Rescued comics and what should a comics-noob do with 'em?

[Colin YNWA]

So onto the next chunk.

I'm not at all the biggest Lobo fan but that first mini from 1990 is notable for the Simon Bisley art (his first in US comics?). If you get on with that I think you pretty much have all the initial stuff covered that you need.

Straight after that you have Luther Arkwright and that is quite brilliant - bear with it the first issue or two can be a challenging read as the story comes together. The 1987 Valkyrie Press 9 issues is all you need to read for the first story. I believe the 1990 Dark Horse series just reprints that and Arkeology is nice back matter but not directly part of the story.

There are two subsequent stories worth getting if you get on with the first that you have but they are easy enough to pick up, see if you like the Valkyrie stuff and you're good to go.

Miracleman is for most premium Alan Moore and that Eclipse series is all you need and you should defo check them out. If you don't like them a nice run of Miracleman will get decent money (not retiring money but it will shift) in the aftermarket!

Next Men is a John Bynre creator owned that gets decent press. You have all you need there if it tickles your fancy I've not really read it but might be interesting.

Sandman goes without saying and as you have all the series replace Alan Moore with Neil Gaiman and just see what I said for Miracleman really!

Scarab is a John Smith comic I've not read for some reason - just get around to it - and I believe is well liked. If you like John Smith's stuff in 2000ad you should check that out, as I should!

Shade we've talked about elsehwere.

If those Sin City comics look interesting to you you have the 2nd and 3rd arcs, might be worth picking up The Hard Goodbye in trade as its the first story BUT you might have it in the Dark Horse Presents comics. It first appeared in the nice big 5th Anniverary issue and then issues 51-62 of the regular series. Very popular with some folks.

Lots of stuff i that again its a shame you haven't got more of. Mage, Madman, Murder me Dead all stand out but you have quite enough to keep you busy before tracking down more stuff!

[Fortnight]

Thanks for all the comments so far Le Fink & Colin, this is exactly the sort of stuff I need to know! It'll help me know what to keep around to fill as time goes by, or put into long-term storage to save space - or even give away if I know for sure I don't want some comics.

I second Colin's comment on Dark Horse Presents - a great (always reprint?) anthology comic.

I've read a few of these and so I'll do a few posts of some thoughts if no-one else does!

It'd be good to know more about specific issues, since I seem to have quite a few and no clue about them. Are they episodic anthologies? As in with stories that span across more than one issue, or does 1 issue always contain a whole story?

The first Sin City, with Marv as the main character, was an incredible comic

Oh... well I just answered my own question I just asked. I clicked my own link for the 2nd Sin City volume, followed the link there to the first and read that it was compiled from Dark Horse Presents 51-62 (which I have)

DHP issues I have are: 1, 43-45, 51-91, 96-100.0-100.3, 101-112, 132
with 3 damages somewhere after #100, for some reason I didn't record which ones.

Luther Arkwright

This is one that I'd decided I was definitely going to read as the art looks brilliant, and I think I'd already worked out that the Dark Horse issues were just reprints of the Valkyrie Press ones (although the Dark Horse ones look to be on better paper).

Miracleman

After having noted the author I'd also decided to read this, even though I'm never truly inspired to read unknown material of the superhero genre. A recommendation is all I need to persuade me to try

I'm aware how widely regarded Alan Moore is in the comics world. I'm currently reading the Absolute editions of Swamp Thing (just started volume 3) which I picked up because they seemed like a decent price reduction from their retail price and I felt like treating myself

He's also quite a funny fellow. If anyone hasn't heard the BBC radio episode of Chain Reaction where he interviews Brian Eno, it's well worth checking out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAXUCNHVRW4

If those Sin City comics look interesting to you you have the 2nd and 3rd arcs, might be worth picking up The Hard Goodbye in trade as its the first story BUT you might have it in the Dark Horse Presents comics. It first appeared in the nice big 5th Anniverary issue and then issues 51-62 of the regular series. Very popular with some folks.

Yup

Keep 'em coming! This is fab stuff Colin!

[Colin YNWA]

I second Colin's comment on Dark Horse Presents - a great (always reprint?) anthology comic.

I've read a few of these and so I'll do a few posts of some thoughts if no-one else does!

It'd be good to know more about specific issues, since I seem to have quite a few and no clue about them. Are they episodic anthologies? As in with stories that span across more than one issue, or does 1 issue always contain a whole story?

It was a bit of a mix. I think DHP was all new material that often went on to be reprinted. Unlike 2000ad there weren't loads of long ongoing series. Things were often stand alone or a few parts. To be honest its such a mixed page that you might as well just dive in and see what lands. BUT always read any Concrete or Eddie Campbell stuff as its all good!

comics.org (can't believe I've not mentioned this before!) has a cover  gallery that you can click on to see what's in each issue.

Cheval Noir is all reprint of stuff from the continent but again I'd say just dive in.

[Colin YNWA]

...I'm aware how widely regarded Alan Moore is in the comics world. I'm currently reading the Absolute editions of Swamp Thing (just started volume 3) which I picked up because they seemed like a decent price reduction from their retail price and I felt like treating myself ...

I found it weird that there was any Alan Moore Swamp Thing from what I could see, given there seems to be all the key Alan Moore stuff. Seems like you've picked it up anyway!

[Colin YNWA]

Right second to last chunk:

Damn you need more Stray Bullets. Not helpful I know but its so good I would still recommend trying those 6 issues and see how you get on with it.

I will note that I'm not a massive fan of the post Alan Moore Swamp Things either. There's some okay stuff.

Invisibles is a curious Grant Morrison blind spot for me. Again came out in my wilderness years and not got around to it. But its GMozz so has to be a worth a go surely.

Tick I'm going to guess those ones listed as 1993 are actually the 88 series by Ben Edlund - that's the link and as such these are all you need to read. Its a great series/ Chroma Tick is colour reprints of those comics and I think the Omnibus you have reprints all the ben Edlund stuff. So read that stuff in the format that works best for you, but well worth reading for a good chuckle. Alas anything that's not by Ben Edlund is not really worth the time. Just those original perfect 12 issues!

 This is the weakest chunk for me. Mainly as some of the best stuff you only have 1 or 2 issues of. So I'd suggest trying Strangers in paradise (not read this but meant to be really good), Tales of Beanworld, Strangeheaven (not read this but sounds really interesting), The Maxx, Usagi Yojimbo. When you burn through the other great stuff you have. But as said before you have quite enough to keep you busy without starting to buy stuff back... except Stray Bullets - so good!

[IndigoPrime]

Invisibles can be great. The first trade is superb stuff. But it also vanishes up its own backside quite often, and often only belatedly realises how violent and cruel it can be. Surprisingly, I thought it almost stuck the landing (the ending is, in its own way, quite beautiful in an abstract sense). But the art is all over the shop, to the point I needed a companion volume to make sense of one issue, which – unfortunately – was a 'reveal' about one of the key conceptual strands. If nothing else, it's a good lesson that when you're working on complex ideas, you need far more stability in the art than that series had.

[Le Fink]

I don't think Colin mentioned Grendel but it is a popular series (he's a fan) that I've only read bits of, including War Child which is more of a road trip wolf-and-cub type of adventure than the rest of it. But that can be read without too much knowledge of the preceding tales. Beautifully illustrated. Grendel will be one of Colin's top 100 he'll be writing about I expect. Batman vs Grendel is a decent enough tale but not essential.

The Dark Horse Alien limited series are all good and can all be read standalone. Definitely worth seeking out the continuing adventures of Hicks and Newt in Dark Horse Aliens books 1 and 2 that acted as sequels to the Aliens film - really good stuff, story and art. I've heard they were tweaked to change the characters' names following Alien 3, which killed the characters off. Book 3 Earth Wars wasn't great as it suffered from poor artwork.

Lobo is a series to appeal to the 14 year old boy in us. Throwaway stuff, guilty pleasure. Some loose Bisley work in the first few. Kevin O'Neill helms the Convention one. I liked them at the time!

Luther Arkwright is dynamite.

Metabarons I've read through. Good story, stunning art, can be read standalone, but worth seeking out the Incal, which it spun off out of. The Incal is tremendous, mad, zany, eye-popping, incredibly imaginative stuff. Top comics. I didn't like Before the Incal though - quite depressing. Final Incal was a nice cap but not essential.

The Invisibles I read the first few, pretty good but wasn't massively compelled to continue. If I had all the issues I'd give it a go though. Good point about the art from IP - it is all over the place.

Marshall Law well, Super Babylon not the best of his stories. Definitely seek out Fear and Loathing, top Pat Mills, and Kevin O'Neill's best self-coloured art IMO. The early episodes some of my favourite comics, I'd really recommend them. They just tailed off a bit after FaL and Kingdom of the Blind.

[Fortnight]

Tick I'm going to guess those ones listed as 1993 are actually the 88 series by Ben Edlund

Yes, I think they are the '88 ones. Finishing in '93 (apart from the one much later). I got the link sorted descending and that's probably why I put in the wrong date.

I only have #2 of the omnibuses, and missing #s 1, 3 & 13 of the '88 series, but seem to have all of the Chroma Tick, so looks like that's the one to read!

This is the weakest chunk for me. Mainly as some of the best stuff you only have 1 or 2 issues of.

They're only split up that way so they fit in the forum's 20000 character limit :)

I'm interested in anything that's good, even if it's not worth filling by issue. If there's something that's good to get and there's a collected volume or set, I can add it to the list of things to track down eventually!

I will note that I'm not a massive fan of the post Alan Moore Swamp Things either. There's some okay stuff.

I read a bit about what happens to the character after the Moore run and it seems like they messed with one of his most interesting aspects and made him more villainous. Villains are very very often portrayed in an extremely cliché way in fiction (presumably because it's easy to do) and I get quite tired of it, so the point of changing a character that has an interesting nature into one that's cliché is probably where I'll stop reading.

The Dark Horse Alien limited series are all good and can all be read standalone. Definitely worth seeking out the continuing adventures of Hicks and Newt in Dark Horse Aliens books 1 and 2 that acted as sequels to the Aliens film - really good stuff, story and art. I've heard they were tweaked to change the characters' names following Alien 3, which killed the characters off. Book 3 Earth Wars wasn't great as it suffered from poor artwork.

I'm very curious about the Alien/Aliens material out there. Is there any fully collected sets that are fairly easy to track down? I don't know how much there is as I can't find anything that seems to be a definitive easy-to-follow list of everything. I subscribed to the Hachette HB Alien/Predator "Graphic Novel Collection" that they trialled some years ago because I thought it'd be a good way to get everything, but they ended up with only the 4 trial issues.

[Le Fink]

I'm very curious about the Alien/Aliens material out there. Is there any fully collected sets that are fairly easy to track down? I don't know how much there is as I can't find anything that seems to be a definitive easy-to-follow list of everything. I subscribed to the Hachette HB Alien/Predator "Graphic Novel Collection" that they trialled some years ago because I thought it'd be a good way to get everything, but they ended up with only the 4 trial issues.

Yes! This one has those very volumes I mentioned:

https://amzn.eu/d/4uie493

[The Monarch]

A small note about Jla/JLE the final storyline of the DeMatteis and Giffen era breakdowns is a crossover between the two comics it spans 53-60 of justice league america and 29-36 of justice league europe

[Robin Low]

Sooo much to recommend here. Other people have made some very good suggestions, but I'll add the Black Orchid 3 of 3, by Gaiman and McKean. McKean's art here is (based on a 30-something year old memory) better than his Arkham Asylum, parts of which are also jolly good.

I'll also encourage you to look at Sandman Mystery Theatre. Just a shame you've not got it all - well worth collecting the rest. It's a tragedy that two attempts to have this collected in full have failed. It's one the best comic series I've read.

Regards,
Robin

[Fortnight]

Sooo much to recommend here. Other people have made some very good suggestions, but I'll add the Black Orchid 3 of 3, by Gaiman and McKean. McKean's art here is (based on a 30-something year old memory) better than his Arkham Asylum, parts of which are also jolly good.

I'll also encourage you to look at Sandman Mystery Theatre. Just a shame you've not got it all - well worth collecting the rest. It's a tragedy that two attempts to have this collected in full have failed. It's one the best comic series I've read.

Ah, now this has reminded me that I was definitely planning to read the Sandman series, and in (superficially) researching the titles that I have I discovered that there are a great many spin-offs from that, and then spin-offs from the spin-offs, or so it seemed, and I kept discovering things that were interrelated. I got quite confused again here. The Sandman universe seems to be quite large.

Black Orchid is another one I'd planned to read and fill. Visually it looks really good, and it probably won't take much to fill 6 issues... right...? Sometimes I'm afraid to look at the prices of these things

Another title that I got confused about was... now I don't know which is first... The Books / Names of Magic. As I was sorting through these comics I kept finding the odd issues of other series and then discovering that they are (or seemed to be) related to those; at least tangentially... maybe. *gives weak & unsure smile* Such as (I think) Mister E, The Books of Faerie?

If that all sounds a bit vague and unsure, it's because that's exactly right. I don't know how, or if, they're related, and what else there is that I might need in order to fill what I have (or replace with collected volumes).

*gives another apologetic wan half-smile*

[Fortnight]

Yes! This one has those very volumes I mentioned:

https://amzn.eu/d/4uie493

I think that Outbreak is in that Hachette collection, but not the others in that volume. Not that I've even opened the Hachette HBs - they're all still sealed in their original shrinkwrap 

And I see from an Amazon search for Aliens Omnibus that there also newer HB omnibuses titled "The Original Years", and paperback ones collecting fewer stories, but much cheaper. And I'm confused again. I need a single source to explain everything Alien-related and where they're collected! Without knowing more about the titles I don't know what's sensible to start getting! I need to already have the issues in order to know enough about them in order to know what compiled works to get. There's no entry point!!!

*faints*

[Jim_Campbell]

Black Orchid is another one I'd planned to read and fill. Visually it looks really good, and it probably won't take much to fill 6 issues... right...? Sometimes I'm afraid to look at the prices of these things

Three issues in the 'prestige' format (48pgs, square bound), so you've got the last issue in the series. A quick look on eBay suggests that you can pick up single issues if you hunt around but, TBH, you could probably pick up one of the TPB collections the same way for about the same money, or less.

[Jim_Campbell]

Ah, now this has reminded me that I was definitely planning to read the Sandman series, and in (superficially) researching the titles that I have I discovered that there are a great many spin-offs from that, and then spin-offs from the spin-offs, or so it seemed, and I kept discovering things that were interrelated. I got quite confused again here. The Sandman universe seems to be quite large.

Sandman Mystery Theatre is only tangentially related to Gaiman's Sandman and its offshoots. This book is based on Wesley Dodds, the original Golden Age 'Sandman' character, and is fairly solidly film noir in tone, with little to no supernatural goings-on.

Gaiman's Sandman was an entirely different character, although, in the first issue of Gaiman's Sandman, it's suggested (retroactively) that Wesley Dodds was inspired to become his version of The Sandman by the universe attempting to correct for Dream's century-long imprisonment, which covered the period during with Dodds was active.