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Post by Batflunkie on Dec 21, 2021 20:12:28 GMT -5
Ones that instantly come to my mind are: Alan Moore's 1963, Tom Strong, and Tomorrow Stories, Bongo Comics' Radioactive Man, The Tick, and Joe Casey's Godland
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 21, 2021 21:24:41 GMT -5
If you want to split hairs, the ABC line was published at DC, though conceived and pitched before the sale of Wildstorm. If we want to go that route, though, I'd nominate much of Epic, minus anything with a Marvel trademarked character. Then there is Milestone, which was run separately, yet distributed through DC.
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Post by dbutler69 on Dec 22, 2021 11:52:58 GMT -5
Frankly, I had no idea there were so many worth non-Big Two series out there!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2021 12:19:51 GMT -5
The Bigg's Darklighter and Vader's Quest TPBs from Dark Horse, plus some other SW I can't think of right now. Dark Horse's Conan comics with Busiek and later Truman are really good, too. The current "The Cimmerean" series of miniseries from Ablaze has some gems.
The classic EC horror comics: Tales From The Crypt, The Haunt Of Fear, The Vault Of Horror. I almost always find Golden Age books unreadable, but the EC line is definitely worth your time.
Garth Ennis' War Stories and Battlefields.
I don't believe From Hell has been mentioned yet. I picked up a hardcover of the (blasphemous!) remastered, colored edition this year.
Street Angel, another miniseries, was fun.
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Post by Bronze age andy on Dec 22, 2021 12:28:28 GMT -5
I think i was one of the only fans of Whisper back in the day and I think I still might be.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2021 12:31:00 GMT -5
I think was one of the only fans of Whisper back in the day and I think I still might be. I have a number of issues form early in the series, but not any kind of run. It's one that's on my radar and I pick up issues when I see them, I just never see them at cons any more. -M
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Post by arfetto on Dec 22, 2021 12:56:05 GMT -5
my current top 10 just off the top of my head (not counting manga because then it would just be 10 manga)
1. The Tick (Ben Edlund issues) 2. Groo 3. Warriors of Plasm 4. Knights on Broadway 5. Powers That Be / Star Seed 6. Shadowman (Hall) 7. Solar, Man of the Atom (Valiant Shooter) 8. Magnus, Robot Fighter (Valiant Shooter) 9. Nexus 10. Faust (Quinn/Vigil)
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Post by Dizzy D on Dec 23, 2021 2:51:41 GMT -5
Not listing Manga and European comics (cause I don't know what has been translated or not to English)Skipping over things that are unfinished/cancelled, though unfinished is a relative term here: Grendel for instance is ongoing, but has several completed storylines. Hectic Planet had more issues promised that never really came out, but it's not a series with a longterm ongoing plot.
Limiting it 10 to keep it readable and adding tags per series so you can see if something is something you'd be interested in or not
In no particular order (and subject to change at each day, it's what my eyes kept on when I looked over my bookcase):
1. Grendel (Comico/Dark Horse) > starts out superhero-adjacent/crime, but turns into Sci-Fi over the years. 2. Mage (Comico/Image) > Modern Fantasy/Mythology 3. Phonogram (Image) > Modern Fantasy/Music 4. Sunstone (Image) > Romance/Erotica/Comedy > As the Erotica tag implies, for adult readers only. 5. Brubaker/Phillips (Wildstorm, Icon, Image) > Kinda cheating, but I didn't find it useful to list a single title as they have a lot of standalone projects (Sleeper, Criminal, Incognito, Fatale, Kill or be Killed,, The Fade-Out, Pulp etc.). If I have to tag a name on it Criminal would be the one they spend the most time on. Mostly Crime/Noir with occassional dips into Superhero (Sleeper/Incognito) or Horror (Fatale), but the style remains Crime focused. 6. Hectic Planet (Slave Labor Graphics, Kitchen Sink, Dark Horse) > Sci-Fi/Comedy/Music 7. Beasts of Burden (Dark Horse) > Fantasty/Cats&Dogs (don't know how to put it any other way) 8. Understanding Comics > Non-fiction 9. Jon Sable, Freelance (First Comics) > Crime 10. Velvet (Image Comics) > Spy
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Post by james on Dec 23, 2021 8:54:29 GMT -5
Saga The Boys Black Hammer Ex Machina
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2021 9:12:41 GMT -5
Threads like this remind me of David Pedersen's (of Mouse Guard fame) remarks during the keynote speech at the Ringo Awards a couple of years back about getting people to read comics. He essentially said the biggest mistake people make in recommending comics to non-comics readers is to recommend their own favorites without regard to the tastes of the person receiving the recommendation. From Hell is a great comic, but if the person receiving the recommendation dislikes horror or true crime, they are never going to like From Hell no matter how good it is. And if they don't like their first experience with comics, they are not likely to try others. The key is finding something they would enjoy reading whether or not it is a comic.
I think the same holds true when recommending non-big two comics to big 2 readers. It's not about what I would like, it's about what they would enjoy. So the key is often finding out what they enjoy outside super-heroes-not what kind of comics they like outside super-heroes, just what they like outside super-heroes. If they like dinosaurs, recommend a non-big two comic about dinosaurs not From Hell (or whatever your favorite comic is). Try Tyrant, or Bone Sharps, or Age of Reptiles or Xenozoic Tales instead. If they like science fiction, don't recommend Strangers in Paradise, have them try The Incal or Fear Agent or Descender instead.
At the end of the day, it has to be about what they want to read and enjoy reading, not you. Comics aren't a genre. Not all comics are for all people. If you want someone to try comics, or to expand beyond the big 2, you essentially get one shot, as if they don't enjoy your first recommendation they are not going to ask you for others and they may not come back to comics (or non-big 2 comics) at all. As much as you love something, it may not be that person's jam. Find out what their jam is, and there will be a comic for it. Recommend that comics, and if they enjoy it, they will seek out more and eventually you might turn them on to your favorite, but it's a process. They have to find the love of comics (or non-big 2 comics) first, so give them something they are inclined to love off the bat.
-M
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Post by tarkintino on Dec 23, 2021 11:17:45 GMT -5
Short list:
Heavy Metal
MAD
Star Trek (Gold Key)
Eerie
Creepy
Various E.C. horror and sci-fi titles from the 1950s (Shock SuspenStories, Incredible Science-Fiction, The Vault of Horror, Weird Science-Fantasy, Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, etc.)
The Phantom (Gold Key through Charlton)
The Green Hornet (the Golden Age title from Helnit Publishing and the Gold Key TV spin-off)
Life with Archie
Jughead
Archie
The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor
Grimm's Ghost Stories
Ripley's Believe it or Not
Dark Shadows
M.A.R.S. Patrol - Total War
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Post by Cei-U! on Dec 23, 2021 19:39:02 GMT -5
I have virtually no non-Big Two reading experience, outside of some funny comics from the 70's and 80's, so I am just throwing this question out there for those who have read a lot of non-Bit Two stuff. What are your favorite series? Off the top of my head and in no particular order: Nexus. Love & Rockets. American Flagg. Elfquest. Neil the Horse. Jonny Quest (the Comico series). Jingle Jangle Tales. Freak Brothers. Cartoon History of the Universe. Jon Sable, Freelance. Crossfire. Popeye (the Dell/Gold Key issues by Sagendorf). Supersnipe. The Rocketeer. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.
Cei-U! I summon the starter set!
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Post by mikelmidnight on Dec 24, 2021 12:31:20 GMT -5
The classic EC horror comics: Tales From The Crypt, The Haunt Of Fear, The Vault Of Horror. I almost always find Golden Age books unreadable, but the EC line is definitely worth your time. I find the EC titles exhausting to read in big collections, because there's only so many 6-8 page stories with shocking twist endings one can take in a single sitting, but I think for general and consistent quality of art and storytelling, EC may have been the best comics ever created. Threads like this remind me of David Pedersen's (of Mouse Guard fame) remarks during the keynote speech at the Ringo Awards a couple of years back about getting people to read comics. He essentially said the biggest mistake people make in recommending comics to non-comics readers is to recommend their own favorites without regard to the tastes of the person receiving the recommendation. From Hell is a great comic, but if the person receiving the recommendation dislikes horror or true crime, they are never going to like From Hell no matter how good it is. And if they don't like their first experience with comics, they are not likely to try others. The key is finding something they would enjoy reading whether or not it is a comic. I think the same holds true when recommending non-big two comics to big 2 readers. It's not about what I would like, it's about what they would enjoy. So the key is often finding out what they enjoy outside super-heroes-not what kind of comics they like outside super-heroes, just what they like outside super-heroes. If they like dinosaurs, recommend a non-big two comic about dinosaurs not From Hell (or whatever your favorite comic is). Try Tyrant, or Bone Sharps, or Age of Reptiles or Xenozoic Tales instead. If they like science fiction, don't recommend Strangers in Paradise, have them try The Incal or Fear Agent or Descender instead. At the end of the day, it has to be about what they want to read and enjoy reading, not you. Comics aren't a genre. Not all comics are for all people. If you want someone to try comics, or to expand beyond the big 2, you essentially get one shot, as if they don't enjoy your first recommendation they are not going to ask you for others and they may not come back to comics (or non-big 2 comics) at all. As much as you love something, it may not be that person's jam. Find out what their jam is, and there will be a comic for it. Recommend that comics, and if they enjoy it, they will seek out more and eventually you might turn them on to your favorite, but it's a process. They have to find the love of comics (or non-big 2 comics) first, so give them something they are inclined to love off the bat.
I agree!
This goes the other way around too: I don't understand when people make lists of comics for people to introduce their friends or family to the form … and they're invariably half to two-thirds superhero books. If someone isn't already a comics fans, these will probably seem stupid, and there's so much else out there!
However with the massive success of the Marvel movies, this statement is less relevant than it used to be.
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Post by k7p5v on Dec 24, 2022 17:58:23 GMT -5
Dominion (ドミニオン) from Masamune Shirow is an All-Time Favorite
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Post by Ozymandias on Dec 28, 2022 14:33:07 GMT -5
Cerebus (all), Gantz (all) & Asterix (Goscinny's non-travel stories).
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