, as they finally made Darkseid into a true badass and the Legion were no longer teenagers. They now had adult lives and such. It was a relatively groundbreaking book on that front.

Damn good book, too bad DC had seriously dropped the ball on putting out trades of all the work Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning have done for the past few years. That would be a good place to start. If you can track it down, buy the Legion Lost miniseries, all 12 issues of it. Its the prequel to the current Legion series going on right now. Legion World comes after Lost, but I'm not 100% sure if you would definitely need to read it to know whats goin on right now.

My choice for books you should be reading would be 100 Bullets. The gist of the series is this: Agent Graves travels the country and gives a briefcase with 100 untraceable bullets and irrefutable evidence as to who screwed up your life. You have can do whatever you want with what your given, and the police won't raise an eyebrow. The only caveat is that you don't, under any circumstances, let anyone see whats in the briefcase except you. I can understand some of the complaints that it is slow at times, but I'm finding that stories that seemed like one off filler material were really laying the foundations for what is coming up now. The entire series, with the exception of the most recent issue, #50, is available in trades. The trades are:

100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call - collecting #1-5, and a short story. It introduces Graves, and the general idea behind the series. It also has a little plot thread that issue 50 picks up on.

100 Bullets: Split Second Chance - collecting #6-14. With this trade, you start to find out that there is alot more to Graves going around giving a briefcase and 100 bullets to seemingly random people, and that these people aren't so random.

100 Bullets: Hang up on the Hang Low - collecting #15-19, and probably has one of my favorite stories of all time. Loop Hughes is given the briefcase and bullets to find his father who abandoned him. He finds him, and what happens from there I'll leave up to you.

100 Bullets: A Foregone Tomorrow - collecting #20-30.

100 Bullets: the Counterfifth Detective - collecting #31-36. This one is my second favorite. Azzarello really nails it with alot of the dialogue in this. Milo Garret is a private detective who is visited by Graves while he is recovering in the hospital. He is given the briefcase, which provides him with the knowledge of why he was scarred pursuit of his case. But Milo questions whether whats in the case is real.

100 Bullets: Split Second Chance - collecting #37-42. These were six individual issues that spotlighted a specific character, and gave you new insights as to how they behave.

100 Bullets: Samurai - collecting #43-49. Unfortunately, I haven't read a good chunk of this, as the issues came out when I was unemployed for 6 months. Needless to say, I'm definitely waiting for this one.