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Free Comic Book Day 2006
Julio Ojeda-Zapata writes "It's Free Comic Book Day (May 6), and what better way to mark the occasion than a comic about comic books? A reporter and artist at the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press newspaper teamed up to honor the comic-book form -- imitation is the finest form of flattery, as they say. The comic is available online as a slide show, as well as in downloadable PDF form. As a bonus, the paper's 2001 manga-style tribute to manga (by the same artist, but with a dramatically different look and feel) has been reposted." More information is available at the official Free Comic Book Day 2006 site.
I recently found this free collection of comic book/cartoon theme music (MP3s).
Oh yes, Sandman is deep AND entertaining. There are also other comics
;)
that can be considered to be in the same universe, like Lucifer, Books of
Magic and Hellblazer. The characters certainly mingle now and then.
(Any of these series will introduce you to a ton of different writers
and artists who have made many other comics worth reading)
Poison Elves is another indie comic that tries to be more than just
action drawings, although there's an unhealthy amount of murder at times
100% is the name of a 5-parter by Paul Pope. It being a Vertigo release
should be a hint that it's not for kids, either. One word: GASTRO!
Sci-fi without the aliens is always the best.
If you didn't enjoy Watchmen, you may also hate V for Vendetta, Promethea
and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But that's not an excuse to
take a peek.
Grant Morrison is sort of in the same league, except crazier; his Invisibles
and The Filth are my faves.
Warren Ellis is a bit hit and miss in quality, I think, but he writes
for the love of it, not to become rich(er). Transmetropolitan is his
greatest masterpiece. Mostly alien-less future "society", in a world
where they lost track of what year it is. It could be considered almost
post-apocalyptic, except it looks more like an on-going process.
On the Image label, please skip past Spawn and head straight for The
Walking Dead. I started on the first issue, not really expecting to like
it, but now I have 25 issues in my collection. It's got zombies. How
could any Slashdot-reader resist? No ninjas or pireates, though. Well,
perhaps *one* ninja.
- Bryan Hitch (The Ultimates)
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United, etc...)
- Tony Bedard (Exiles)
- And many more!
Disclaimer: I am not a Zeus employee. I'm just a loyal customer.I believe that the most shining example of a work that is accessible to "outsiders" is easily Maus by Art Spiegelman. (Don't just take my word for it, it won a Pulitzer Prize!) At its core, it's the true story of the author's father's experiences surrounding the Nazi Germany concentration camps. Heavy stuff, but told in a way that is accessible by even a 10-year-old. Highly recommended!
A few other examples of excellent work that stand on their own would be V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, Cerebus: Jaka's Story by Dave Sim, Batman: Year One or the Sin City series by Frank Miller, Torso by Brian Michael Bendis, anything by Jaime or Gilbert Hernandez, Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson, or Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. Your local comic shop would have any of these works, and you can always skim them prior to purchase.
All the stuff other people have replied with is great, so I'd like to add a couple of reccomendations of my own.
Bone, by Jeff Smith, is fantastic. It's black & white, and a little bit lighter (though not all the time) than a lot of the other stuff being pushed. The entire run is available in TPBs or in one giant phone-book sized volume.
Mike Mignola's Hellboy is great fun. The art is beautiful and it's got a very pulp-action feel with good writing and good stories. A number of the stories are lifted directly from myths and legends, but it's got a nice modernizing touch to it. It's not Shakespeare, but it's very well done. Available in a number of TPBs, each of which has a pretty much complete storyline.
Fables, by Bill Willingham, is still a monthly comic through DC's Vertigo imprint. Characters from legends and stories (Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, King Cole, Prince Charming, Rose Red, etc) have fled a conqueror in their homelands and established a community in New York City. I can't reccomend this enough.
Cerebus is a fascinating work of art... 300 issues (exactly), all written and drawn by the same two guys, with the main writer/artist (Dave Sim) the main driving force. Unfortunately, while the first 200 or so issues had brilliant parts ("High Society" and "Church & State" in particular), the last part is... well... challenging. Not least because Dave Sim seems to have gone clinically insane at some part along the way. And no, I'm not exaggerating.