I Read Comic Books discussion

Are you tired of hearing "OMG, you haven't read X yet?!" (X being some super popular comic you haven't made time to read) - now's your chance!

This month we're reading popular comics that you haven't read yet - whether it's a classic like Watchmen or something more recent like My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1!

Tell us all about your pick in the thread below - do you recommend it? Glad you finally got around to it?

I've been hemming and hawing over what I would pick for this month, but I think I'm going with One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance Dawn! I've certainly heard a lot about One Piece over the last few years, and never made time to read it!

Hi! New here. My pick is Under the Red Hood! 🥰 🦇

Erin wrote: "I've been hemming and hawing over what I would pick for this month, but I think I'm going with One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance Dawn! I've certainly heard a lot about One Piece over the l..."

You should read this version of One Piece Erin.



https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

I'm starting with Maus, which I've been intending to read for years. I'll probably pick something else later as this theme is perfect to "catch up"

Erin wrote: "I've been hemming and hawing over what I would pick for this month, but I think I'm going with One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance Dawn! I've certainly heard a lot about One Piece over the l..."

Yesssssssssss

Omg my TBR list for this category is so long! I might continue on my Morrison kick, pick up the Black Hammer omnibus sitting on my shelf, or maybe make the questionable decision to read the first volume of My Hero Academia so I can feel justified buying those cards for my tcg decks…

Erin wrote: "Are you tired of hearing "OMG, you haven't read X yet?!" (X being some super popular comic you haven't made time to read) - now's your chance!

This month we're reading popular comics that you hav..."

Yessssssssssss!

Shane wrote: "Omg my TBR list for this category is so long! I might continue on my Morrison kick, pick up the Black Hammer omnibus sitting on my shelf, or maybe make the questionable decision to read the first v..."

I vote Black Hammer!!

Chad wrote: "Erin wrote: "I've been hemming and hawing over what I would pick for this month, but I think I'm going with One Piece, Vol. 1: Romance Dawn! I've certainly heard a lot about One Pie..."

OMG never!!

But it's all in one impossible to read volume.

Chad wrote: "But it's all in one impossible to read volume."

Ha! I find those hardcover omnibuses ridiculous enough - is anyone actually cracking open those tomes to read them? This is beyond the pale!

Every time I get one of those my dog wants to climb into my lap and sit on it.

This was one of the New 52 Batman omnibuses I was trying to read during the pandemic. Enzo clearly wasn't putting up with it.

Hahaha that’s an amazing photo

Haha he's lucky he's cute!

He's even cuter now. That was back in the Pandemic days when both of us weren't allowed to get a hair cut.

Here's what he normally looks like.

If my library hold gets here in time, I’m planning to read Akira, Vol. 1. Otherwise, looks like Black Hole is available.

Evilblacksheep wrote: "I'm starting with Maus, which I've been intending to read for years. ""

I'd likely do that too. But I finally read it two months ago. Should have waited.....

Perhaps I'll read something I haven't read yet from the ones I already own. Like maybe Lemire's Mazebook.

For people who needs inspiration picking out something, I found those two lists here on goodreads:

500 Essential Graphic Novels
Most Popular Graphic Novels on goodreads with over 25 thousand ratings

This second list has a lot of links to other similar and more specific lists in its description.

Erin wrote: "I vote Black Hammer!!"

Your vote won! I loved it. Next is World of Black Hammer Omnibus Vol 1 :)

I’m going with The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. His Daredevil stuff blew me away.

Max wrote: "I’m going with The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. His Daredevil stuff blew me away."

Just don't read the sequels from this century. Miller is almost a parody of himself these days. Anything from the 20th century is golden though. Batman: Year One is another great choice if you enjoyed his Daredevil.

Originally I picked and read Heartstopper: Volume One for this month because it was popular and I wanted to read it, but while I really enjoyed it, it just didn't feel *right* as an "OMG you haven't read this?!" book. So, I stole the One Piece idea and went with One Piece, Volume 1: Romance Dawn with My Hero Academia, Vol. 1 as a close second.

PS I am LOVING the lists and ideas people came up with for this. I especially appreciate the Batman discourse, because while I'm a huge DC fan I don't tend to read a lot of Batman, which genuinely surprises people. But when trying to come up with ideas for this month, I couldn't think of any quintessential Batman volumes or find any copies at the library that enticed me, so the comments on Batman books and what to look for/stay away from are super helpful for future reading.

Hush would be a good one to read Jessica. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee took over Batman for a year around 20 years ago. (God, I can't believe it was that long ago.) It stands alone. The two are coming back to do a sequel to it next month.

Jessica wrote: "... so the comments on Batman books and what to look for/stay away from are super helpful for future reading ..."

You should probably avoid the batman musical "Turn off the dark", but I just read this memoir from Bendis about his involvement in it Fortune and Glory: The Musical. (I'm being a bit jokey. Obviously a musical and a comic are different. And Bendis' involvement in the musical was minimal. But his involvement in batman is apparently important. I wouldn't know, as I don't care much about superheros.)

Oh wait. Spiderman is not Batman. I forgot that.

Ok so I read One Piece, Vol. 1 - I totally get why people love this series, it was really cute and I blew through it at alarming speed. Might pick up Vol. 2 at some point, I'm not sure I want to get too invested in a series that is hundreds of volumes long!

@Erin : ...and still ongoing.

On my side, I finally finished The Complete Maus and it was really as good as I had expected it to be. I'm glad I finally stopped delaying reading it as I had done for years (plus it was kind of the perfect timing). Highly recommend if you haven't read it yet.

Evilblacksheep wrote: "On my side, I finally finished The Complete Maus and it was really as good as I had expected it to be. I'm glad I finally stopped delaying reading it as..."

Excellent choice! I still haven't read that either....I really need to!

Chad wrote: "Hush would be a good one to read Jessica. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee took over Batman for a year around 20 years ago. (God, I can't believe it was that long ago.) It stands alone. The two are coming bac..."

Thank you for this suggestion! I added it to my list in February and just finished it today. It perfect for an new/infrequent Batman reader! The story was exciting, and they did a great job of explaining the backstories of each character so if I didn't already know, I wasn't completely in the dark. I'd suggest this to anyone else who is new to reading Batman. Looking forward to the sequel now that it's already out!

Ed wrote: "Jessica wrote: "... so the comments on Batman books and what to look for/stay away from are super helpful for future reading ..."

You should probably avoid the batman musical "Turn off the dark", ..."

This is hilarious! When I first read your comment in February, I thought that "Fortune and Glory" was a musical in itself, and now after re-reading your comment I have put a hold on the book in my library.

PS Even though Turn Off the Dark wasn't about Batman, you DID bring this theatre kid back to the days of Team Starkid's "Holy Musical B@man!" so, thank you for that.

PPS Did you know that Timothy Chalamet was one of the many Spiderman actors who got injured during the Turn Off the Dark previews? At least he got famous after his leg healed.

In future I will try to remember that Batman and Spiderman are not the same man.

After enjoying The Boy Wonder, I decided to look for some other batmen stories. I watched half of one of the movies, and then lost interest. (It was the one that had the Prince song. And I'd already seen it when it first came out. So, I know how it turns out, or at least I would if I had a memory, but I don't.)

Anyhow... I stumbled across "Batman: the audio adventures" on HBO. I was like "WHAT! Why would there be an 'audio' show on a TV network?" The answer is that the leaders of HBO are insane. They basically made a podcast, but instead of releasing it on podcast services, they made it so you could only listen to it using an HBO app. And it showed you pictures while listening. There was no audio-only option for the "audio adventures".

Despite that insane marketing, it is supposedly good, and it can now be heard on audio-only sites.

I haven't listened to Batman, the Audio Adventures for the very reasons you mention. It's too much of a pain in the ass. If it was a straight up podcast that was just like an old radio drama I can listen to while taking a walk, I'd be all in.

Also, it sounds like the movie you are thinking of is Batman '89. I had to lie to my parents about what I was doing when it came out because we weren't allowed to go to the movies. (My parents are crazy.)