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Adam Strange posted:Maybe I'm alone in this but any goodwill I had for Nick Spencer from the third of the Jimmy Olsen backups that were somewhat amusing has been completely flushed away by every other thing I've read from him. Nah you're not alone. I'm pretty sure the string of bad books followed by revelations that he's a pretty horrible person in real life killed any goodwill he had (around here anyway).
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Dec 2, 2012 15:13
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hadji murad posted:This is why people should buy via the web not the app. It's cheaper and easier via the web, too (if you aren't using US currency, anyway).
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Dec 2, 2012 16:49
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Waterhaul posted:Nah you're not alone. I'm pretty sure the string of bad books followed by revelations that he's a pretty horrible person in real life killed any goodwill he had (around here anyway). What were these, specifically? I must not be up on current events.
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Dec 2, 2012 21:10
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Hey y’all, I recently helped my local shop put on their third regional comic convention to great success. On the last day the manager came up to me and basically said, “Hey, I know you read a bunch of indie stuff. Make a list of books we should have in the store and come by next week.” So I’ve been tasked with creating a non-mainstream buying list, and I’d appreciate any input BSS might have to add. I’ve gotten some great titles from this thread and seen some of my favorites promoted, but those are my own tastes and biases; I don’t represent the full spectrum of indie buyers, and I’d like to come up with a list that has the largest potential non-mainstream appeal and will attract the most readers. I appreciate what the shop is trying to do and don’t want to blow their money and inventory on titles that never leave the shelves. It’s not like the owners/staff are totally clueless. They all love and sell books like Glory, Prophet, Stokoe’s Godzilla, Bone, Sandman – hell, I even bought Stuck Rubber Baby and Blacksad there – and they’re great about putting on community events and promoting local artists and writers. So they’re pretty widely read, but they all grew up deeply immersed in the cape comic tradition and this continues to inform their reading interests and clientele. On the other hand, I grew up reading manga, then later discovered European comics, Indie titles, and webcomics – these are the books I actively seek out, and I was never really into Marvel or DC. In this I think I’m pretty representative of a lot of the younger-generation comic readers, especially women, so I know that market is out there and looking for an outlet. The store is also very kid friendly, and more than a few times I’ve spoken with moms who were vaguely interested in, say, Spiderman or the Avengers after the films came out, but once I started talking to them about Bone or Mouse Guard or Cursed Pirate Girl, it was amazing how interested they were! Like, loving pumped. They had no idea comics could be like that. (Moms are seriously the untapped sleeping lion of the comic market, guys.) This is a great opportunity to both support local/independent artists and reach a new crowd. I’m thinking stuff like Lackadaisy Cats and more local artists in their own section, maybe with little reviews and things so we not only have the books but try to draw extra attention to them, but also stuff that might prompt the regular big two readers to pick up something new. Thoughts, insights?
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Dec 2, 2012 21:11
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LtKenFrankenstein posted:What were these, specifically? I must not be up on current events. I don't remember specifically, but something about racist Ohio nightclubs?
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Dec 2, 2012 21:26
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LtKenFrankenstein posted:What were these, specifically? I must not be up on current events. The weird thing it's not actually current stuff. It's mostly from before getting into comics when he ran nightclubs as well as "other" stuff. He seems to have deleted his old blogs and sites in attempt to not let it tarnish his comics reputation. EDIT: There's some stuff about it in this thread.
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Dec 2, 2012 21:53
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Crisco Kid posted:Hey y’all, I recently helped my local shop put on their third regional comic convention to great success. On the last day the manager came up to me and basically said, “Hey, I know you read a bunch of indie stuff. Make a list of books we should have in the store and come by next week.” This post is going to sound rambly because I'm just going to post whatever comes to mind so bear with me. I'll try my best to pick stuff that's still in print. I'll start with King City. It's by Brandom Graham so all you have to say is "The first major work by the Prophet guy!" I think it's popular enough that you guys probably already stock it. I think Chris Ware is pretty hot right now and his best work (Jimmy Corrigan and the newspaper sized Acme Novelty Library collection) are still in print. His recent Building Stories is a massive box of goodies and while Ware is difficult to get into if you're new to comics I think a lot of people will be attracted to the beautiful contents of BS (heh) if they're not immediately scared away. Aside from Blacksad, there were two comics that got me seriously into the medium and those were the Flight anthology and Jason's comics. The Flight anthology is family friendly, visually distinct, and very appealing series of anthologies that also serve as a great primer to a lot of independent creators. Jason draws "funny animal" comics that have a very dry tone. I was drawn to his work because the art is simplistic and appealing but behind his cartoon animals are really emotional stories. His work is definitely not for kids. Now I think any fan of capes, especially golden age stuff, is required to read I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets and You Shall Die by your Own Evil Creation. Fletcher Hanks was basically a drunk bum who ignored his family to draw escapist superhero stuff about immortal, perfect beings who exact brutal merciless punishment against evildoers. It's like a "What If" Superman or Wonder Woman were amoral fascists. It's both a biography of a sad lonely man and a snapshot of late-30s comics where people were desperate for anything to take their minds off how hosed up the world was at the time. It's fascinating work that's entertaining and interesting as a historical piece. I gave a brief review earlier this year but one of my favorite kid-friendly stories of 2012 is Hilda and the Midnight Giant. It's an A4 format, full color, hardcover book with appealing art. The story is fun (and kind of depressing but what isn't in indie comics?) and I think it's one of the few genuinely all-ages comics that I could recommend to someone age 8 to 80. I think it was C.S. Lewis who said something like the best kids stories are enjoyed by adults and that couldn't be more true with this. On the subject of Nobrow, they printed the collected version of Jessie Moynihan's Forming (kinda NWS). It tells the story of mankinds early years prior to the great flood and the myriad of alien creatures and god-like beings that influenced the Earth. Moynihan currently works as a storyboard artist on Adventure Time so there's your selling point right there! Just be sure to advertise it to older teens because it's definitely not for kids. I would go on but I'm trying to stick with stuff that I think have a fair chance of selling and are currently in print. Personally, I think the best way to get people into alternative comics is by offering them small press works from popular creators. Everybody knows about Frank Miller and Batman/Sin City/300 but how many people know about Hard Boiled, Big Guy and Rusty, Ronin, and Martha Washington. Sandman is wicked popular but Gaiman's illustrated novel Stardust should attract a comics crowd as well as his darkly surreal The Tragic Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. Alan Moore is famous for a lot of things but you can now call me a fan of his 80s British material like D.R. and Quinch, Halo Jones, and A Small Killing. I've been hunting around Kyle Baker's work. He's probably famous in the mainstream for his Deadpool stuff but Baker wrote an amazing Plastic Man run that's been collected as Plastic Man: On the Lam. It's beautifully drawn, almost like a bouncy cartoon, and all ages to boot. Why I Hate Saturn is probably his most respected work but The Cowboy Wally Show is something I'm slowly getting into. al-azad fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Dec 2, 2012 |
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Dec 2, 2012 22:31
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al-azad posted:Comixology takes independent submissions, right? They need to cultivate indie goodwill. Indie books sell way fewer copies than the mainstream stuff so the profit margins between 30% and 50% aren't going to be that great. Might as well just make it 30% like every other distributor. Every once in a while they'll make a big huff about starting to accept self-publishers but I don't know how serious they are. They've had a private beta going on for a few months, but it strikes me as kinda strange. I'm friends with a shitload of indie cartoonists and I'll be damned if any of them have gotten in. Maybe there's an NDA? Except I would expect them to be pimping their stuff on Facebook and the like.
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Dec 2, 2012 22:34
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Crisco Kid posted:So I’ve been tasked with creating a non-mainstream buying list, Pascal Girard's Bigfoot is quite good (though his Reunion book I'm not a fan of). Liz Prince does great autobio comics, as does Jeffrey Brown. Mostly relationship stuff, but they are some of the best at it. Lilli Carre has a really unique style and her books like Woodsman Pete are pretty fun. Paul Hornschemeier and Anders Nilsen are both pretty great too? God, there's so many, but I would recommend looking around at Fantagraphics and Top Shelf, as both of them should have plenty of books that are not too horribly difficult to get a hold of.
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Dec 3, 2012 02:55
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Crisco Kid posted:So I’ve been tasked with creating a non- Edit: Nevermind, I think all my suggestions were too mainstream compared to what you are looking for. fnordcircle fucked around with this message at 09:41 on Dec 3, 2012 |
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Dec 3, 2012 09:37
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Planetoids, guys, Planetoids. Check it out already. And about comic recommendations, following good creators around is a good way to go. So if you're trying to recommend a cape book for the under-age set, Jeff Smith's Shazam: The Monsters of Evil is pretty stellar. But why not try to recommend the european stuff, since you're already interested in it? Tintin, Gaston, Asterix and Obelix, etc. There's some great contemporary stuff being translated right now, like Siegfried, which so far only has one volume out (cannot take that  ).But there are enough good recommendations in this thread and others throughout this sub-forum (like the european comics thread!) that you should have plenty to choose from. Oh, and if you're looking for definite large sales, get the Sandman stuff. That stuff sells like gangbusters and works for pretty much every demographic.
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Dec 3, 2012 19:43
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I'd like to recommend Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura's I Kill Giants. Great self-contained story about a little girl who firmly believes she's a giant-slayer, despite all the real-world evidence to the contrary. At its heart, it's a poignant story about a young girl coping with loss. Didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, and totally loved it. I'm not afraid to say it genuinely made me tear up. Edit: I should add that this book also has some great funny and whimsical moments, as well. Madrox fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Dec 5, 2012 |
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Dec 5, 2012 09:45
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Madrox posted:I'd like to recommend Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura's I Kill Giants. Great self-contained story about a little girl who firmly believes she's a giant-slayer, despite all the real-world evidence to the contrary. At its heart it's a poignant story about a young girl coping with loss. Didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, and totally loved it. I'm not afraid to say it genuinely made me tear up.
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Dec 5, 2012 15:38
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Madrox posted:I'd like to recommend Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura's I Kill Giants. Great self-contained story about a little girl who firmly believes she's a giant-slayer, despite all the real-world evidence to the contrary. At its heart, it's a poignant story about a young girl coping with loss. Didn't know what to expect when I picked it up, and totally loved it. I'm not afraid to say it genuinely made me tear up. I give this book as a gift all the time. To people who then hit me with it and ask why I wanted them to cry. Warning: it's pretty solid, it hurts when they do this.
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Dec 5, 2012 19:43
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A thing I got today I Love Trouble by Kel Symons and Mark A. Robinson  First off, this is printed on weird paper. It smells weird and it feels weird and I didn't like it. Anyway, it's about a girl who discovers that she can teleport after she reflexively saves herself from a plane crash. And she does what any kind of sleezy person would do when they discover they have this amazing ability: she sets out to make herself some cash and steal some fine art that she hangs up on her wall with a staple gun. But soon she and her boyfriend get involved with some shady people who want to exploit her and her power for their own gain. The art feels...cramped. It's not bad, certainly, if you enjoy Humberto Ramos kind of stuff. It's expressive and fits the tone of the story. But it does only occupy the middle of the page. There's a huge amount of just empty space on every page and I don't know why. We've had "print to the edge of the page" technology for like 100 years now. It just makes everything seem small and hard to read. I dunno. I guess I'd give it a C+. Not bad but not really anything important that you need to check out.
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Dec 5, 2012 23:38
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Without a doubt, Stumptown #4 has one of the most incredible action sequences I've ever read in a comic book. It's got such a masterful understanding of the medium.
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Dec 6, 2012 05:19
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Read the first three issues of James Stockoe's (sp?) Godzilla: The Half-Century War. Jesus its good. The art is mind-bendingly amazing and everything else is pretty top notch as well. Get it.
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Dec 6, 2012 05:59
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Shageletic posted:Read the first three issues of James Stockoe's (sp?) Godzilla: The Half-Century War. This is pretty much the rule for Stokoe, I think. Anyone know, are we delayed on issue 4? It feels like it's been a while 
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Dec 6, 2012 06:26
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bairfanx posted:This is pretty much the rule for Stokoe, I think. I have no idea about release dates but I was listening to Inkstuds on the radio like 2 weeks ago because Brandon Graham was on and James Stokoe's wife (who is also a cartoonist) was there too. She said he was in "lockdown" or something to that effect so it looks like he's hard at work. Speaking of Stokoe, have you guys seen how this cat draws? It might be the best/most hosed up thing ever. 
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Dec 6, 2012 06:42
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Kull the Conqueror posted:Without a doubt, Stumptown #4 has one of the most incredible action sequences I've ever read in a comic book. It's got such a masterful understanding of the medium. Ugh, did #4 come out this week? My shop guy needs to get on top of things.
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Dec 6, 2012 09:47
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Adam Strange posted:Speaking of Stokoe, have you guys seen how this cat draws? It might be the best/most hosed up thing ever. He's a lefty. As a fellow lefty, I can understand. He draws with his entire hand "below" whatever he's drawing so he doesn't smudge the hell out of everything with the dreaded left pinkie swipe. God, that art is gorgeous, though.
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Dec 6, 2012 15:30
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Adam Strange posted:I have no idea about release dates but I was listening to Inkstuds on the radio like 2 weeks ago because Brandon Graham was on and James Stokoe's wife (who is also a cartoonist) was there too. She said he was in "lockdown" or something to that effect so it looks like he's hard at work. It doesn't look as strange there, considering that he's just got a pencil (pen?). I think there's a picture floating around of how he grips a Sharpie that makes his hand look like a deformed claw.
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Dec 6, 2012 16:58
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goons posted:Good indie comics recommendations re: Stokoe's janky wizard hand: 
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Dec 6, 2012 23:41
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Crisco Kid posted:Thanks guys, I'm compiling the list now! Wait, does he have Spider-Nam prints??
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Dec 7, 2012 00:08
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I think Erik Larsen also draws like that.
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Dec 7, 2012 05:45
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Mr Wind Up Bird posted:The art feels...cramped. It's not bad, certainly, if you enjoy Humberto Ramos kind of stuff. It's expressive and fits the tone of the story. But it does only occupy the middle of the page. There's a huge amount of just empty space on every page and I don't know why. We've had "print to the edge of the page" technology for like 100 years now. It just makes everything seem small and hard to read. It also seemed unnecessarily dark which seemed at odds with the art style itself. quote:I dunno. I guess I'd give it a C+. Not bad but not really anything important that you need to check out. I definitely wasn't pulled in by it and probably won't buy another issue.
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Dec 8, 2012 02:16
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I'm trying to read a comic series that takes place predominately on the sea. Pirates, sea-like adventures, I've been trying to read a lot of those types of stories lately and I have no idea where to start. Thanks!
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Dec 10, 2012 19:34
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Slackerish posted:I'm trying to read a comic series that takes place predominately on the sea. Pirates, sea-like adventures, I've been trying to read a lot of those types of stories lately and I have no idea where to start. Thanks! Check out Far Arden. I have it but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I've seen mostly positive reviews, though. This Tintin volume is mostly high seas adventures and I think it's the best classic adventure stories in the series. It's also the basis for last year's movie.
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Dec 10, 2012 19:55
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Slackerish posted:I'm trying to read a comic series that takes place predominately on the sea. Pirates, sea-like adventures, I've been trying to read a lot of those types of stories lately and I have no idea where to start. Thanks! There's Leviathan: 
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Dec 10, 2012 21:59
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Slackerish posted:I'm trying to read a comic series that takes place predominately on the sea. Pirates, sea-like adventures, I've been trying to read a lot of those types of stories lately and I have no idea where to start. Thanks! Also Brian Wood's Conan has spent a lot of time with a pirate queen and Conan on a boat. Good stuff. This is coming out in trade a little sooner as seen here. Also there's about a million billion volumes of One Piece you could read. I haven't read any myself but I understand it to be pretty good.
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Dec 11, 2012 01:35
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Slackerish posted:I'm trying to read a comic series that takes place predominately on the sea. Pirates, sea-like adventures, I've been trying to read a lot of those types of stories lately and I have no idea where to start. Thanks! Conan the Barbarian has had a recent arc or two that take place on the sea and are just terrific. Don't think its been bounded into a trade yet though. EDIT: ^^^ Doh! Just saw the post above mine. The Great Pacific is a couple of issues in and I'm liking it so far, but its playing its card fairly close to the chest so far. Deals with/takes place on the Great Garbage patch in the northern Pacific. Shageletic fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 01:37
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Sea of Red Polly and the Pirates vol 1 Polly and the Pirates vol 2 East Coast Rising
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Dec 12, 2012 02:35
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Mr Wind Up Bird posted:You could read The Massive! It's about a ship sailing around after a total ecological collapse. But I guess the first trade isn't out until march Everyone read One Piece. You can get it digitally for five bucks a volume. It rules.
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Dec 12, 2012 04:41
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Are any of the non-Hellboy/BPRD Mignola books worth reading? I've been picking up Abe Sapien because the first one had some awesome art and the stories are fun, although Abe is pretty much a blank slate of a character to me, but what about Lobster Johnson, Baltimore, Witchfinder, whatever else I'm missing?
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Dec 12, 2012 04:53
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GrandpaPants posted:Are any of the non-Hellboy/BPRD Mignola books worth reading? I've been picking up Abe Sapien because the first one had some awesome art and the stories are fun, although Abe is pretty much a blank slate of a character to me, but what about Lobster Johnson, Baltimore, Witchfinder, whatever else I'm missing? Lobster Johnson's stories are pulp goodness, so if you think you'll like that sort of two-fisted adventure with a bit of Hellboy's sensibilities, definitely go for Lobster Johnson. Can't comment on Baltimore or Witchfinder.
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Dec 12, 2012 07:06
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Baltimore is like Hellboy if the sleeping vampire threat woke up shortly after the Great War, Europe is in utter shambles, and the protagonist is replaced by a one-legged British nobleman with a major chip on his shoulder. It compares very favorably in terms of story and artwork to Hellboy. I think I like Sir Edward Grey better when he shows up as a mysterious allusion to past paranormal events in the main series over his portrayal in his own minis because it's harder to reconcile the hooded, masked mystic that shows up alongside Dagda and the fairies with the mortal Sir Edward. That said, the first mini was quite good. I didn't care for the latest Witchfinder, despite it featuring some of John Severin's last work.
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Dec 12, 2012 07:48
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I second the previous two comments, though I'll add that the first Lobster Johnson arc, the Iron Prometheus, ties heavily into the later pre-Hell on Earth BPRD stories. If you decide to skip all the other stuff, I highly recommend reading it to get some more insight into Memnan Saa. They are all worth your time though, with the possible exception of the Witchfinder books. Mignola hasn't seemed to be able to figure out what to do with those yet.
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Dec 12, 2012 13:04
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Has Hellboy in Hell started yet?
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Dec 12, 2012 16:18
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Len posted:Has Hellboy in Hell started yet?
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Dec 12, 2012 16:24
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Adam Strange posted:I have no idea about release dates but I was listening to Inkstuds on the radio like 2 weeks ago because Brandon Graham was on and James Stokoe's wife (who is also a cartoonist) was there too. She said he was in "lockdown" or something to that effect so it looks like he's hard at work. Ugh, drat it. He's incredibly weak and has horrific art posture. That always really worries me about artists' futures. Like Quitely, didn't he recently have back problems that took him out for awhile?
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Dec 12, 2012 16:28
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