Trevor

So, this was the major topic on the last 11 O'Clock Comics podcast, and I thought it might be fun to discuss here.

Basically, they (two lifelong comic ubergeeks and a comic professional) talked about 'blind spots' in the reading histories. Comics that everyone praises, they probably own, and know that they should have read, but for whatever reason they haven't read them yet.

We all probably have titles we could name. Some of the examples these three gave, which often caused gasps or cursing from the other two, included: any America's Best Comics, The Invisibles, Sandman, From Hell, Swamp Thing, The Authority, Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Ghost World, Maus, Hellblazer, Usagi Yojimbo, Animal Man, Astro City, and Claremont X-Men, any Simonson Thor.

What do you all think? Interesting enough topic? What are your 'blind spots'?

fumanstan

I'm only a casual fan, so I haven't read most of the ones listed in the examples with the exception of Daredevil and Claremont X-Ment. I tried to read Sandman but found it boring and couldn't get in to it at all.

The Valeyard

Quite a few from that list.

mrhan

I know it's about books that were never read but I finally got around to reading Starman (Jack Knight) a couple of years ago. I should have read it when it was first released. It read like a good long movie. It should be a movie or better yet a TV series.

terrycloth

while there is plenty of runs i havent read the main one that always gets brought up to me and i have yet to read anything is daredevil

Trevor

Starman would be one of mine.

I read the first issue and loved it, knowing that it would be a favorite. But then I got behind, then decided to wait for long story arcs, then missed a few issues and decided to wait for trades, never bought the omnibi, and somehow keep putting it off.
Born Again may be my favorite story ever.

Dimension X

This. Actually, it might be more like most of that list for me.

I finally read Maus today, because of this thread. I wasn't reading anything else, and the two books were on the spinner rack here in the living room, so I figured why not?

sven

Well I haven't read any of those.

Throw in Hellboy, Preacher, and anything Grant Morrison has ever written for good measure.

kodave

Contrary to this thread, Watchmen has got to be the one series/book that the nearly every comic book fan reads at one point or another, right? And then it's after Watchmen that people start throwing some of those other above named suggestions at you.

Strapped4Cash

I think it's a good idea, with the usual caveat that different people will see the same things differently. Person A sees the Shawshank Redemption and calls it the greatest movie ever. Person B says that nothing happens and it's pretty bad, while Person C sees merit in it, but believes that while certain aspects might appeal to others, they aren't areas that he's interested in personally.

More relevantly...
America's Best Comics - read them, all of them. Strong to great.
The Invisibles - I'm a Person C on this one.
Sandman - Love it, though the first arc is rough for some, and the whole thing's not clear until way later.
From Hell - Need to read it.
Swamp Thing - read most of them and liked them, but am missing the 4th omnibus.
The Authority - Very good, though think that the previous run on Stormwatch leading into this should be included.
Ronin - Own the Absolute, really should read it sometime.
Daredevil: Born Again - Liked it, but wasn't able to read the whole thing.
Ghost World - I've heard of it.
Maus - I try to stay away from heavy literature, same would apply to comics.
Hellblazer - Read it until around 2010, so whatever run they're referring to, I did read.
Usagi Yojimbo - Not really calling to me.
Animal Man - Yeah, though it did go downhill later.
Astro City - Great stuff, except for the Dark Age, but very worth it.
Claremont X-Men - Great stuff also, though it eventually lost momentum. A massive achievement regardless.
any Simonson Thor - More great stuff!

Starman is indeed tremendous! And one that just gets better and better the farther along you go.

I would also include:
Groo - Love the Groo. Still a lot I need to read of it though.
Unwritten - So much brilliance!
Planetary - Even better than the Authority imo.
Lucifer - In it's own way, possibly as good as Sandman.
Avengers/JLA aka JLA/Avengers - Best a crossover could ever be.
Queen & Country - So much awesome, so little known. Best British spy show that never was.
Strangers in Paradise - The best characterization in comics that I've ever read. Starts rough, and is really not for everyone, but by the end there's a depth of characterization and understanding of emotion that is really something special.

That's what occurs to me at the moment.

Trevor

Spinner rack? In your living room?! You're my new favorite person.
Wow. You think you like comics now Sven, wait until you actually read a good one!

sven

Oh I won't be reading any of those ever. They all sound boring or have terrible art. Or they're just written by people I hate like Ennis or Morrison.

rocket1312

speechless

Trevor

You're either just trolling or that's the saddest thing I've ever read. The list I cut and paste and the titles you added, though not quite definitive, contain the absolute best that comics has to offer. To refuse to even read them is beyond ridiculous.

Dimension X

I've mentioned it a couple of times before (you must've missed those posts). I love it. I have it loaded up with Showcases, Essentials, and random GNs I've picked up at thrift stores, etc. (stuff that I don't care about condition), so I always have something to grab and read. The only reason I've read Ghost World (which is on your list up there) is because I found a copy for 25-50 cents and it was on the rack when I felt like reading that sort of story.

cultshock has a spinner rack too, as mentioned in this thread. If anyone else has one, speak up. I'd love to hear about it. I suppose I could start a thread...

Trevor

I remember the thread and being jealous, but didn't notice that you get to keep it in your living room!

terrycloth

a local mom and pop store closed down three years ago and i bought the one they had and while im not allowed it in the living room it goes nicely in my den full of quarter books

Dimension X

You gotta put your books somewhere.
This is the style I have. Is yours like this, or something different?

sven

It doesn't matter how well something is written if the subject matter does not interest me or I don't like the art. Reading stuff just because others think I should is not how I operate. If I see something that interests me I'll certainly ask other for their opinion on it but I really don't take suggestions or subscribe to the idea of "required reading".

fumanstan

I don't mind sven's opinion; it's funny actually, with the exception of a few titles like maybe Y the Last Man, very few of the titles/runs that are so heavily praised by the bigger comic fans or press actually resonate with me. I've come to accept that i'm the casual fan that likes the stories that the hardcore fans seem to hate Although I try to give some of them a shot when I have the time or looking for something new

lukewarmwater

I've read about half.

America's Best Comics - Read Tom Strong and Top Ten.
Tom Strong is a serial adventure superhero story, featuring talking gorillas and robots and a lot of the old serial type adventure comic. It starts good and fun, also not a lot of dialogue(which is unusual for Moore), but then gets weird with parallel dimensions and scientific stuff that took the fun out of the stories.
Top Ten is a police procedure in a world of superheroes. It's kind of fun and entertaining. More slice of life stories then action/adventure. Much smarter then powers and astro city.
The Invisibles - Didn't read. No plans to. Honestly the eightys and early ninteies had poor standards of art. Looking at Sandman, Invisibles, the authority, animalman - the art is really bad on certain pages. Wouldn't get published today. The writing was amazing but I just don't want to go back and slug through those books. Honestly I feel like Watchmen was the first time Moore actually was paired with a good artist.
Sandman - Read death the high cost of living and the dream hunters. It feels too self indulgent and not really interested in finishing.
From Hell - Want to read, but this is a damn book. It's like reading moby dick. Will get to some day.
Swamp Thing - Read a few issues. Creppy, but old art makes it a chore to get through.
The Authority - Read some, was okay. Was basically JLA for 13 year olds who like cursing, violence and boobies in their super hero stories.
Ronin - Never read, but plan too.
Daredevil: Born Again - Read, a good dd story, but man with no fear is better imo.
Ghost World - Read a little and then quit. Dan Clowes is too whinny and weird.
Maus - Haven't read, always assumed it was just another story about how sad the holocaust was.
Hellblazer - Read a few graphic novels, the ones by Brian Azzarelo were really great imo. There's a lot but I'll keep reading when I'm in the mood.
Usagi Yojimbo - Read almost all of them. Favorite comic ever. It's Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro, but just keeps going and having different adventures and arcs. The long stories tend to be aimed at adults, while the single and short stories seem to be aimed at kids. But there are a lot of great samurai stories in the series.
Animal Man - Arts too old, not interested.
Astro City - Read some. Need to read more, just haven't for some reason.
Claremont X-Men - Read some, not as great as people say.
Simonson Thor - Read some, not as great as people say.

I also agree with the other comments, a lot of writers and books that are award winning and popular today I can't stand. Bendis, Vaughn, Kirkman-honestly dont get the appeal.

rocket1312

Reading what you like is fine. You won't get any argument from me on that. I don't want to speak for Trevor, but what jumped out to me was the blanket nature of your statement. The list of stuff (while hardly comprehensive) covers a pretty large range of material and I would think that there would be something there that appeals to just about anyone's taste. And just for the record, which one's do you think have horrible art? I'm not trying to shame you into liking anything, but is horrible really the word you want to use?

mrhan

Yeah, why not? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My favorite artist is Neal Adams and there are actually people out there that said his art is horrible. So what? I don't give a shit what others say and I am not going to bother to change their minds.

sven

No it's not the word I would use actually. I changed the wording in my next post.

I don't think I would classify any of it as horrible. But I don't like the look of stuff like Hellboy, Sandman, or Maus though. Though even if I did I still wouldn't have much interest in any of the 3.

rocket1312

I guess because horrible is seems overly harsh and even though it comes down to personal tastes, there are some objective qualities inherent to most comic art that I think most people familiar with the genre can identify fairly easily.