Completely Self-absorbed Top 100 Comic Runs You Need to Read

[JohnW]

... we can make the mistake of reading these old strips, once presented as snippets daily, in great gulps now as they are collected in large lovely volumes we want to read in one go.

This strikes a chord with me.
Last summer I read my way through about fourteen years of Peanuts and could only appreciate it properly     by      slowing        myself         right          down.
The newspaper strip was originally presented to the reader four panels at a time, so you miss the intended effect by reading too much too fast. (Seriously – I once came across an honest-to-god essay on the rhythms of Peanuts and the all-importance of the third panel.)

My solution last summer was to cover the strip I was reading with my bookmark and uncover it one panel at a time. This kept my eye from automatically skimmng to the end. I'm using the same technique now with the complete Calvin & Hobbes.

(On a related note, I've been learning French at a glacial pace for the past few years – largely so I can read French comics unavailable in translation. I find I get much more involved in the stories because I have to study the words and pictures so closely. It makes me think there's a lot in that old prejudice about comics being for children and the sub-literate.    )

[Blue Cactus]

I had a phase where I got interested in a couple of classic old newspaper strips - Krazy Kat and Little Nemo. I can definitely see where you're coming from with the antiquated speech dialogue being a barrier. I found it more enjoyable in Krazy Kat myself, it had a kind of quaint sing song quality for me that complemented the quirkiness of the art and storylines, whereas I often found the dialogue in Nemo dragged down the otherwise flowing (often wonderful) visuals. I became quite fond of Krazy Kat, found the characters and scenarios charming and particularly appreciated the dreamlike landscape they inhabit (which morphs constantly even if the characters are standing stationary) and the weirdly shaped moon that lights the night sky.

It is quite repetitive though and I haven't felt the need to read more than a couple of collections. I have a big hardback collection of Little Nemo but got a bit bored part way through. What McKay does with the art is often incredible really, especially for the era, but the meandering stories didn't keep me reading. Whereas reading single episodes in a daily newspaper at the time was probably the ideal way to consume either strip.

[IndigoPrime]

Krazy Kat seems to click with cartoonists. Perhaps it's again that thing of whether you've the inbuilt mentality to be able to place yourself in a certain era or not. (I don't, for the most part. Although I can – and do – enjoy a lot of early Peanuts, and collected the entire run of HCs.)

On the dailies, that notion of slowing down makes a lot of sense. These strips were designed to be enjoyed as quick blasts of fun, rather than as a sit-down treat. (One might argue the same about 2000 AD and even classic-era US comics, before collections blurred the lines.) So I found myself in a similar space when sitting down with Roger Langridge's Diary Comics. I read them a month at a time, because I don't want to burn through them and not appreciate them.

[Vector14]

In one a video I watched in the series Jim Rugg mentions that we can make the mistake of reading these old strips, once presented as snippets daily, in great gulps now as they are collected in large lovely volumes we want to read in one go. That's not how these comics were designed to be read. The slow pace of the one strip a day is built into the design and repetition of the ideas (as I see them). Instead Rugg suggests even in these bumper volumes we should ration ourselves, read a page or two a day. Allow that to sit and settle in our minds before charging ahead. Read them slower, as intended and that might enrich the experience.

I am having a similar experience at the moment reading through Dredd case files 1. It's taking me ages to read it and has been sitting on my bedside table for months now. It's the comic book equivalent of Joyce's Ulysses.
These stories were never intended to be read together in one 300 page chunk so I find I can just read a few episodes at a time then have to put it down.

[AlexF]

Big Krazy Kat fan here! Can't think of anything to say to persuade non-fans to give it another go, I suspect the reality is that I was exposed to it really quite young (my Dad had an old collection), and first read bits of it as a sub-literate and as such did not understand the lettering or the dialogue well at all, but fell in love with those weird visuals (shades of Dr Seuss?). Which all meant that when I gave it a prpoer go as a teen then an adult i was primed to enjoy it. It very much feels to me like an extended arthouse Road Runner cartoon, which is totally my cup of tea. That said, I don't sit and read Krazy Kat very often - definitely one to enjoy in small doses, occasionally.

Honestly, the whole 'widescreen comics' thing that got going in the late 90s, esepcially in superhero comics, has slightly ruined a lot of comics reading for me, as I expect to be able to race through them. It's just not the case with most British comics (especially the Beano!), and most US comics from the 80s or earlier.

Maybe it's the Manga influece? They're often a real breakneck read.

[Barrington Boots]

Don't undersell yourself Colin, you're doing some great writing here and it's a shame it doesn't reach a wider audience. You should stick all this on a substack if nowhere else.

Just to chime in on reading comics in small chunks - it's a definite thing for old stuff. I'm reading Black Max at the moment and read in a block its a bit rubbish, to be frank: formulaic and repetitive.. but an episode or two every few days is a joy. I found it was the same with Liberty Meadows which I started reading online off this very thread. I can't think of many examples of older strips that really hold up to a binge read: Asterix was originally serialised wasn't it? That's one perhaps.

[Blue Cactus]

In one a video I watched in the series Jim Rugg mentions that we can make the mistake of reading these old strips, once presented as snippets daily, in great gulps now as they are collected in large lovely volumes we want to read in one go. That's not how these comics were designed to be read. The slow pace of the one strip a day is built into the design and repetition of the ideas (as I see them). Instead Rugg suggests even in these bumper volumes we should ration ourselves, read a page or two a day. Allow that to sit and settle in our minds before charging ahead. Read them slower, as intended and that might enrich the experience.

I am having a similar experience at the moment reading through Dredd case files 1. It's taking me ages to read it and has been sitting on my bedside table for months now. It's the comic book equivalent of Joyce's Ulysses.
These stories were never intended to be read together in one 300 page chunk so I find I can just read a few episodes at a time then have to put it down.

I have wondered how often people buy Case Files 1 and never get any further. It's a logical place to start but definitely not the ideal introduction. A few episodes at a time, appreciating how the ideas developed and enjoying the art, seems the ideal way to read it (or did for me - it was the first time I'd read most of the early episodes and I was kind of treating it as much as a historical document as a comic reading experience). Still lots of enjoyment to be had there of course.

[IndigoPrime]

From what I can tell, folks from the US in particular have a very hard time getting into 2000 AD. It's black and white. The storytelling is staccato and dense. And the early Dredd doesn't really fit  expectations. It doesn't help that it took the team until its second year to figure out what the character was. And even then, you get quite a lot of hokey Dredd for a time.

So, yeah, I can see a lot of folks buying Case Files 1, wondering what all the fuss was about, and then going no further. (It was interesting watching Omar over at Near Mint Condition going through this. Although, curiously, he was also far more receptive to strips by Ennis and Morrison that most of us would consider poor.)

[Vector14]

From what I can tell, folks from the US in particular have a very hard time getting into 2000 AD. It's black and white. The storytelling is staccato and dense. And the early Dredd doesn't really fit  expectations. It doesn't help that it took the team until its second year to figure out what the character was. And even then, you get quite a lot of hokey Dredd for a time.

So, yeah, I can see a lot of folks buying Case Files 1, wondering what all the fuss was about, and then going no further. (It was interesting watching Omar over at Near Mint Condition going through this. Although, curiously, he was also far more receptive to strips by Ennis and Morrison that most of us would consider poor.)

I really enjoyed those videos from Omar. It's always interesting to see an "outsiders" opinion on 2000D stuff. I got the impression that he probably would have given up during case files 1 or 2 if he wasn't doing it for his job though. I think he said that the first story he really enjoyed was Judge Death Lives.

I can understand why he was favorable towards Ennis and Morrison. I started reading a lot of US comics just because they were written by people I was familiar with from 2000AD. I suppose we are just naturally predisposed to look more positively on things we are familiar with. Like looking at your own child's thoughtful stick man drawing compared to looking at some other random kids scrawl.

Somewhat back on topic, although daily comics were never meant to be read in bulk, I've never had any problem reading huge chunks of Calvin and Hobbes.

[Tjm86]

I do think that is where Rebellion have got things right with some of the more recent reprints cherry picking Dredd tales.  Granted Apocalypse War has been reprinted more times than I can remember but as a starting point it is fantastic.  it captures everything that is great about Dredd - the sheer brutality of the world, Dredd's indifference to citizens and almost obsessive approach to the Law / MC1, Ezquerra, Grant, Wagner ...

Ultimately Dredd is one of those strips that can, to a certain extent, be read in whatever order you want.  True, the repercussions of earlier strips carry through but at the same time you don't always need to fully understand the history in the way you do with some other strips.  There are so many tales that are almost like vignettes rather than part of a continuous narrative.

As for reading Calvin and Hobbes in bulk ... is there any other way?  It's more addictive than Uncle Ump!

[Blue Cactus]

I do think that is where Rebellion have got things right with some of the more recent reprints cherry picking Dredd tales.  Granted Apocalypse War has been reprinted more times than I can remember but as a starting point it is fantastic.  it captures everything that is great about Dredd - the sheer brutality of the world, Dredd's indifference to citizens and almost obsessive approach to the Law / MC1, Ezquerra, Grant, Wagner ...

Ultimately Dredd is one of those strips that can, to a certain extent, be read in whatever order you want.  True, the repercussions of earlier strips carry through but at the same time you don't always need to fully understand the history in the way you do with some other strips.  There are so many tales that are almost like vignettes rather than part of a continuous narrative.

As for reading Calvin and Hobbes in bulk ... is there any other way?  It's more addictive than Uncle Ump!

Just for comparison I had a friend who really enjoyed the early case files but got pretty fed up with the Apocalypse War! She loved the bizarre future crimes elements of Dredd and the AW is very removed from all that. She just wanted to read about Dredd out on the streets doing day to day judging of weird criminals and citizens and wasn't into the long ongoing war scenario at all. As such I'm not sure it is always the ideal starting point, albeit it's a great early story for all the reasons you mention.

[Tjm86]

I can appreciate that.  Some of the best tales I've read over the years have been the short one and done.  I'm on constant record as absolutely loving Wagner and Dillon's Alone in a Crowd which is such an amazing piece of work on absolutely every level.  The run of crazy crime stories before and after Judge Child Quest and even after Apocalypse War.  Both the Chopper stories are great (although much prefer Midnight Surfer ... Cam Kennedy artwork ... 'nuff said).

That's possibly the best aspect of Dredd, there's just so much variety to it.  I just wish we could move away from these interminable "there's something rotten in Justice Dept" stories though ...

[IndigoPrime]

That's the thing with Dredd: everyone likes different stuff. I quite often see people asking for the best starting point, and it's hard to reply. I mean, what are their expectations? There's a world of difference between classic-era Dredd and The Pit, and then again compared to what we have now.

Also, Dredd often works best in the smaller moments rather than the epics. And many of the epics only hit home when you've some context behind them. So I don't think America or Origins are goods start points. Case Files 5 isn't too bad, because at least you do have a bunch of strips before you get to the epic. But I'd almost be tempted to point people at 6 or 7 first, if they fancy some old-school Dredd.

I wonder what would be a good intro to more modern Dredd. 35? (Block Court; Sin City) 40? (Total War kicking things off might be a bit much, mind!) 41? (Some nice strips, including Mandroid.) 44?

[Le Fink]

Graveyard Shift comes to mind as a solid (early) Dredd starter.

[Colin YNWA]

Yeah I've often wondered if Case Files 1 is such a big seller as so few folks enjoy it enough to follow up on later volumes (though I guess they don't do too bad!). Its a pretty weak volume as I recall. Whether reading an episode a week would help I don't know?

Glad there are a few folks who enjoyed Krazy Kat here as it does have such a great reputation I'd be surprised if there wasn't I guess. I must give it a go at some point in small doses at that seems to be a well supported idea.

As for Asterix and Calvin and Hobbes being serialised short you can consume in great big gulps - there are the exceptions that prove just about ever comic rule! And will both appear much, much later on this list - which I don't think is giving too much away.

As for Nemo in Slunderland I have a post planned about that too... but which way??? We'll have to see.

On a tangent. While on me holidays I've just read 'Why I hate Saturn' and it BRILLIANT. Might well be another addition to the already bulging list. I'm going to have to get a better collection - by 30th anniverary collection with Cowboy Wally doesn't get close to doing it justice. Any recommendations as to the definative version?

Speaking of Cowboy Wally I'm half way through that too and its good, but for me not close to WIHS.