The official ProgArchives comic book thread |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Topic: The official ProgArchives comic book thread Posted: April 13 2014 at 05:10 |
Decided to start a new one because, let's face it, the last one died back in December.
In the meantime since then, I've finally finished reaching Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Rizzo's insanely ambitious crime/espionage series 100 Bullets. On a narrative level it's so convoluted it's something of a miracle the whole storyline doesn't collapse under its own weight, and compared to something like Garth Ennis' Preacher (which I still do like warts and all) or the later X-Files seasons it really demonstrates the importance of planning everything ahead when writing this type of long-term story arcs. That said, there are quite a few of the characters introduced later on in the comic's run whose development arc I'm not completely satisfied with since they come across as underwritten or awkwardly handled. I've also been reading up on the backlog of the late Rune T. Kidde, a Danish satirical underground cartoonist who's pretty unknown outside Scandinavia perhaps because much of his humour is very culturally specific. He did write in English on occasion, collaborating with either Robert Crumb or Gilbert Shelton. (can't remember which one) Especially early on, before his eyesight got too bad, he had a very intriguing style that's really crude and childish but also shows an amazing attention to detail. Likewise, there's a certain sentimentality and heart underneath all the equally tasteless and crass sense of humour which really adds to the je ne sais quois appeal of his work. Last comic book I read was Arzach the Surveyor, first in an unfinished trilogy begun by Jean "Moebius" Giraud shortly before his death in which he tries to explain the universe and setting of his most famous creation - a wandering pterodactyl-riding warrior in a surrealistic fantasy world. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but he creates an interesting and somewhat complex story that seamlessly merges spaghetti westerns with space opera and sword-and-sorcery. The artwork is also as usual fantastic... a pity he didn't get to complete it, because there are so many story threads left dangling at the end. At very least it's motivated me to re-read his 1970s and 1980s work, perhaps including the blind spots I've got in the man's vast back catalog! |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
Posted: April 13 2014 at 11:01 |
I'm currently reading vol 1 of Rex Mundi......a version of the Holy Blood Holy Grail conspiracy myth set in a fictional France of 1933. It has politics, religion, conspiracy, sorcery, and an alternate reality similar to ours.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: April 26 2014 at 03:26 |
About to dig out a bunch of Moebius' anthologies compiling his shorter one-shot science-fiction/fantasy comics including The Long Tomorrow which Ridley Scott supposedly based Blade Runner's visual aesthetic upon. Was also my plan to re-read The Hermetic Garage in Spring Break but I was too busy with other things.
Other recommendations for 1960s/1970s/1980s Continental European SF/F preferably of a new-wavey variety? I'm thinking of looking into Paolo Serpieri's Morbus Gravis and at some point finishing Enki Bilal's Le Sommeil du Monstre trilogy I have lying around in the original French. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Dean
Special Collaborator Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout Joined: May 13 2007 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 37575 |
Posted: April 26 2014 at 05:59 |
Neil Gaiman's Sandman series will always take centre stage for me - superb writing is at the heart of a good comic and it doesn't come much better than this for story-telling and characterisation. Everything about this series was perfectly executed even though the sheer number of graphic artists who contributed to it brought their own style to the artwork, it all managed to fit into the overall aesthetic beautifully. All brought together by Todd Klein's character-based lettering and Dave McKean's wonderful covers. Reading Sandman changed my approach to comics and to reading in general: before I would read a novel in a few days, not exactly speed-reading and skimming, but certainly fast-reading. I first read Preludes and Nocturnes in a single sitting, going from cover to cover in the space of a matter of hours. It was only when I finished reading the chapter: "The Sound Of Her Wings" I realised that something had happened... ...'something' that after twenty years I still cannot adequately put into words and relates directly to what Death was showing Dream in that chapter. I went back to the beginning and read it more slowly, savouring every word and image, 'reading' the detail in every panel. Since then my reading-speed has slowed considerably, I'm no longer a quick-reader choosing instead to become engrossed in the story-telling at the pace the narrative dictates rather than devouring the words with voracity. For artwork I'd cite David Mack's Kabuki series Alan Moore is (of course) the undisputed king of "stand-alone" graphic novels, V For Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell and even The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are outstanding works regardless of their genre. I'm gradually working my way through Dave Sim's gargantuan Cerebus the Aardvark series, gradually being the operative word. I suspect I'll never finish the entire 16-volume series, but the 6 I have read were enjoyable enough. I'd give special mention to James O'Barr's The Crow - the original comic book story of Eric Draven has been somewhat overshadowed by the film and tv adaptation and the so-so sequels and spin-offs (however, The Lazarus Heart text-novel by Poppy Z Brite is possibly the exception there). I'm a bit of fan of Slave Labor Graphics, with Roman Dirge's Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl, Jhonen Vasquez'sJohnny The Homicidal Maniac and Squee, and Serena Valentino's squirmingly accurate take on the Gothic subculture Gloomcookie. |
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What?
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Nogbad_The_Bad
Forum & Site Admin Group RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team Joined: March 16 2007 Location: Boston Status: Offline Points: 20207 |
Posted: April 26 2014 at 08:15 |
Huge Watchmen fan
Currently reading Walking Dead, Saga, and Sandman |
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Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: June 14 2014 at 02:17 |
After plowing through some old Moebius again, I've been resuming Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's Lone Wolf and Cub about a widower outlaw samurai walking the Earth with his little son in the quest to avenge his murdered wife.
I love that in addition to being a truly kick-ass action series, LW&C also has some extremely poignant characterization and inventive plots in addition to showing a truly breathtaking degree of attention to historical detail. It's often as tragic as exciting, the fantastic artwork sometimes resembling woodcuts of the Edo era helping too. Koike gets a lot of storytelling mileage out of showing how the moral values and social structures of the feudal society, as well. Really evokes a whole different era in a way very few historical comics even attempts to. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: June 22 2014 at 04:58 |
Speaking of Lone Wolf and Cub, I have found a lengthy article series on PopMatters analyzing that work explaining why it has a poignance and epic pathos to it that most other action-adventure comics don't even aspire towards.
Concerning less serious comics, I've also been revisiting the Norwegian comic strip Nemi about the daily life of an extremely eccentric goth woman in her mid-20s. It's so entertaining because it basically functions as a "soul radar" of its creator Lise Myhre, though she insists the main character isn't based entirely upon herself, without ever getting too obnoxious about it. Apparently it's also ran in some British publications, I'm curious to know how it's been received there since much of the humour might not travel well outside Scandinavia. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
Posted: June 22 2014 at 16:57 |
Waiting for my copy of Rex Mundi Vol 2 to come in so I can finish that graphic novel series.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: September 28 2014 at 04:37 |
Thread resurrection time!
I've been reading Dear Billy and now War Stories Volume 2 by Garth Ennis. Gotta say I find the man's WW2 historical stuff is way, way better than things like The Boys and Preacher that he's more famous for, because having to stick to real historical events bring out his strengths as a writer while keeping the trademark goofy shock humour I often find unnecessary or even downright distracting to a minimum. Here he's good at humanizing people who have either been rendered rather unpleasant or even monstrous by either their circumstances or their ideological convictions if not a combination of both, in the process of exploring the hows and whys of man's inhumanity to man. Both volumes balance good storytelling and complex characterization with some absolutely painstaking research into history, showcasing quite a few underhanded or morally questionable things done by non-USSR Allies. Then there's Dear Billy also impressing me quite a bit by being probably the first Garth Ennis comic I've read that's written entirely from a female point of view, something I hadn't expected him to pull of anywhere this well because of the "rated R for manly" sensibility he writes from most of the time. I kind of wish the WS would have included more about the Pacific War which I've been reading a lot about recently, like Dear Billy does focus on, but it does compensate for that by having a story about the Spanish Civil War. Technically not WW2, but certainly a prelude to the conflict as it saw future Allied and Axis powers clash. |
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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CPicard
Forum Senior Member Joined: October 03 2008 Location: Là, sui monti. Status: Offline Points: 10837 |
Posted: September 28 2014 at 06:49 |
This thread is so rarely activated that I thought it was a thread about Prog Archives Comics - end of the sentence.
It reminds me that I've started to read Civil Wars (volume 3 of the French edition, the death of Captain America). I'm not sure I really enjoy it (at least, it's better that these horrible Ultimatum things). Anyway, I'm about to start Fables (volume 20 of the French edition - volume 17 in the USA, the "Inherit the Wind" arc, running from issue 108 to 113). |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
Posted: September 28 2014 at 09:09 |
Edited by dr wu23 - September 30 2014 at 09:20 |
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 12 2011 Location: Melb, Australia Status: Offline Points: 7951 |
Posted: September 28 2014 at 09:20 |
I collect dozens of comics a month, have done so for over 25 years now!
Definitely anything Punisher, Spider-Man and The Phantom wins me over each month. Highly recommend anything Scott Snyder has written for Batman, he is knocking it out of the park every time! DC's New 52 has been very mixed... [:/] |
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer Joined: April 26 2005 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 10616 |
Posted: September 30 2014 at 06:38 |
I love Jiro Taniguchi's graphic novels.
Dutchman Dick Matena is pretty good too, making graphic novels out of world/Dutch literature. Great style, good taste. i like Will Eisner too, and Hugo Pratt. |
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 22 2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 20468 |
Posted: September 30 2014 at 09:23 |
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: October 28 2014 at 11:58 |
I'm reading a bunch of Frank Miller's Sin City stuff, which I think I understand better now that I'm more familiar with pulp crime fiction and film noir of which that series is a pastiche. It's still style-above-substance, but the stories actually owe as much to old horror and 1970s action films as to classic noir perhaps being better appreciated in that light since it abandons the customary realism of that stuff for grotesque expressionism set in some kind of nightmare world. (sometimes with a capital E thanks to the art style)
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Tuzvihar
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 18 2005 Location: C. Schinesghe Status: Offline Points: 13489 |
Posted: December 21 2014 at 09:12 |
Recently I bought some classics:
The Airtight Garage by Moebius The Trilogy of Nikopol by Enki Bilal and one new Polish comicbook: Diefenbach by Benedykt Szneider Edited by Tuzvihar - December 21 2014 at 09:17 |
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"Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent."
Charles Bukowski |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: December 21 2014 at 09:23 |
Has Diefenbach been translated into any other languages yet? The art style certainly looks interesting, like it's inspired by the author's late countryman Zdzislaw "The H. R. Giger of Eastern Europe" Beksinski.
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Tuzvihar
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 18 2005 Location: C. Schinesghe Status: Offline Points: 13489 |
Posted: December 21 2014 at 09:34 |
^ Yes, the art style is great. I don't think it's been translated to any foreign language, though.
BTW, is that pic in your avy by Z. Beksiński? |
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"Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent."
Charles Bukowski |
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 12 2008 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 5898 |
Posted: December 21 2014 at 09:35 |
It is indeed.
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 64375 |
Posted: December 21 2014 at 22:20 |
I've been an off & on collector since childhood, still love that slightly musty newsprint smell of older comix, though nowadays "comic book shops" are about as common as "head shops" and have gone the way of the b&m record store. I tended toward the more mysterious; The Spirit, Detective Comics, and then the 80s/90s new era with Matt Wagner, Miller, Mazzucchelli, Gaiman, etc.
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"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
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