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

[Matteo]

Recently re-read the first four volumes of Saga and then read the following four. It really is very good. If anyone is interested, it looks like the first nine volumes (up to issue 54?) will be issued in a "Compendium" so that's probably the most economical way of getting into the series.

Have just (i.e. minutes before writing this) re, re, re...read the first Akira volume (an old Mandarin release in colour!!) having just bought (finally) the other five volumes.

And before that the eighth volume of the Usagi Yojimbo saga. Not as strong as the stories collected in the seventh volume but still wonderful.

 

[HareBrain]

an old Mandarin release in colour!!

I have the whole collection in colour, by Epic. Is colour unusual then?

 

[Matteo]

I thought so (only B&W normally) but it seems not!

 

[Overread]

From what I gather whilst a lot of western comics tend to go for full colour, they also tend to have far fewer pages per comic. Whilst a lot of manga tends to use black and white more heavily so that they can achieve a greater number of pages per release. Which is why many "issues" might have 50 or more pages for a manga, but 25 is more typical for western.

Colour isn't unheard of in manga, its just not the default and they've a lot of black and white too.

 

[HareBrain]

I'd love a colourised edition of Miyazaki's Nausicaa.

 

[Matteo]

Without hunting around the Net (because there is probably too much stuff on Akira to shift through) I think I remember reading some year ago that they colourised it for the 'graphic novel' collected editions, but I thought that they didn't finish the series (hence me only having the first volume). I also thought that all other versions (e.g. my Kodansha editions) were in the original B&W. Turns out that Epic did a release in colour.

Have to say that I prefer the colourised version.

 

[HareBrain]

Do you know if your Mandarin coloured edition is the same as the Epic one? I assume not if it was done earlier. Would be interesting to compare, if you have a screenshot.

 

[Matteo]

No idea. But how's this:

 

[HareBrain]

I don't think that image is used in the interior. Here's a page from the Epic version -- is yours the same colours?

 

[Matteo]

Those look maybe a little lighter but that could just be the way it appears on my screen. So I would say, yes.

 

[Thunderstruck121]

I've just started 'Caliban', gotta love a bit of Garth Ennis.

 

[Matteo]

Well I just finished the sixth volume and I have to say that the series lives up to it's reputation. An excellent piece of work.

If I have any criticism it would be that it could have been shorter/tighter.

I would also say that the colourised version is much better - the sixth volume in particular would have looked great. @HareBrain put me right about the other five versions being available in colour (see above) but the point is somewhat moot; I know realise those Epic colourised versions are hard to find and pretty pricey when you do and I managed to get the B&W vols. 2-6 new for around €18 each.

 

[HareBrain]

If I have any criticism it would be that it could have been shorter/tighter.

Agreed. Also, I was never happy with the "explanation" for where Kaneda disappeared to, which seemed a fairly major plot element.

those Epic colourised versions are hard to find and pretty pricey when you do

Even when I was collecting them about 25 years ago, I couldn't get some of the Epic collections and had to buy individual issues for the first few and last few (and yes, at great expense).

Looking forward (with some trepidation) to the live-action film next year.

 

[Overread]

First off Humble Bundle have 2 comic bundles going on (one ending very soon - under a day) check my post in the ebooks deal thread for details and links

Ebook Bundles and Deals

Do you guys notice these just in browsing or do you receive some sort of alerts/notifications from Amazon about sales? I ought to keep tab on these from the US side. I'm signed up to an Amazon Kindle Daily Deals alert, so I always see the *main* promotions that come up. However, I also have a...

www.sffchronicles.com

As for my current reading I'm excited to see that East of West is down to only 1 more volume until its completed (the penultimate volume is already out). I've also picked up and read through the first volume of Berserk manga which I've found interesting with its anti-hero lead character. Though considering how popular the series is and how long it is I'm tempted to wait it out for a comic bundle deal digitally to make it a touch more affordable.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Having been away from graphic novels for quite some time I've picked them up again and in quick succession have read:

Clive Barker's Nightbreed Vol 1, 2 and 3
Clive Barker's Hellraiser Vol 1and 2, currently on 3.

Barker himself was involved in the writing of all these. The artwork is superb, great to see some truly memorable characters again and the storyline's are very imaginative which is what I'd expect from Barker.

The Nightbreed books were fabulous, great to see some of the background to some of the characters and more importantly for me it was great to see what happened to the Tribes of the Moon post Midian, although this was left to Vol 3 when I was hoping it would have been sooner. Slightly disappointed with the ending but it did wrap everything up.

Hellraiser Vol 1 was excellent, much better than I was expecting but took a very unexpected turn in Vol 2, completely caught me by surprise. It's set things up very well for Vol 3 which is tonight's reading.

 

[HareBrain]

I've just read Paper Girls vol 6, which closed the series. I'd rate the series as a whole as excellent, but the last volume was perhaps a little underwhelming.

Also read Monstress vol 4. This series just goes from strength to strength, and is probably the best long story I've ever encountered in any medium. The complex storyline does mean lots of re-reading of earlier volumes, but this is never a chore.

 

[Matteo]

Also read Monstress vol 4. This series just goes from strength to strength, and is probably the best long story I've ever encountered in any medium. The complex storyline does mean lots of re-reading of earlier volumes, but this is never a chore.

I'm waiting for that series to finish before I pick it up. Looks good.

 

[Nozzle Velocity]

I grabbed some missing issues of The Fade Out by Brubaker and Phillips so I could start over and read through the entire thing after sitting on it for a couple of years. Brubaker perfectly nails the 40s Hollywood noir vibe. This would make a great series for television, but I doubt if this could be improved in any way. Colorist Betty Breitweiser is amazing as always.

 

[Matteo]

Have just finished the fourth compendium of The Walking Dead and it remains just as good as before. The story never does return (?) to figuring out why there are zombies but instead continues its focus on the characters and how they all cope (differently) with the situation.

If, like me, you don't follow comic news (about this, or any other, title) and perhaps wait for issues to be collected, then don't read the following. For those that do, or have read the comics contained in this collection (up to #193) here are more complete thoughts:

Spoiler

The compendium - perhaps also the released 193rd final edition - contains an explanation by Kirkman about why he decided to end the series. I'm glad he did it when he did. He talks about wanting, some time back, to reach the magical "Cerebus #300" issue but I agree with him that would be unlikely. He also talks about an alternative ending - a passionate speech by Rick Grimes at Alexandria (saying that that is where life will continue), and the picture changing into a statue of him, pulling back to reveal it is an old statue, and then a zombie walking past, then another, and a final pull back to show a ruined town. In other words, the zombies win. I think I would have preferred that, braver, ending. However, I also like the way he did end it - rather than just life continuing as is (i.e. from the events of #192). Interesting that he managed to keep the fact he was ending the series a secret, even with fake solicitations of future issues.

I also read the three collected volumes of Injection - and it was very good. Here's hoping Ellis returns to writing this series soon.

On my shelf, waiting to read, is the first omnibus collection of Peter David's run of the Incredible Hulk, and Marvel Masters of Suspense a delicious collection of Steve Ditko stuff.

 

[Toby Frost]

I'm probably not an ideal reader of comics: I tend to read the text very quickly and don't get enough out of the pictures to justify it. I seem to have solved that problem by buying a comic in a language that I hardly speak. I bought Freaks Squeele 1, which is written and drawn by Florent Madoux, because I liked his strange artwork for the game Confrontation.

It is about the adventures of three students at a university for people who want to be superheroes. I don't usually go for school stories but there are some nice visual jokes and the tone is pretty light and entertaining. The drawing style seems to be an interesting mix of manga, US-type superheroes and the sort of "realistic" cartoons you might see in a political column. I get the feeling that the author decided to draw whatever he liked, which makes it rather quirky but overall good.

However, it's in French. I think there is an English translation, but having to pick over the text has meant that I've got a lot more out of the pictures and haven't glossed over them as I might have done otherwise.