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Post by Reptisaurus! on Aug 8, 2019 15:21:45 GMT -5
I didn't consider Astro City, Bone, Hellboy//BPRD, or Usagi for this thread as they had already achieved notoriety and possibly arrived at their own apexes prior to 2000. I had forgotten The New Frontier was such a recent work. Good call. I'm truly surprised Y the Last Man made your list, @mrp . I was always interested in reading it when it was all the rage in indy comicdom, but common consensus seemed to be that the series fizzled at a certain point. Gotham Central? Sheesh, I'd meant to get around to that series years ago. Totally forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder! Fascinating list, overall. Thanks for taking the time to compile it! As for the quality of mainstream(Big Two) comics I don't think the hit or miss ratio is any worse than previous decades Have you seen DC Comics lately? Can't keep an artist on any book for more than 3 issues so there's no consistent vision, everything is rushed and overshipped, anything with the slightest hint or originality (Like CLEAN ROOM) is truncated and ignored. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 8, 2019 15:55:50 GMT -5
As for the quality of mainstream(Big Two) comics I don't think the hit or miss ratio is any worse than previous decades Have you seen DC Comics lately? Can't keep an artist on any book for more than 3 issues so there's no consistent vision, everything is rushed and overshipped, anything with the slightest hint or originality (Like CLEAN ROOM) is truncated and ignored. Not saying that doesn't happen but there are plenty of examples where the artist does stick around to define the book like Brian Hitch on Hawkman, Liam Sharp on The Green Lantern, Stephen Byrne on Wonder Twins, and Mitch Gerards on Mister Miracle. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 8, 2019 19:32:03 GMT -5
Agents of Atlas by Jeff Parker.
All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
Batman: Black and White. Though I believe the first series came out in 1996, it ran continuously for about 50 issues as a back-up in Batman: Gotham Knights about 15+ years back. Harlan Ellison, Dave
Gibbons, Paul Dini teamed up with Alex Ross, Marie Severin, Will Pfeifer teamed with Brent Anderson. This stuff was coming out on a regular monthly basis for about four years.
The Fighting American by Gordon Rennie, Duke Mighten, PC De La Fuente, and Andie Tong. Titan Comics two mini-series embrace the core of the character, the era in which he was created, and make a smooth transition over to today's world without sacrificing any of it. Funny without being mocking and critical without being disrespectful, this should be required reading for anyone looking to update an old character.
Green Hornet: Year One by Matt Wagner and Aaron Campbell. The Green Hornet seemed to be one of those characters destined never to be handled quite right in the comics. I would have settled for something semi-decent by the time this came out, but Wagner and Campbell knock it out of the park. May be the best Green Hornet comic there ever was.
The Human Target by Peter Milligan. Peter Milligan at the top of his game.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol.1 and 2. by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.
The Punisher by Garth Ennis.
The New Deadwardians by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard. 'Classic' is a high bar to attain, but given how well crafted, intelligent, and entertaining this series was, I'm not going to quibble.
Top Ten by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon. As someone who can't get into most of his superhero stuff due to the way in which he tears its foundations apart, here Moore embraces heroism and fun and it works spectacularly.
The Walking Dead. A mainstream success which deserves all of the praise it gets.
The Wrong Earth by Paul Constant and Tom Peyer. What if the Adam West Batman switched Earths with Frank Miller's and vice versa? While it's an idea anyone could have come up with, it's such a good one that it deserves it be handled only by the best people for this job. Thankfully, it has been.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Aug 8, 2019 20:28:09 GMT -5
Have you seen DC Comics lately? Can't keep an artist on any book for more than 3 issues so there's no consistent vision, everything is rushed and overshipped, anything with the slightest hint or originality (Like CLEAN ROOM) is truncated and ignored. Not saying that doesn't happen but there are plenty of examples where the artist does stick around to define the book like Brian Hitch on Hawkman, Liam Sharp on The Green Lantern, Stephen Byrne on Wonder Twins, and Mitch Gerards on Mister Miracle. That's good to hear. I've only read Mister Miracle of the ones you listed. I think Superwoman kept the same artist for at least the first couple issues as well. |
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Aug 8, 2019 23:13:04 GMT -5
In another thread, I just went off on an unnecessarily long harangue about everything that is wrong with comics today, and I feel the need to counterbalance that. I really haven't followed new comic books since around 2009, and even then I pretty much hadn't read any Marvel since 1994. So I'd love to hear opinions -- what are the best comics of the past 19 years, the ones with quality that survives well beyond the hype and LCS buzz -- the ones we will be calling "Classic" in another decade or so? From my own limited experience with comics from this era, all I can suggest is Warren Ellis's Planetary Life with Archie: The Married Life Casty's Mickey Mouse adventures What else? Plus comics are weird. Like even really good stuff that was super well-reviewed when it came out doesn't always seem to have staying power. Like Rutu Mordan's Exit Wounds, Sean Tan's The Arrival, David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp... These were all really big deals a couple years back and I never hear them mentioned now. Great comics, got a lot of attention, and now they're gone. The stuff that survives might just be the stuff with media tie-ins. Fun Home and Perseoplis are still huge sellers because they were a musical and a movie. Everybody's reading My Friend Dahmer since it got moviated. (Which is the worst thing Deff has ever done, yuck! Pooey!) But even that... Scott Pilgrim felt like an important movie at the time but neither comic or film has really stayed in the cultural conversation. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 9, 2019 5:24:57 GMT -5
David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp... This one's actually still on my "stuff to check out" list. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 9, 2019 7:49:10 GMT -5
David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp... This one's actually still on my "stuff to check out" list. I wonder how much this has to do with Mazzucchelli’s death adding difficulty in keeping it in print. I know through contact with Aaron Kashton that there are academics who have taught it in college classes so it’s still well regarded in those circles. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 9, 2019 7:58:01 GMT -5
This one's actually still on my "stuff to check out" list. I wonder how much this has to do with Mazzucchelli’s death adding difficulty in keeping it in print. I know through contact with Aaron Kashton that there are academics who have taught it in college classes so it’s still well regarded in those circles. Wait a minute - death? |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 9, 2019 8:35:34 GMT -5
I wonder how much this has to do with Mazzucchelli’s death adding difficulty in keeping it in print. I know through contact with Aaron Kashton that there are academics who have taught it in college classes so it’s still well regarded in those circles. Wait a minute - death? Yeah, I could have sworn he was still alive. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 9, 2019 9:58:46 GMT -5
Mazzucchelli does appear to be alive and kicking. His wikipedia entry was last updated July 9, 2019. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 9, 2019 14:42:22 GMT -5
Mea culpa. He is definitely alive.
I can only blame being on vacation. Or being a dumbass.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 10, 2019 7:40:09 GMT -5
Fables is 100% on the top of the list, and nothing is all that close.
There are a few ongoings that might be, but slow production makes it tough... Saga and Southern Bastards comes to mind.
Mike Carey's original Lucifer series (Though those since haven't been as good).. THe Unwritten (also by Carey, who, as you can see, I'm a fan of), it maybe not quite a classic, but close. (it also crosses over with Fables ones)
I'd definitely add the Nameless City series by Faith Erin Hicks (which I don't think has been listed yet).
I just finished reading Dan Abnett's Aquaman.. not sure it's quite a 'Classic of the modern era' but it was the best BIg 2 I've read in a while.. if only Esad Ribic stayed on the art for more than a few months...
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 11, 2019 11:58:29 GMT -5
Love and Rocket began back in the 1980s, but I'd love to hear more about the others.
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 11, 2019 12:33:16 GMT -5
Yes it did, but this was Volume 2, which started in 2001.
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 11, 2019 12:46:24 GMT -5
I'm going for new titles (no reprints or collections) that started with a cover date of January, 2000 and moving to the present
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