Stuff I am planning on getting

[Guest MrRant]

Batman #608

 

Ultimates #1

 

Hellspawn #1

 

Millennium Edition Batman The Dark Knight Returns

 

Green Lantern #154 Limit 1 Per Customer

 

Transformers The War Within #1

 

Millennium Edition JLA #1

 

JLA Our Worlds At War #1

 

 

Kindof DC heavy so if there are any Marvel comics or anything that you would recommend shoot. Of any blastings of my picks as well. Probably going to pick up 2 more comics... OR if someone could recommed a really good recent series let me know!

 

Rant.

[Guest areacode212]

Isn't the Millennium Edition of DKR just a reprint of #1? Just get the TPB of it. And I don't know if JLA: OWAW is really all that worth it.

 

This is what I suggest (of recent series):

Catwoman (a TPB of the early issues is out)

Y: The Last Man (a collected edition of issues 1&2 is out)

Fables (TPB is forthcoming)

Exiles (TPBs are out)

[Guest pochorenella]

I would strongly recommend you get the Ultimate Spider-Man TPBs: Vol. 1 Power and Responsibility, Vol.2 Learning Curve, Vol. 3 Double Trouble. It's the best Spidey series out today, you can't go wrong here. Individual issues are of this series are just too damn expensive right now, so go with the TPBs.

 

And if you like Spidey, you may also want to check out these other TPBs: Coming Home, and Tangled Web Vols. 1 & 2. Great stuff.

[Guest crandamaniac]

Try to get your hands on the JMS Spider-man, if it's what poch mentioned, then sorry to step on your toes, but it's good reading

[Guest MrRant]

Does anyone do the subscription services offered by http://www.milehighcomics.com or http://www.comicbooksetc.com ?

[Guest HellSpawn]

Drop "JLA Our Worlds At War #1", I dont think is worthy, better get the "key" issues, like Hypolita's death or the Kansas issue.

 

An I dont know if Hellspawn #1 is worthy, I got it and Ashely's art is not my fav, and the story is kinda "What?", you know, like if you hafta read the issue a couple of times to finally understand what the hell happen.

[Guest Sassquatch]

Batman #608

 

Good pick.

 

Ultimates #1

 

Try to find the rest of the issues out so far so you don't get lost later on.

 

Hellspawn #1

 

Meh, if I were you I would try to buy Y: The Last Man in single issue form or TPB (when it comes out).

 

Millennium Edition Batman The Dark Knight Returns

 

Required reading for all comic book fans.

 

Green Lantern #154 Limit 1 Per Customer

 

A waste of cash.

 

Transformers The War Within #1

 

The steam is already slowing down with this book so don't be surprised if you pay more than what it will be worth a couple months from now.

 

Millennium Edition JLA #1

 

Always good to catch up with the JLA.

 

JLA Our Worlds At War #1

 

Drop this book and try to pick up the Crisis on Infinite Earths TPB.

 

 

Here are some things you should pick up (not all at once) later on down the road:

 

Amazing Spider-Man TPB: JMS run (#30 - #35)

Peter Parker: Spider-Man TPB: Return of the Goblin (#44 - #47)

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 1 Power and Responsibility

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 2 Learning Curve

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 3 Double Trouble

New X-Men Hardcover TPB: (#114 - #126)

Ultimate X-Men TPB: Vol. 1 (#1 - #6)

Batman TPB: A Death in the Family (#426 - #429)

Incredible Hulk TPB: Transformations

Superman TPB: Doomsday

Superman TPB: Reign of Superman

Superman TPB: They Saved Luthor's Brain

Batman TPB: Knightfall

[Guest crandamaniac]

To go along with Sass's (can I call you Sass?), might I also recommend Astro City, especially they're Life in the Big City TPB. A good read to be had, trust me

[Guest Sassquatch]

You can call me Sass, crand.

 

Astro City is a good book that has been hampered by Kurt Busiek's scheduling conflicts over projects for the last 8 years here. Otherwise the book is solid and highly recommended.

[Guest pochorenella]

try to pick up the Crisis on Infinite Earths TPB.

 

 

Here are some things you should pick up (not all at once) later on down the road:

 

Amazing Spider-Man TPB: JMS run (#30 - #35)

Peter Parker: Spider-Man TPB: Return of the Goblin (#44 - #47)

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 1 Power and Responsibility

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 2 Learning Curve

Ultimate Spider-Man TPB: Vol. 3 Double Trouble

New X-Men Hardcover TPB: (#114 - #126)

Ultimate X-Men TPB: Vol. 1 (#1 - #6)

Batman TPB: A Death in the Family (#426 - #429)

Incredible Hulk TPB: Transformations

Superman TPB: Doomsday

Superman TPB: Reign of Superman

Superman TPB: They Saved Luthor's Brain

Batman TPB: Knightfall

 

Good recommendations here, Sass. Except for the Crisis TPB, which I found a bit disappointing and ultimately mostly meaningless in the long run, but then I'm mostly a Marvel mark so I could be biased. Of course, the first Spidey JMS run is the "Coming Home" TPB I talked about earlier that's also included on the Best of Spider-Man vol. 1 Harcover, along with the acclaimed 9/11 issue, some Tangled Web stories and some Ultimate Marvel Team-Up stories, including an awesome retelling of Spidey's first meeting with Daredevil and the Punisher. A little bit on the expensive side, but well worth it IMO.

 

Sass, can you do a brief recap of the Hulk: Transformations TPB? And while I hate Supes, if you're talking about the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline then I guess it's an interesting read, if anything else. And aren't the Knightfall TPBs like three or more volumes?

 

 

Astro City is a good book that has been hampered by Kurt Busiek's scheduling conflicts over projects for the last 8 years here. Otherwise the book is solid and highly recommended

 

While we're on the Astro City subject, may I recommend my favorite arc, Astro City: Confessions. A truly terrific story from top to bottom, and my highest recommendation.

[Guest areacode212]

I enjoyed the second Astro City TPB a lot more too. How long has it been since the last Astro City issue came out? Two years maybe?

 

It's a little hard to appreciate Crisis on Infinite Earths at this point in time. Back when it was first published, it was mind-blowing to see the DC Universe crumbling to pieces around you, but now, it's probably not the greatest thing for new readers to pick up. It may confuse the hell out of you because most of the characters in the story have been either revamped or retconned out of existence. If you were a fan of DC before 1985, then by all means, buy the TPB to find out what happened to everyone, otherwise, it's pretty unnecessary.

 

Here's another one that I recommend, especially if you're into war stories:

Enemy Ace: War in Heaven (2-parter)

[Guest Sassquatch]

Transformations reprints:

 

Incredible Hulk #1 (First Hulk; gray)

Incredible Hulk #2 (2nd appearance)

Incredible Hulk #272 (Bruce Banner has control of the Hulk with his mind)

Incredible Hulk #315 (The Hulk is split apart from Banner)

Incredible Hulk #324 (Hulk and Banner are combined and the Hulk becomes the gray Hulk with ATTITUDE~!)

Incredible Hulk #377 (The gray and green Hulk persona's merge together and Banner develops a new attitude)

[Guest gthureson]

I liked Joe Fixit. Wouldn't mind seeing that Hulk make a return. It'd kick the hell outta the current storyline.

[Guest Sassquatch]

Jenkins butchered the gray Hulk persona in it's short run from issues #21 - #23 of the Incredible Hulk (2nd series) and I sadly doubt we will see the gray Hulk for a *long* time after the movie has come out.

 

It's a shame too because that Hulk had some personality to him unlike the current dumbass Hulk that is as weak as a puppy.

[Guest cynicalprofit]

Buy in trade paper back format, you get more bang for your buck, dont have to shell out 25 for 1 comic book, and theres not a lot fo crap in TBP format.

[Guest Sassquatch]

From a thread I had posted in months ago in regards to "are comics too expensive today?":

 

 

It is disgusting.

 

This will be one of the downfalls for comics as the years go on.

 

Prices will become so high that potential new fan will be turned off by it and that's when comics get hurt.

 

I mean, what kind've kid is gonna want to pay $2.25 for some pieces of paper with pretty drawings on it every month?

 

Not a lot.

 

And whoever overlooks the prices "Because the story's are worth it" is a fool. The prices that Marvel and DC charge is outrageous. And I have collected comics for almost 2 decades. This is just another reason why I hate Quesada. The man concentrates on the hard core collector's market which might be okay to some, namely the fat comic store guys who will make the kid's spend $10 bucks for Hulk #34 now, because they missed it the first 2 weeks it was out.

 

Low print runs.

 

Different drawn covers.

 

It's all bullshit.

 

No new fan is going to go out of his/her way to track down Hulk #34 now. It was supposed to be the new Hulk. Marvel feels that they have to print the comic low and then the game will be interesting and the comic geeks will kill themselves and bleed their wallets to find Amazing Spider-Man #36. But not the new fans who should be the main goal of all companies.

 

And putting everything in TPB's all the time is bullshit. It kills off the reason to buy the comic in the first place. It's for lazy people.

 

But there's the problem which I just said.

 

People refuse to pay $20 for 5 issues of something when they can get 10 of them in a TPB for $15.

 

Why should FANS in genral, new and old, buy comics if all you have to do is wait a couple months for the new TPB of the comic to come out?

 

It can be looked at as a waste of cash to buy single issues of something.

 

It can be looked at as being a bitch for only buying TPB's.

 

Something will have to give. And with DC and Marvel's insistance on low prints of comics now, it's getting harder and harder for new fans to come on.

 

My kid brother wanted to buy New X-Men #114. He had collected Uncanny and X-Men for years. Then he stopped. But then he became interested again and wanted to get the new comic.

 

But lo and behold, we came to the shop a WEEK later and it was sold out. We looked at another shop and they were sold out. We called several shops and they said they weren't going to have any more new copies until the month was over (comic language for "We'll have it but it will be $5 now).

 

This kind of cycle can not countinue. Marvel needs to start printing more issues of their comics. DC is not as bad as Marvel, but their prices are bullshit as well.

 

I could give a fuck if Ulitmate Spidey #1 was $100 bucks in 4 weeks because of it being scarce. If I'm some new fan, I want the #1 issue of Ultimate Spidey but I'll have to shell out $70-$150 if I want ANY version of it now. And maybe the kid doesn't like TPB's.

 

Marvel and DC are shooting themselves in the foot with the high prices of comics and the dissolving of the direct sales market (namely Supermarkets, Food marts, Toy stores, etc.)

 

Now you have to go to comic book stores, which is not the way to win new fans.

 

But back to the topic, the new prices are ridiculous and bullshit.

 

 

TPB's are a catch .22 and I have a love/hate relationship with them due to my belief that it kills off the idea to buy single issues. But if the single issues didn't take forever/have shitty stories/were consistent then there wouldn't be such a high demand for current storylines being put into TPB. I can understand putting stories from 10 - 15 years ago in TPB form along with putting stories from the '30's, '40's, '50's, and '60's. But putting the stories that ended last week immediately into TPB the week after they end is hurting the single issue industry.

 

But like I said, I can see both sides of the coin on this issue.