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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 28, 2018 19:13:13 GMT -5
Saga never really clicked with me, but I've loved Frank Barbiere's Five Ghosts, Ray Fawkes' Gotham by Midnight, Tom King's Omega Men, Joe Kubert Presents and Jeff Lemire's Descender.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2018 19:14:34 GMT -5
I read mostly "mainstream" titles. I have not read Saga. My favorite series the past few years have been Waid's New Riverdale Archie series and all the other New Riverdale series.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 28, 2018 21:54:48 GMT -5
I'd but Saga 2nd to Ms. Marvel myself, but there are lots of other highly acclaimed non-big 2 series out there I haven't read.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2018 22:34:11 GMT -5
I think Saga is amazing. I don't know if it is the best series of the last ten years, but it is certainly the most successful series to launch in the last ten years, in terms of finding audience, becoming a seller in many markets and in many formats, and in garnering critical acclaim within the industry and outside the industry (it won at least one Hugo for example).
Of series launching within the last 10 years, my favorites aside from Saga include the aforementioned Descender, Five Ghosts, and Joe Kubert Presents, but also include Warren Ellis & Declan Shalvey's Injection, Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips Fatale, Greg Rucka & Michael Lark's Lazarus, Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key, Jeff Lemire's Trillium, and Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting's Velvet.
To compare them with Saga, the things they have in common is they have a singular creative vision, and narrative voice throughout, tell (or are telling) a complete story with beginning, middle & end, and have consistent art throughout to create a uniform visual narrative, even though they vary in genre, tone, style and other matters (the exception being Joe Kubert Presents which was an anthology but had a single, consistent editorial vision throughout).
-M
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Post by hondobrode on Oct 29, 2018 23:52:52 GMT -5
Going through some recent stuff looking over the last 10 years here's some great stuff I really enjoyed America's Got Powers  Welcome to AMERICA'S GOT POWERS! It's the biggest TV show on Earth, where the chance to win fame, fortune and get laid are dangled in front of a generation of super-powered teens. All they have to do is WIN. Who is the fastest, the strongest or the greatest? Who survives? Young Tommy Watt's dreams of being the greatest hero of them all might just be shattered when the greatest show on the planet begins to reveal it's dark heart.
Apama - The Undiscovered Animal  Hungarian ice cream truck driver, Iliya Zjarsky, goes hiking one day and discovers the animal spirit of the most powerful creature mankind has never known. Soon he unlocks the powers of the 'Apama' and hits the streets of Cleveland in an offbeat series unlike anything you've ever seen.
The Auteur  Fresh off the biggest bomb in Hollywood history, disgraced and desperate producer Nathan T. Rex enters a downward spiral of drugs and depravity in a quest to resurrect his career and save his soul. Over budget and behind schedule on the latest installment of the horror franchise, PRESIDENTS DAY, T. Rex is backed into a corner by bad publicity, a crap project, and a jerk studio exec, but finds salvation at a strip club by huffing glue, and a chance encounter with cable news.
Basil & Victoria  A humorous Victorian-era set social fable told in pure Dickensian tradition. Follow the titular pair of street orphans on adventures far and wide. London, 1887. While the British Empire is at its peak, and influences the majority of the world, most of London still lives amid poverty, disease, and crime. Basil and Victoria are two of the thousands of orphaned street urchins who survive by hustling, selling rats, and sleeping on the docks. Helped by Cromwell, their faithful bulldog, the trio travel from the mean streets of Whitechapel to exotic distant lands, meeting famous, and infamous, historical and literary figures along the way, as they lovingly bicker and squabble the entire time !
Bedlam  Fillmore Press was once Madder Red, a homicidal maniac and criminal overlord who terrorized the town of Bedlam for years. Then he got better. This is what happens next. A double-sized introduction to a blood-soaked cityscape of murder, mayhem, and mystery by NICK SPENCER (MORNING GLORIES, THIEF OF THIEVES) and RILEY ROSSMO (REBEL BLOOD, GREEN WAKE)! |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Oct 30, 2018 3:01:34 GMT -5
I like Saga a lot.
My favorite series from a mainstream publisher was King City. It's a lot funnier, a lot less traditional and predictable in it's storytelling, and the art created a more consistent and immersive environment.
I think the strongest works in comics right now are stand alone graphic novels (and I HATE the term graphic novel!) rather than serialized comics, though. Isle of 10,000 Corpses, Patience, My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Into the Woods...
I also strongly agree that Archie is just killing it. I am 100% all-in for the entire Archie line right now.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 30, 2018 5:00:43 GMT -5
Hungarian ice cream truck driver, Iliya Zjarsky (...) That's a very Slavic-sounding name and surname for a Hungarian. Not saying it's impossible, just unlikely. The first name, at least, should be Elias instead of Iliya. I know, it's nitpicking, but it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine
That said, it looks like a fun comic. I love Gallego's John-Buscemesque art style.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 30, 2018 5:43:12 GMT -5
Saga for me!
It’s fun, it’s not derivative, it’s got fun characters and a universe that’s both absurd and intriguing, and it has gorgeous art. Plus it’s got esperanto!
As far as publishers go, however, the success story of the last decade has to be Archie. I don’t know how they’re doing money-wise, but as far as renewing their line, they did brilliantly (without shooting their own foot off).
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2018 8:05:06 GMT -5
For me, the Archie relaunch. It certainly got me reading Archie again and collecting old issues.
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Post by hondobrode on Oct 30, 2018 8:14:57 GMT -5
Hungarian ice cream truck driver, Iliya Zjarsky (...) That's a very Slavic-sounding name and surname for a Hungarian. Not saying it's impossible, just unlikely. The first name, at least, should be Elias instead of Iliya. I know, it's nitpicking, but it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine
That said, it looks like a fun comic. I love Gallego's John-Buscemesque art style.
It's a delightfully amusing series; the epitome of why we dabble with new characters and creators in the search for something new and fresh.
I could re-read it again and again. Definitely worth pursuing IMO from the outstanding Humanoids imprint.
Black Dynamite
HE'S A POWDER KEG OF BLACK FURY THAT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE! The baddest kung-fu cat to ever appear on screen is coming to comics so you suckers better duck! Former CIA agent, international ladies man, and sworn ass-kicking enemy of The Man... he's BLACK DYNAMITE-and he's about to walk into the most dangerous journey of his life!
Black Hood
When Philadelphia police officer Greg Hettinger stepped into the middle of a gunfight, hot lead shredded his face -- and he pulled the trigger, blind. Now Greg is waking up in a world where he's a killer, hopelessly scarred and hooked on painkillers. What does a man do when he can no longer face the world, yet still wants to do good? He puts on a hood...
Bloodshot
Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of-- no. That's not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You've retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that-- no. That's not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires. The perfect confluence of military necessity and cutting-edge technology. A walking WikiLeaks that is a reservoir of dirty secrets that could set the world on fire. And you've just been captured.
Bulletproof Coffin
Relive the Golden Age of comics! The Legendary Kane and Hine return to their greatest creations! SEE! Coffin Fly Vs. Zombie Nam Vets! The Shield of Justice walks the Dead Beat! The Unforgiving Eye sees all, forgives nothing! Red Wraith: He's red! He's dead! Ramona: Buxom, Beautiful and Bound! Big 2 Publishing, eat your heart out!
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Joe Casey is one of the industry's most popular writers having written for Marvel and DC, from The Uncanny X-Men to Superman, and many more best-selling titles, and most recently created and writes the acclaimed Sex series from Image Comics! Now he is tackling one of Jack Kirby's greatest creations, Captain Victory! And this story will Blow! Your! Mind! Out of the hell of a cosmic firefight, Captain Victory is launched into an epic adventure that spans both space and time! All your favorites are here -- as well as all-new enemies to face! Your new favorite cosmic comic book has finally arrived!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 30, 2018 9:28:27 GMT -5
Black Hammer has been rocking my world. Lemire's Royal City was also brilliant.
The Fade Out and Velvet by Brubaker/Phililips and Brubaker/Epting.
Darwyn Cooke's Parker adaptations.
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Post by Randle-El on Oct 30, 2018 10:14:19 GMT -5
I read the first trade collection of Saga, but couldn't really get into it either. But echoing MRP and Slam, Velvet by Brubaker and Phillips is a great series. I just wish they would get back to work on it and finish it. Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark and Southern Bastards by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour are both two of my favorites from the last decade as well.
From mainstream superhero comics, my favorites have been the "quirky" Marvel titles: Charles Soule and Javier Pulido on She-Hulk, Dan Slott and Michael Allred on Silver Surfer, Matt Fraction and David Aja on Hawkeye. Mark Waid's run on Daredevil, while not quite "quirky" is up there too.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 30, 2018 13:07:31 GMT -5
I read the first trade collection of Saga, but couldn't really get into it either. But echoing MRP and Slam, Velvet by Brubaker and Phillips is a great series. I just wish they would get back to work on it and finish it. Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark and Southern Bastards by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour are both two of my favorites from the last decade as well. How did I forget Southern Bastards? Great book. |
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Post by hondobrode on Oct 30, 2018 17:14:58 GMT -5
Haven't read that yet but it sounds great.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Terror is born anew in this dark re-imagining of Sabrina the Teenage Witch's origin. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, the young sorceress finds herself at a crossroads, having to choose between an unearthly destiny and her mortal boyfriend, Harvey. But a foe from her family's past has arrived in Greendale, Madame Satan, and she has her own deadly agenda. Archie Comic's latest horror sensation starts here!
Clone
From ROBERT KIRKMAN's Skybound imprint, comes a sci-fi story like you've never seen before! Dr. Luke Taylor's perfect life comes to a dramatic halt when an identical, bloodied version of himself arrives at his doorstep with news that he is one of many clones and they're all after his pregnant wife and their unborn child!
Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things
Courtney liked her life. She had friends scattered throughout her city neighborhood. She enjoyed school, and her teachers and classes were the best. But that was before. Now Courtney's parents have dragged her out to a high-to-do suburb to live with her creepy Great Uncle Aloysius in his spooky old house. And while her parents have slipped easily into their new social status, Courtney now has to deal with snobby classmates and the strange shadowy visitors that often come to visit her uncle. Now, instead of kids from the neighborhood, her only friends are ghastly ghouls and spooky spirits. Hmmm... maybe this won't be so bad after all... Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things is a new four-issue mini-series of creepy kids and nebbish nocturnals from fan-favorite creator Ted Naifeh (Gloomcookie).
Deadly Class
It's 1987. Marcus Lopez hates school. His grades suck. He has no money. The jocks are hassling his friends. He can't focus in class, thanks to his mind constantly drifting to the stunning girl in the front row and the Dag Nasty show he has tickets to. But the jocks are the children of Joseph Stalin's top assassin, the teachers are members of an ancient league of assassins, the class he's failing is "Dismemberment 101," and his crush, a member of the most notorious crime syndicate in Japan, has a double-digit body count. Welcome to the most brutal high school on Earth, where the world's top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. Murder is an art. Killing is a craft. At King's Dominion High School for the Deadly Arts, the dagger in your back isn't always metaphorical, nor is your fellow classmates' poison.
Death Sentence
 What would you do with superpowers - and six months to live? That's the dilemma facing three people who've contracted the G+ Virus, a terrifying sexually transmitted infection that gives you incredible, unpredictable powers - but starts the clock ticking. What can graphic designer Verity, failing indie guitarist Weasel and roguish media personality Monty do in the time they have left? Fade away - or go out in a blaze of glory? |
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Post by mrbrklyn on Oct 30, 2018 21:05:35 GMT -5
What would you pick? How would you rate Saga against it? I've only casually read some copies (out of sequence) and think I need to get a clue. FWIW, I didn't like Saga at all. I found it crass, unimaginative, and generally predictable and in bad taste. It didn't think it made particularly good use of the medium, and it's messages obvious and not well narrated. I'm sure it has its audience. Over the last 10 years, the best book, by far, is Kings Mister Miracle, followed, IMO, by The Eternal Warrior Laberyth. I really need to give it thought after that. There have been books worth reading but nothing spectacular... American Gods, which started as a novel. This last Star Trek TNG run from TMM, and the Prisoner.. |
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