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

[hitmouse]

I'm now on The World of Edena by Moebius, which is the story that The Art of Edena comes from. It's very weird and exactly how I'd expect a French comic to be: surreal, hard to follow, beautifully-drawn, with much nudity and everyone looks slightly like Tintin (who is Belgian).

These are great. I bought 4 volumes of the series a few years ago when I was in France.

 

[TomMazanec]

Well, I get the newest translations of Beastars when they come out.

 

[E-lad]

I'm currently reading, at a leisurely pace, the 4 Space Detective books via the Pre Code Classic. The stories feature some jaw dropping art by Joe Orlando and Wally Wood. You even get all of the original ads, so it's like having the books in bound volume.

 

[Jeffbert]

THE BIGGEST BUNDLE OF THEM ALL (1968) Several guys abduct an Italian Mob boss, & demand ransom. When he cannot get any of his so-called friends to lend him any money, the boss is furious, and hatches a plan to steal a platinum shipment, using his abductors as a gang. But things go wrong throughout the film. Edward G. Robinson portrays the mastermind, & other Americans are the kidnappers. An Italian guy, whose name is unfamiliar is the Mob boss. As far as heist films go, I think this one is below average, but not by much, as it did have its moments.

 

[Jeffbert]

Oopsie! wrong topic!

 

[alexvss]

I am currently reading One Piece (for years now), Spy x Family (most wholesome manga ever), Jaggggaaaaan and Jigokuraku (good seinens). And Attack on Titan once a month (almost ending).

Berserk, the best comic book of all time, has a very irregular schedule.

 

[Overread]

So most of the comics/graphic novels I have are all digital. I've nothing against print, but many long running series are insanely expensive in digital or print, but can often go on steep digital sales which makes them more affordable to the new reader. Furthermore digital means I don't have to worry about marking/damaging the comic as reading and they take up far less space.

That said I've a few comics in print and have recently started picking up Witchblade in hardback as they are doing a new series of reprints of the whole series of it and The Darkness. Picked up the first volume on Amazon whilst the second is being backed through Kickstarter - missed the backing period, but there's a pledge-manager which is letting you back late (ergo after the campaign) so I've jumped on in for Witchblade 2. Darkness 1 is coming out very soon in retail markets.
Witchblade Vol 2 hardback for those interested Pledge Witchblade Hardcover Vol. 2 Crowd Ox Late Pledge
There's also a special 1/2 edition comic being released alongside it which is set with some of the new arc stuff.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I might start reading Lumberjanes soon

 

[Toby Frost]

I read William Gibson's Alien 3. It's completely different to the David Fincher film and, I think, a better story. It introduces the Union of Progressive Peoples, the Cold War rival to the United Americas and Britain/Japan. Gibson does some interesting stuff with the Alien, but it still boils down to being a story about human greed and corruption. Definitely worth a look: it would have been a good film.

 

[alexvss]

Just read two issues of The Incal. A LITTLE disappointed because of the hype (I've been told this is the greatest science-fiction of all times), but Moebius' art delivers great detail in the scenarios and Jodo's has great cyberpunk ideas.

 

[Overread]

One downside to Humanoids is that they are a french based publisher, so many of their stories are translated. This can sometimes mean that the translation can make a few story elements a little flat/lacking compared to English written comics. I think comics can show this up more so than books because a book can take more or less pages to convey a point, whilst a comic has only a small specific bubble space for text to fill and, whilst you can make them bigger, you don't want to obliterate the art.

That said because they are French they have some outstanding artists* - seriously some of their work is awesome and if you ever read something like the Meta Barons (spin-off from Incal) then you're in for a treat.


*France seems to treat animation and comic art far more seriously than the USA in general. Certainly I see far more high detail stuff come from French publishers of comics than from USA - then again the USA is dominated insanely by Marvel/DC

 

[Rafellin]

I love comic books, but due to poor eye sight I can no longer read them. I have a Kindle for PC, however it is weak when it comes to magnifying comic books. Is there an e-book reader that will solve my problem?

I use the excellent Perfect Viewer on my Android phone (mainly for obscure manga), there is a dual-layer way to run it on a PC (and both components are freeware).

However, I haven't tried it, just went looking for a way it could be done, so caveat emptor, an' all that. Hope it works! Download Perfect Viewer on PC & Mac with AppKiwi APK Downloader

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree - I think there's a tradition of comics in France that's entirely separate from superheroes. I bought Moebius' The World of Edena and really enjoyed it.

 

[Jeffbert]

I am 'reading' THE Mighty Atom Club November 1964 issue. All have a section in which Tezuka writes about his comics. In this issue, he takes 4 pages and writes about his 'Actors' and how some of them originated. I do not quite read Japanese, but, have learned to recognize the phonetic systems as well as some Kanji. The rest I find using look-up tables, then use google or MS translators.

I hope to eventually acquire the entire set of Mighty Atom Club issues, which ran from 08/1964 through 11/1966. Actually these have very little comics in them, mostly text and images. Educational stuff.

 

[Grognardsw]

I agree with comments about France and Moebius. I’ve enjoyed his work for years. Heavy Metal started in France.

I’m enjoying DC’s Adam Strange 12-issue series. It seems a well-done update on the science fictional hero.

 

[Ethics_gradient]

In just about to start Blame!

 

[alexvss]

In just about to start Blame!

I tried this one and other works by the author, and didn't like it. I don't like the way the story is told, but I like the aesthetic.

 

[Ethics_gradient]

I bought it purely on the aesthetic. I’ve not tried any of his other stuff.

 

[Ethics_gradient]

Just read two issues of The Incal. A LITTLE disappointed because of the hype (I've been told this is the greatest science-fiction of all times), but Moebius' art delivers great detail in the scenarios and Jodo's has great cyberpunk ideas.

yeah, it has great art and a superb setting but somehow it’s less than its parts. I never finished it.

 

[soulsinging]

Just finished Maus I and was about to move on to II, but I might need a break. It’s every bit as excellent and gut wrenching as its reputation.