Comic Book Resources

While I've learned to love comics in the last year or so, I still think of myself as a manga reader first - kind of my graphic novel baseline. I might - *might* - consider not buying the manga I'd never heard of before but looks oh-so interesting if I knew any of these were coming out that week:

Batman, Wonder Woman, New Avengers, Avengers Initiative, Fell (when it's out), Booster Gold, Justice Society of America, The Twelve, Metal Men, Blue Beetle, Captain America, Daredevil, The Immortal Iron Fist, Powers, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jack Staff, and Teen Titans: Year One.

hi Ellie!

I noticed you have almost all of Brubaker's Marvel titles listed (save Uncanny X-Men). I really enjoy his work but I tend to not follow his superhero titles (not enough time and money, I suppose) so I generally use "Criminal" to get my Brubaker fix. Actually, none of my titles are very super-hero-y at all I suppose....except Teen Titans: Year One.

There's a lot of good American comics happening right now, it'd be hard to not be following at least SOME of 'em! I pick up the following:

DMZ,
Ex Machina,
Fables,
Scalped,
Northlanders,
Astounding WolfMan,
Casanova,
Fell,
Proof,
Mice Templar,
Walking Dead,
Mouse Guard,
Atomic Robo,
Astonishing X-Men,
Criminal,
Immortal Iron Fist,
Nova,
X-Factor,
Ultimate Spidey,
Captain America

Hey Danielle, really enjoying the column.

I don't know if I should answer here, as I'm pretty evenly split with my purchases. When it comes to comics, my only priority is getting good stuff, no matter the origin or genre. That said, on top of all the manga I consume, there are several American series I've been following (all purchased solely in trade rather than in floppy):

Usagi Yojimbo - Which I've been following for years now.
Fables - Which is just too fun to pass up.
BPRD - Which has turned into one of the best comics around.
Powers - Which is super heroes done in a way I can better appreciate, now that I mostly feel I've outgrown the genre.
Ultimate Spider-Man - Which is just plain enjoyable.

And then there are a handful of books that I get whenever one is release but its hard to say i follow them since they are released so rarely. But anytime I see a new one of these, I pick it up (in trade of course):

Hopeless Savages
Blue Monday
Queen & Country
Mouse Guard
Berlin
Age of Bronze
Stray Bullets
The Goon

And there you have it. It's funny—that seems like a lot of books, but their release schedule is so sparse that it doesn't even amount to a book a month. Which is both nice and sad.

Oh yeah. And Scott Pilgrim. Yay!

Yes, I love both manga and U.S. comics. A little too much, as my wallet constantly reminds me. My current list of titles I follow, either in single issues or trade are:

Birds Of Prey
Blue Beetle
Blue Monday (which has been sorely missed lately...)
Captain America
Courtney Crumrin
Daredevil
Fables
Fallen Angel
Gold Digger
Green Arrow/Black Canary
Grimjack (online at comicmix.com)
Hack/Slash
Immortal Iron Fist
Jack Of Fables
Johnny Hiro
Jon Sable- Freelance (online at comicmix.com)
Justice Society Of America
Madman Atomic Comics
Manhunter
Ninja High School
Phantom
Powers
Queen & Country
Runaways
Scott Pilgrim
Ultimate Spider-Man
Usagi Yojimbo
Walking Dead
X-Factor

Plus I'm currently picking up the mini-series for Nexus, Badger Saves The World, and Suicide Squad: Raise The Flag

I'm more of a wait-for-the-trades type, but there are some pamphlets I can't wait for -- Castle Waiting, Amelia Rules, Johnny Hiro, the Umbrella Academy and Mouse Guard mini-series. As for series of GNs, there's Scott Pilgrim, Girl Genius, Owly, Empowered, Glister, and probably several others that I'm forgetting.

I've only just ventured into comics, so I'm not following much:

Buffy season 8
Angel: After the Fall

I've read up through the 7th collected volume of Runaways, and I own the Serenity comics, but am saving them to read at the appropriate point after I've rewatched the series but before I watch the movie. I've read some Sandman. I've read Fray. And V for Vendetta (hearts!).

I've become disenchanted with most of the mainstream comics, with the repeated year-long 'events' that require the entire company to serve the master storyline. But, let me tip you on a new comic that *fascinated* me: Transhuman.

The first issue (of four) came out two weeks ago. It's told in documentary fashion as a 'look back' at the struggle between the two leading corporations in the human augmentation business. The first issue deals with the personalities of the people who founded the two companies and hints at an epic corporate/marketing battle for control of the industry.

It SHOULD be numbingly boring, but I was riveted after the first few pages. That's some GOOD storytelling!