Current Comics Worth A Look

[Nova Land]

Marvel Max comics

The Marvel Max line is Marvel's hey-kids-these-comics-are-off-limits-unless-you're-18-or-older no-seriously-we-mean-it, please-put-your-money-away-and-don't-try-to-buy-these line of comics. They feature an attention-getting parental advisory on the cover. Some feature graphic violence; some, a little nudity; some, generous usage of 4-letter words.

The majority of Max titles are mini-series. Apache Sky and The Hood, a pair of minis, have just concluded, so it's too late to recommend those here.

Alias # 15
story by Brian Bendis; art by Michael Gaydos
Marvel Max; monthly, continuing; 32 pages, color, $2.95 cover price

The one ongoing series is Alias, the story of Jessica Jones. Jessica has super-powers (the nature of which are unspecified, and which she doesn't use in these stories) who tried a career as a super-hero, didn't like it, and gave it up to become a private investigator who runs her own agency.

The writer, Brian Bendis, writes more like a playwright than a comic book scripter. His stories consist largely of extended dialogues between the characters. The current issue, # 15, consists of 2 conversations: a 9-page talk with Luke Cage (who Jessica had drunken sex with in the first issue, and is upset with about that); and a 12-page conversation with Scott Lang as the 2 sit in a restaurant on their first date. (Luke Cage, as Marvel fans know, is a super-hero once called Power Man; Scott Lang is Ant-Man. Luke and Jessica are standing guard outside the office of Matt Murdoch, aka Daredevil. None of these characters appears in costume.)

The closest to super-hero action that occurs is when Doctor Octopus races by the restaurant Jessica and Scott are sitting in, with Spider-Man and the Human Torch in hot pursuit. That takes up two panels. Jessica turns to Scott and asks, "You, uh -- you want to go help?" Scott replies, "I didn't bring any of my Ant-Man stuff. Do you want to go?" "Mmmmmmmmmm -- nah. They got it. And I really -- I don't do that anymore." End of subject.

Initially the Max comics seemed to be set an in alternate version of the Marvel universe. Recently, however, the Alias and Daredevil continuities seem to be inter-connecting. Since Bendis writes both, if you pick up one you will likely enjoy picking up the other as well.

Alias looks at what life in a world with super-heroes might be like, but it is not about heroes fighting villains or other standard comic book staples. If you don't mind a comic in which the letters c, f, k and u appear together with sometimes surprising frequency, this is worth a look.

 

[Nova Land]

Daredevil 37, 38, 39

Daredevil 37 - 39
story by Brian Bendis; art by Alex Maleev, Manuel Gutierrez
Marvel; monthly, continuing; 32 pages, color, $2.95 cover price

Surely, any comic book that has Robert Ingersoll as a guest star has to be of interest to JREFers!

I should note that this Robert Ingersoll is not the famous free-thinker from a century or so ago, it is one of his descendants, also a lawyer, who used to write a column entitled "The Law Is A Ass" analyzing the use (and mis-use) of the legal system in comic books. He has written a few comics stories, and now he is appearing in one as well.

Daredevil, as dedicated comics readers know, is really blind lawyer Matt Murdoch. Two years ago, a wealthy client came to Murdoch's law firm and asked Murdoch to represent him in a lawsuit against Daredevil. Believing one of his enemies had to be behind the lawsuit, and thinking that taking the case would let him control publicity plus get closer to the villain behind it, Murdoch took the case -- against the strong advice of his partner and friends.

Things went wrong, and Murdoch had to pull some shady shenanigans so that Daredevil could testify in the same courtroom where he (Murdoch) was present to cross-examine. But the case ended with Daredevil exonerated.

Earlier this year, however, a mobster looking for a deal leaked to the FBI that Murdoch is Daredevil, an FBI agent in need of money leaked the news to the tabloids, and the story made front-page headlines.

Faced with the choice of coming clean or lying, Murdoch chose to lie through his teeth. He has denied he is Daredevil and is suing the tabloid that broke the story for four hundred million dollars. Ingersoll makes a guest appearance in # 37 as a lawyer for the tabloid.

In # 38, a washed-up 1970s super-hero, the White Tiger, puts on his costume again, and stumbles on a robbery in progress after one of the robbers shoots a police officer. The robbers toss a stolen TV at the White Tiger, and flee; more cops arrive to find the White Tiger standing near the dead officer, and arrest him for the killing. Luke Cage, a friend of the Tiger, approaches Matt to ask him to take the case.

Matt: There's a lot more to a case like this than "good lawyering". You have to have strategy. Legal strategy.

You have to consider the profile of the case. Is it a big, bloated circus in the making?

Let's see: a super hero cop killer? Oh, my god, yes. The D.A. is already writing his mayoral acceptance speech.

Not only is this case a colorful bit of media showbiz, but it's the kind of case entire political careers are built on.

The paper this morning. CNN. The Today Show. They are already trying him in the press.

So now you have to, strategically, consider the mood of the public.

That makes me the worst choice to represent him. I'm in the middle of the legal fight of my life with the tabloids that went public with my secret identity. Half the world thinks I really am Daredevil and my involvement in a case like this taints the jury... This taints my ability to handle this case. What you need is a lawyer that has no connection to anything that even remotely resembles a costume..."

To which Luke Cage replies:

I understand your reluctance (and by reluctance, I mean this wienie behavior you're displaying) but what you need to do is keep your eye on the prize. You're a lawyer. Be a lawyer.

It isn't that simple, but Murdoch eventually (again, against his better judgment and the advice of his friends) agrees to take the case. Jury selection begins.

In # 39, the trial gets underway. The entire issue shows the case as it progresses: opening statements, prosecution witnesses, cross-examination, and the beginning of the defense case. Daredevil does not appear in costume at all in this issue. The only fighting is the courtroom verbal sparring between the prosecution and the defense.

This is an excellent courtroom drama that happens to be set in the world of the Marvel super-heroes. I hate to recommend Marvel comics when there are other companies more deserving of your money, but this has become a consistently good comics series.

 

[Nova Land]

I'll be going away for about a week, and probably won't have much access to a computer during that time (or much time to play with one even if one is available). Soon after I get back, the new comics box should arrive, so this is about the last chance to mention any I've got on hand as "current".

So:

Charm School # 6: Vampire Dragster Dean
written and drawn by Elizabeth Watasin
Slave Labor Graphics, Box 26427, San Jose CA
several times a year; 24 pages, black & white; $2.95 cover price

I meant to mention this in tandem with Strangers in Paradise, since the two are both romantic comedies involving true love and triangles. The flavors are different, but both are very fine comics, and readers who enjoy one have a good chance of appreciating the other.

There are 4 main characters to Charm School. Bunny is an attractive witch in training. ("Charm school" -- get it?) Dean is a vampire mechanic who loves hot rods and Bunny; she looks and acts like James Dean, hence the name. Fairer Than is a drop-dead-gorgeous Faerie who is interested in winning Bunny away from Dean (and unfortunately, while Bunny loves Dean she also has a secret weakness for Faeries, which she is trying to resist). And then there's Pippita, a rather cranky little love goblin who tends to lose boyfriends quickly.

The first 3 issues came out a a mini-series a year or two back, and dealt with the arrival on the scene of Fairer Than, and Bunny's struggle to resist her advances. The current issues are subtitled Vampire Dragster Dean, and deal with the rivalry between Fairer Than and Dean. (I assume this will also be a 3-issue series, so there is one more issue to go in this arc.) Dean was scheduled to have a drag race with a werewolf at Dead Man's Bluff at sunset on Sweetheart's Day, but now Fairer Than has challenged Dean to a duel for Bunny's hand (and other parts) that same night.

This is a pleasant and charming book, suitable for most ages and filled with fun touches (such as hidden characters to search for in the artwork, and games such as "If Bunny, Fairer Than, and Dean were candies, what would they be?". Recommended reading for people who love chocolate, romance, and other magical things.

 

[Nova Land]

Shades of Blue

Shades of Blue #s 8 & 9
written by James Harris and Rachel Nacion, drawn by Cal Slayton
Amp Comics, 335 N. Seymour St, Mundelein IL 60060
sort of bi-monthly; 24 pages; black & white; $2.95 cover price.

This is another comic I intended to mention sooner.

There are people who enjoy superhero comics, and people who black-and-white slice-of-life comics. This is a nice cross between superheroes and slice-of-life.

Shades of Blue is about a young school-girl (Heidi Paige) who wakes up one day with blue hair and electric powers. One of her friends, Marcus, is a comics geek and talks her into dressing up in a costume.

It turns out she is not the only one to gain powers, and she has encountered several other powered characters in the issues so far. In the current storyline there is a classmate who is a very competitive ice-skater, whose father seems to be pushing her to win at any cost, and who appears to have ice powers that she can't control very well.

This is a nicely-done story with likeable characters and a very different take on what it would be like to have super-powers. I especially liked the part in # 9 where Heidi refuses to get into a fight with the "Ice Queen", and manages to make friends with her instead.

 

[Nova Land]

The Successors

The Successors # 2
written by Russ Kazmierczak, drawn by Brent Otey
KO Comics, Box 6418, Fullerton CA 92834
uncertain frequency; 32 pages b & w; $3.00 cover price

Like Shades of Blue, this is an alternative take on super-heroes, but somewhat more serious. Again we have a world with a number of people who have received super-powers (and some of them appear from the background information to engage in traditional comic-book super-hero activities) but this series is more about the people inside the costumes.

There are 2 issues out so far. Each has told the story of a different character. This issue is about "Psycho Chick". You could, if you received amazing powers, put on a costume and go out to fight villains and save the world; but this is a story of a once-shy girl who decides to use her powers against the greatest menace she knows: the high school boy who seduced her and broke her heart. It's a story about people rather than powers. There are humorous touches, but this is not a funny story, and the ending to this story is rather chilling.

Next issue will tell the story of Citizen Angst, "the self-proclaimed spokesman of the super-hero community," and how a "promotional appearance for his auto-biography turns into a public relations nightmare when an anti-superhero group protests outside the bookstore."

 

[Nova Land]

a couple of quick follow-ups

Since previously recommending Fables and Green Lantern I have received and read the next issue of each.

Fables, having wrapped up the Rose Red mystery, is now beginning a new storyline, "Animal Farm," about Snow White and Rose Red visiting the upstate New York farm where the 3 little pigs and other animal members of the Fables community live. Their unexpected arrival interrupts a meeting at which the animals are considering rising up. Here is what the pig standing on a soap is saying as they walk in:

And furthermore, my fellow gentlespecies, I say to you the great bard's admonition to "take arms against a sea of troulbes" is more than just a deft turn of phrase -- a tasty tidbit of artful speech from a master wordsmith. It shouldn't be treated lightly, as hollow metaphor, but as literal advice!

I think we should immediately resolve to...

Oh my.

There continue to be many witty bits and interesting plot turns. (There also continue to be certain words young impressionable people are not supposed to know about.)This continues to be very entertaining and thought-provoking.

----------

Also continuing to be entertaining and thought-provoking is Green Lantern # 155, which continues the story "Hate Crime" begun in the previous issue (in which Terry, Kyle's young assistant, was brutally beaten for being gay).

This issue consists of 5 conversations, all done well: one at the hospital, between Kyle, Jen, Terry's father and Terry's lover; one at the Justice League satellite, between Kyle and several other super-heroes, about what heroes should and should not do in dealing with hate crimes; one in space, between Kyle and the ghost of his predecessor as Green Lantern, Hal Jordan; one back at the hospital, where there has been a major development regarding Terry, and a closing conversation between Kyle and Jen in which they reach an important personal decision.

This is good story-telling as well as a good story -- highly recommended.

 

[Nova Land]

Stray Bullets

Stray Bullets # 26
written and drawn by David Lapham
El Capitan Books, Box 351508, Los Angeles CA 90035
about quarterly, 32 pages, b & w, $3.50 cover price.

I don't have time to go into much detail about this, but do want to at least mention it briefly while this issue is still current, as it may be a couple months or so before the next opportunity.

This is an excellent hard-boiled noir title. The issues contain stand-alone stories, but characters re-appear, with the stories jumping around in time to follow one set of characters, touch in with others, go back to see how past events lead up to events we've seen, and show how the characters' paths intersect.

Issue # 25 had a rather horrifying conclusion. Issue # 26 will seem a little strange if it is the first issue you pick up, as it is an "Amy Racecar" story -- Amy is the fantasy character a young girl in the series has created and whose stories she lives when reality becomes overwhelming.

There is black humor to the stories, but many of the storiies are quite brutal. If you enjoyed "Pulp Fiction" you can probably handle this.

 

[Nova Land]

The new comics box arrived yesterday. Lots of good stuff, including new issues of Noble Causes and Queen & Country, a Jingle Belle special, the first issue of Leave it to Chance in ages, plus titles previously mentioned in this thread. I took a nap early afternoon, got some other stuff done, then took out a stack in the evening to read while waiting to go on-line and promptly fell asleep again. (I hope this sleep thing isn't habit-forming. I mean, it seems to be a pleasant experience, as is eating, but can you imagine doing it every day?)

Today's a nice rainy day, ideal for staying indoors to read, so here are a few quick items.

Strangers In Paradise # 54
written and drawn by Terry Moore
Abstract Studio, Box 271487, Houston TX 77277
published about every 6 weeks; 24 pages; b & w; $2.95 cover price

This continues to be about the best comic being published. Since people browsing the JREF boards tend to be very intelligent people, I assume most of you are buying and reading this already.

This issue has a beautiful cover illustrating the song "Fields of Gold". (It's a Sting song, but the version to use as part of the soundtrack for the story is the Eva Cassidy one, according to Moore.)

Moore makes the reader wait 10 pages before going back to the ending of # 53 -- 10 beautiful pages, developing the suspense sub-plot which is lurking in the background and providing a lovely epilogue to the sub-plot about Tambi and David.

Pages 11 - 15 are, in turn, touching, heart-breaking, and hilarious. Anyone who can read this and not be in love with Katchoo is strange indeed.

The closing pages of Griffin, Nikki and Brad searching for Francine provide a welcome light interlude after the intensity of the main sequence -- until the final page, as Brad and Francine are re-united...

It's 6 long weeks until the next issue comes out.

This is an excellent comic. It is even more enjoyable if you know who the characters are and what's going on. Go out now and buy the back issues or the trade paperbacks -- if money is a problem, you can pretend you're buying them to give away as Hannukkah or Christmas gifts (which is also a good idea).

 

[Nova Land]

Far From Saints

Far From Saints # 1 / one-shot special
written Myatt Murphy, drawn by Scott Dalrymple
Second To Some Studios, Box 623, Bartonsville PA 18321
a one-shot (but if enough people are wise enough to buy this, it could continue)
32 pages; black & white; $1.50 cover price

This is an entertaining fantasy about a man who finds God (running a copy shop in the middle of nowhere). Actually, God is largely retired, but he has a committee of people, from various different time periods, assembled in the back room who are sort of watching over the world and trying to keep life-as-we-know-it from getting wiped out any time soon. The current problem facing them is, as one member of the committee explains it:

A scientist will build a new type of sonar that identifies fish by their exact species.

Only problem is that it kills them when it finds them.

Smart bastard will have no clue water magnifies his new soundwaves around the globe. He'll discover over fifty distinctive fish patterns. The idiot will work through forty of them before smelling anything fishy.

Destroy the world's marine life and you take out everything with it.

Our job's to change his mind, anyway possible.

Here are a few of my favorite lines from the story:

Sociology is a useless degree on every possible level.

How was I to know it would inspire the jutz to fish?

Oh, man... I knew I shouldn't have thrown back St. John's Wort on a bellyful of Rolaids.

Safe herbal remedy, my *ss!

Hey! Are you telling me that your all-mighty messiah is actually some two-bit Jersey whore?

Greetings, all. Can I just say how cool it is to be worshiped?

Who wants to pet my deity?

(You need to see the art to appreciate that one fully. And for those of you with dirty minds, it isn't what you think. The speaker is a Hindu, and his elephant is standing beside him, just outside the door to the committee room.)

Why, this is heaven, kid.

See, a long time ago, God got tired of everyone complaining about how he was running the show. So he threw the reins of humanity in their hands instead.

In our hands. And starting today, in your hands.

Welcome to God, kid. You're it.

There are lots of good lines and exchanges in this story, and the resolution to the story's problem is clever and amusing. At $1.50 for a 30-page story, this is a good value as well as a good comic.

And while I'm on the subject of items from Second To Some that are worth buying...

 

[Nova Land]

Fade From Blue # 4

Fade From Blue # 4
written Myatt Murphy, drawn by Scott Dalrymple
Second To Some Studios, Box 623, Bartonsville PA 18321
about bi-monthly; 32 pages; black & white; $1.50 cover price

This is a bit complicated to explain. There's an "If this is your first issue of Fade from Blue..." on the inside front cover, but that's too long to quote and would probably just confuse you more.

Let me cut to the chase. Figure out which sex or species you are, and read the appropriate section below.

(1) If you're female, you should enjoy this book. Not only is it a humorous story about 4 half-sisters, each of whom is an interesting character, but it also features several pages of text by Christa Shermot explaining the various games males play and how to beat them at these.

Dating may be a game in itself, but when it comes to the confusing idiosyncracies of guys, you're not just dealing with one game, you're getting yourself an entire schoolyard full of childish tricks... The following rules to his favorite guy-games will either help you win every time or know when to ask for your toys back and send him home.

(2) If you're male, you need this book. Not only is it "the comic your girlfriend will enjoy as much as you" (as one testimonial in the ads for it says) but it features inside low-down on how males think which you need to be aware that females are now aware of.

(3) If you're feline, not only does this book feature a well-drawn cat to look at, but it makes an ideal comic for lying on when your person is trying to read it.

This book has detailed and realistic art, believable characters, and loads of great dialogue. The current issue has a very funny cover scene about Christa and Elisa at a sidewalk cafe, which in turn is based on a very funny sequence in the comic on pages 18 and 19.

 

[Nova Land]

Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra # 1

Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra # 1 (of 4)
written by Greg Rucka, drawn by Salvador Larocca and Danny Miki
Marvel; 4-issue mini-series; $2.25 cover price

Marvel's Ultimate comics are re-boots of familiar characters, which ignore previous continuity and tell a new version for today's readers. It's a little strange having Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men on sale right next to numerous comics continuing the adventures of the non-ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men, but many of these comics tell good stories in their own right. I don't buy most of the Ultimate comics, but this series is by Greg Rucka, who generally does superior comics work.

The introduction of Elektra into the Daredevil series by Frank Miller in the 1980s is fondly remembered by many fans; and Marvel currently has an ongoing Elektra series (by Greg Rucka) which is also quite well done.

This new mini-series, however, is better yet, and should appeal to a much larger readership.

This is the story of Elektra Natchios and Matt Murdock meeting during their college days. The first issue is devoted largely to Elektra becoming friends with her college roommate Phoebe McAllister, and the two of them befriending another young woman, Melissa Beckerman. Towards the end of the issue Elektra notices Matt exercising in the gym, becomes interested in him, and a romance blossoms.

Those familiar with the Elektra character know there is darkness ahead, and that this story is not going to end happily. This first issue, however, is a charming story of friendship and romance, and I expect the remaining issues to be just as good even if the story shifts more to melodrama and possible super-heroics.

This will likely be collected as a trade paperback eventually; but with something this good, why wait?

 

[Nova Land]

Alias # 16

Alias # 16
written Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by Michael Gaydos
Marvel MAX; monthly; $2.99 cover price

Page 1 is credits and a quick re-cap: "Jessica Jones, a former costumed super hero, is now the owner and sole employee of Alias Investigations, a small private investigative firm. After a string of bad relationships, Jessica is fixed up with Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man. They are early in a potential relationship."

Page 2, word 4, begins with f, as do words 14, 22 and 23. (I'd type the words out, but that would require asterisking out the letter u.) There's a damn and a dammit in there as well, and a word beginning with s.

On page 3, four of the first five words begin with s, and would need to have an i asterisked out for me to use it here. The word beginning with f appears 5 times -- once entirely in capitals, to help it stand out from the crowd.

The language, however, is not entirely gratuitous. It's an important part of Jessica's character, as well as being vital to the joke on page 20.

I recommended the previous issue of Alias as a stand-alone story. The current issue begins a 6-issue storyline, "The Underneath", about Jessica coming home and finding a woman dressed like Spider-Man waiting for her. The woman is upset Jessica is not who she expected, and flees. (I suspect she was actually looking for Jessica Drew, the other identity of a minor Marvel super-heroine.)

Scott: And what did she look like?

Jessica: Like Spider-Man with little tits.

This is set in a universe very similar to the regular Marvel universe (except that people smoke, drink, swear and have sex, and what they do in this book may have no relation to what they do or remember doing in other Marvel books). It may add to one's enjoyment to know a little about the Marvel universe, but is not necessary.

I hate to recommend Marvels when there are better publishers to spend money on, but this is a d*mn good series.

 

[fhios]

Wow, Novaland, you're really into this. I hope somebody bothers to read my little note that a new Garth Ennis War Story has just come out. Ihaven't read it yet, but I've really enjoyed that title,

 

[Nova Land]

Wow, Novaland, you're really into this. I hope somebody bothers to read my little note that a new Garth Ennis War Story has just come out. I haven't read it yet, but I've really enjoyed that title.

Hi! It's nice to see someone else here recommending comics.

I haven't been buying the War Stories, but I heartily second your recommendation of them. (They have a $4.95 cover price, and I often decide against buying comics from Marvel or DC with high cover prices in the thought I may be able to find them later in a 4-for-a-dollar, 50-cent, or dollar bin.)

Garth Ennis writes powerful stories (often gut-wrenchingly so) and his War Stories series has been getting good reviews that have made me wish I had bought them.

For those who don't know what fhios and I are talking about, War Stories is a series of 64-page comics, from DC/Vertigo, each telling a stand-alone story. The writer on all of these is Garth Ennis; each is illustrated by a different artist.

"The Reivers" ("Dangerous tensions mount as an SAS unit fighting Germans in the North African desert during World War II endures the struggle for control between two very idfferent commanding officers", art by Cam Kennedy) was due out in November.

Due out in December (and one I most agonize over not having ordered) is "J for Jenny": "The story of one of Britain's tough-as-leather Lancaster bombers and her crew as they wreak havoc on cities all across Nazi Germany." The art is by David Lloyd. I'm generally more interested in writing than art, but even I can tell how good Lloyd's art is. (He did the art on V for Vendetta, another outstanding comic.)

There are several other War Stories issues that have been listed recently. I'm not sure which of these have come out yet, but they include:

War Story: Archangel: "When RAF Flight Officer Jamie McKenzie volunteered for training on the new CAMships, he didn’t realize he was signing up to be the British equivalent of a kamikaze pilot." Art by Gary Erskine.

War Story: D-Day Dodgers:John Higgins) "It's September 1944, roughly three months after the forces of Operation Overlord stormed the beaches of France on D-Day. While the Allied armies push their way eastward reclaiming France from the Germans and capturing headlines around the world, there are still thousands of war-weary, largely forgotten young men fighting in blood, dust, snow and mud on the Italian countryside. These now thinning regiments in Italy (the people are mostly English, Scottish and Irish soldiers) have been intensely fighting the enemy over the mountain terrain for months. But they fight another enemy as well - the insidious enemy of political pandering on the home front. Dubbed the "D-Day Dodgers" in England - for being in Italy and "missing" all the action on D-Day - these young men are asked to keep fighting, and dying, while being considered cowards back home." Art by John Higgins.

War Story: Condors "Outside Madrid in 1938, four men - each with his own world view and reasons for fighting - find themselves face-to-face with the enemy as they all take cover in the same foxhole. With little water or food and just one pistol among them, they must figure out how to survive the night… and each other." Art by Carlos Ezquerra.

War Story: Screaming Eagles: "In the waning days of the war in Europe, a battle-weary sergeant and the remnants of his decimated squad find a treasure trove of Nazi plunder and stolen luxuries the likes of which they could only dream of in the previous months of bloody fighting. But they quickly find that sometimes having it easy can test a soldier's resolve as much as the worst firefight." Art by Dave Gibbons.

 

[Zombified]

Transmetropolitan
File under generally interesting, although I think people skeptical about religion, politics, media, etc, will appreciate this comic more.

Transmetropolitan is social and political satire featuring a gonzo journalist named Spider Jerusalem in The City, a future cyberpunk/genomepunk Babylon of police corruption, dirty politics, cults, criminals, mutants and whackos. Jerusalem is cynical, self-destructive and misanthropic, but is also fervently dedicated to telling the truth about The City, its unfortunate citizens, and the powers that got them that way.

The comic skewers politics, commerce, police, religion - name your favorite social institution.

It isn't for everyone. It's definitely a comic for mature readers: language, situations, chemistry, attitude, attire and behavior of all characters is NOT recommended for the impressionable.

There's an awful lot of wildly extrapolated technology in this comic, since its science fiction, but there is nothing "unexplained" or "mysterious" - just technology.

By Warren Ellis, Darick Roberton, and Rodney Ramos. Published by DC's Vertigo.

I'm not really a comics guy, there's only a few comics I read, and those when they're collected into trade paperback format. I don't really have the collector's mentality to follow a bunch of different comics from issue to individual issue. This is definitely one of my favorites, though, and I keep an eye out for new volumes.

 

[fhios]

There are several other War Stories issues that have been listed recently. I'm not sure which of these have come out yet. [/QUOTE]

How could you forget Nightingale? It was by far the best issue in the title with the possible exception of condors. I hadn't heard of that one before your mention of it.

 

[fhios]

Oh, by the way, specifically in terms of interest to skeptics, Marvel's recent run of Howard the Duck touched, rather sarcastically, on issues of religion, and it took to task nearly all of the man supernaturally-minded "goth" comics, popular of late.

 

[Nova Land]

Transmetropolitan Transmetropolitan is social and political satire featuring a gonzo journalist named Spider Jerusalem in The City, a future cyberpunk/genomepunk Babylon of police corruption, dirty politics, cults, criminals, mutants and whackos. Jerusalem is cynical, self-destructive and misanthropic, but is also fervently dedicated to telling the truth about The City, its unfortunate citizens, and the powers that got them that way.

The comic skewers politics, commerce, police, religion - name your favorite social institution.

It isn't for everyone. It's definitely a comic for mature readers: language, situations, chemistry, attitude, attire and behavior of all characters is NOT recommended for the impressionable.

There's an awful lot of wildly extrapolated technology in this comic, since its science fiction, but there is nothing "unexplained" or "mysterious" - just technology.

By Warren Ellis, Darick Roberton, and Rodney Ramos. Published by DC's Vertigo.

Well-said! Transmetropolitan was indeed an excellent comic.

Sadly, it is no longer a current comic. The final issue (#60, I think) came out this past autumn. Warren Ellis had a definite ending in mind, he reached that, and DC/Vertigo (to their credit) allowed the book to end there rather than attempting to continue it past its author's intended ending.
The final trade paperback collection should be coming out soon (or may be out already). And DC is good about keeping the TPBs of series like this in print, so those interested should be able to pick the books up for some time to come.

However: Warren Ellis has several other books going. The most notable one at the moment is Global Frequency, a 12-issue series from DC/Wildstorm. The artist on this is Jon J Muth, who does beautiful art.

The first 2 issues are out -- I've got them, but haven't had a chance to write up a post recommending them yet. (I have a bunch I've been meaning to write up, and am a couple weeks slow on doing that). So thanks for giving me this chance to sneak in a quick mention of Global Frequency.

 

[Nova Land]

How could you forget Nightingale? It was by far the best issue in the title with the possible exception of Condors. I hadn't heard of that one before your mention of it.

Apologies for leaving out Nightingale! No slight was intended.

As I mentioned, I didn't buy these (although I'm hoping to pick them up some day). I'd love to hear some of your favorite scenes from these books, or other things you enjoyed about them.

(But on the other hand... If you make them sound too good, I may break down and buy them next chance, rather than waiting until I can pick them up cheaply. Do don't make them sound too great, okay? I can't afford to buy everything.)

 

[Nova Land]

I expect a new box in a week or two. There are a number of good comics from the previous box still waiting to be mentioned, so I'll try to post some new items later today or early tomorrow, while I can still sort of call them current.

(I'd hoped to mention more in time for holiday gift-giving, but have been a bit behind on things. But you all know that 8-issue mini-series (or 2 4-issue mini-series) are the ideal Hannukkah gifts, right?)