American Gods is not exactly Gaiman's best work. It's very hard to identify with the main character, and that makes the book hard to get into.
Go buy Neverwhere instead. Read it and see if you like it.
And even if you don't buy it, go buy Good Omens too (that's Gaiman with Terry Pratchett who writes the Discworld novels)
Oh and Stardust is another fucking excellent Gaiman book. But I'd still say that Neverwhere is the best intro to Gaiman as a writer.
Actually that's pretty much exactly my Gaiman experience. Tried to start w/ American Gods, couldn't get into it. Picked up Neverwhere and tore through it. Then I went back to AG, Anansi Boys, Stardust, Coraline, Good Omens... finally got ahold of the Sandman trades and ate them up. I'm addicted, man.
American Gods is not exactly Gaiman's best work. It's very hard to identify with the main character, and that makes the book hard to get into.
Go buy Neverwhere instead. Read it and see if you like it.
And even if you don't buy it, go buy Good Omens too (that's Gaiman with Terry Pratchett who writes the Discworld novels)
Oh and Stardust is another fucking excellent Gaiman book. But I'd still say that Neverwhere is the best intro to Gaiman as a writer.
Actually that's pretty much exactly my Gaiman experience. Tried to start w/ American Gods, couldn't get into it. Picked up Neverwhere and tore through it. Then I went back to AG, Anansi Boys, Stardust, Coraline, Good Omens... finally got ahold of the Sandman trades and ate them up. I'm addicted, man.
Guys, how would you rate Batman: The Long Halloween? I ask because I just picked it up on a whim today (thanks to an awesome 3 for 2 sale that also netted me Kingdom Come and The Dark Knight Returns) but haven't cracked it open yet. Was this a sound purchase?
I thought it was ok. Nothing spectacular, but worth reading nonetheless.
And was this deal the one at Books-A-Million? I work there and we had an employee discount day, where everything was 40% off. Watchmen, Batman: Hush and Absolute Sandman all for under $100. So delicious.
EDIT: Also, i wouldn't recommend 300. It's not worth $30. If you really wanna read it, set aside about an hour and a half to sit at the store and read it from cover to cover. Otherwise, it just doesn't give you enough for your buck.
Guys, how would you rate Batman: The Long Halloween? I ask because I just picked it up on a whim today (thanks to an awesome 3 for 2 sale that also netted me Kingdom Come and The Dark Knight Returns) but haven't cracked it open yet. Was this a sound purchase?
I thought it was ok. Nothing spectacular, but worth reading nonetheless.
And was this deal the one at Books-A-Million? I work there and we had an employee discount day, where everything was 40% off. Watchmen, Batman: Hush and Absolute Sandman all for under $100. So delicious.
EDIT: Also, i wouldn't recommend 300. It's not worth $30. If you really wanna read it, set aside about an hour and a half to sit at the store and read it from cover to cover. Otherwise, it just doesn't give you enough for your buck.
Yes, this was at BAM. I stopped by there today instead of going to the gym and it turned out to be the right choice. However, they would only give the discount on things with the sticker on them and, sadly, Watchmen was not among them. :v: I might go back and see if they've rectified the situation by putting more stickers on the books.
American Gods is not exactly Gaiman's best work. It's very hard to identify with the main character, and that makes the book hard to get into.
Go buy Neverwhere instead. Read it and see if you like it.
And even if you don't buy it, go buy Good Omens too (that's Gaiman with Terry Pratchett who writes the Discworld novels)
Oh and Stardust is another fucking excellent Gaiman book. But I'd still say that Neverwhere is the best intro to Gaiman as a writer.
Actually that's pretty much exactly my Gaiman experience. Tried to start w/ American Gods, couldn't get into it. Picked up Neverwhere and tore through it. Then I went back to AG, Anansi Boys, Stardust, Coraline, Good Omens... finally got ahold of the Sandman trades and ate them up. I'm addicted, man.
he made several stand-alone graphic novels, too
Yeah I've been reading them whenever i'm in a bookstore. A lot of them are adaptations of his short stories in Smoke & Mirrors and Fragile Things. Good reads, in both forms - I just can't pony up the cash for the hardback graphic versions.
So I needed something to read at lunch today, so I went out and bought all the Y trades. And you fuckers were actually right about something - this is a good book. I'm still not giving any of you assholes cookies, though.
I second that. Not only is it by Warren Ellis, but I also really like that a fuckton of people get wiped out instead of "oh dear, some bruises and broken bones, let's get them to the hospital" when the shit hits the fan like many other comics do.
I bought all of Preacher, We3, The Filth, and book 1 of Walking Dead. Thanks for the help so far and I do want more. As my Xmas present I have decided to buy 52ish so I have one for every week of next year to read.
Couple more questions:
Anyone read the Bone One Volume edition? I'm worried reading from a 1600 page book will be awkward.
Is Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison a complete story?
-Get League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (That series raped my childhood memories of Rupert the Bear)
-Y the Last Man
-Invincible
-V for Vendetta
-Maus
-Stormwatch
-American Way
THE AUTHORITY
Limed and Repeated for Truth
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augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
Hmm. I had the opposite experience, where I enjoyed Neverwhere but absolutely love American Gods. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for mythology, I dunno.
The Murder Mysteries graphic novel is pretty good too.
It would be better to read Ellis's Stormwatch issues before reading the Authority. Not totally necesary, but it makes for a more fulfilling experience.
WE3 is a great book that everyone should read.
Transmetropolitan is really good too.
I am trying to think of books you could read without needing a lot of backstory or familiarity with the characters or the comics medium in general to appreciate...
the trade paperback for American Virgin just came out (in November, I think) and I am obsessed with it.
I was pleasantly surprised with it. Why the obsession?
It's got pretty much every Vertigo hook I enjoy. sex, violence, vendettas, angst, nudity, god... and art that turns me on. Preacher is one of my other favorites. Comic obsession is fairly easy for me.
I'm practically peeing myself in anticipation over the Neverwhere graphic novel.
I just like the idea of a fundamentalist Christian protagonist that is neither unsympathetic and evil nor a denizen of some kind of simple, one-dimensional world so devoid of nuance and ambiguity that you can abide by Christian values wholeheartedly without ever being forced to question yourself or your beliefs.
The lecture he gave the stripper in the first issue kind of sold me with its sincerity and complete lack of condescending moralizing. I wish real religious folks could be like that.
I wouldn't really advise Bone. I've only read the first trade, and it as really my thing - and I like very much the same stuff you're liking. I say pick up Ex Machina, the Walking Dead, Invincible, Seven Soldiers of Victory and DEFINITELY SANDMAN.
So I hear SANDMAN is the shit...
I just don't know alot about it.
Is it standalone or does it tie into characters already popular? Most importantly, I'm assuming it's impossible to find, or find cheaply... so uh.
I guess that's a question.
Because yeah, it's pretty self-contained. There are brief cameos from the Martian manhunter, Wesley Dodds, John Constantine, Lucifer and similar throughout the series, but they're really brief and wiki will sort you out on that front.
The complete Sandman is like, twelve TPBs or something, so it's going to set you back to get the whole lot. Why not grab the first one and see what you think?
Sandman is like, one of the most popular collected series ever. You'll have no problem finding copies of Sandman.
I disagree with bobgorila, the first one is usually the one that sets people off, because it's so different from the others because Gaiman was still finding what kind of story/stories he wanted to tell. Also, the art blows ass in the first volume, and it's hard to get past that without an appreciation for the writing you get from reading some of the other ones.
So I dunno, pick up a random one, they're not completely stand-alone but Gaiman says it's cool to read them out of order. It doesn't really affect the reading too much.
Pick up Season of Mists or something. Or Brief Lives.
You can start Sandman at The Doll's House and not feel like you missed anything at all. And it's a really awesome story.
The Books of Magic is also good (the standalone miniseries, not the ongoing series that started off with promise and then went straight downhill).
EDIT: Make sure you read the first Sandman graphic novel at some point if for no other reason than "24 hours". One of the scariest goddamn stories I've ever read.
Posts
Actually that's pretty much exactly my Gaiman experience. Tried to start w/ American Gods, couldn't get into it. Picked up Neverwhere and tore through it. Then I went back to AG, Anansi Boys, Stardust, Coraline, Good Omens... finally got ahold of the Sandman trades and ate them up. I'm addicted, man.
And was this deal the one at Books-A-Million? I work there and we had an employee discount day, where everything was 40% off. Watchmen, Batman: Hush and Absolute Sandman all for under $100. So delicious.
EDIT: Also, i wouldn't recommend 300. It's not worth $30. If you really wanna read it, set aside about an hour and a half to sit at the store and read it from cover to cover. Otherwise, it just doesn't give you enough for your buck.
Yes, this was at BAM. I stopped by there today instead of going to the gym and it turned out to be the right choice. However, they would only give the discount on things with the sticker on them and, sadly, Watchmen was not among them. :v: I might go back and see if they've rectified the situation by putting more stickers on the books.
Yeah I've been reading them whenever i'm in a bookstore. A lot of them are adaptations of his short stories in Smoke & Mirrors and Fragile Things. Good reads, in both forms - I just can't pony up the cash for the hardback graphic versions.
Kravens Last Hunt
Ex-Machina (if you like Y: you should like this)
Also, Runaways is awesome/Marvel Zombies/The AoA tradepaper backs/Idenitiy Crises
Runaways
The Ultimates
I second that. Not only is it by Warren Ellis, but I also really like that a fuckton of people get wiped out instead of "oh dear, some bruises and broken bones, let's get them to the hospital" when the shit hits the fan like many other comics do.
There's no o_O big enough for The Filth.
I read The Filth all in one sitting, while drinking chocolate milk and eating Twizzlers. I almost puked.
I'm glad I got the trade, because I'm not sure if I would have made it through the singles. Fucking brilliant shit, obviously though.
Couple more questions:
Anyone read the Bone One Volume edition? I'm worried reading from a 1600 page book will be awkward.
Is Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison a complete story?
How about League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?
-Y the Last Man
-Invincible
-V for Vendetta
-Maus
-Stormwatch
-American Way
THE AUTHORITY
Limed and Repeated for Truth
Yes.
Two volumes so far, with a third on the way.
I don't get seaguy.
I'm sorry.
Anally.
Some stuff happens.
There's some symbolic stuff about living in a sanitized modern world and the nature of mortality.
Book ends.
I was pleasantly surprised with it. Why the obsession?
The Murder Mysteries graphic novel is pretty good too.
WE3 is a great book that everyone should read.
Transmetropolitan is really good too.
I am trying to think of books you could read without needing a lot of backstory or familiarity with the characters or the comics medium in general to appreciate...
It's got pretty much every Vertigo hook I enjoy. sex, violence, vendettas, angst, nudity, god... and art that turns me on. Preacher is one of my other favorites. Comic obsession is fairly easy for me.
I'm practically peeing myself in anticipation over the Neverwhere graphic novel.
It might be something to do with how someone claimed the book would be to perversion what Preacher was to violence.
Man, way to over-sell.
Anally.
The lecture he gave the stripper in the first issue kind of sold me with its sincerity and complete lack of condescending moralizing. I wish real religious folks could be like that.
But I was told it would be as good like Preacher.
It is not.
Anally.
I just don't know alot about it.
Is it standalone or does it tie into characters already popular? Most importantly, I'm assuming it's impossible to find, or find cheaply... so uh.
I guess that's a question.
Because yeah, it's pretty self-contained. There are brief cameos from the Martian manhunter, Wesley Dodds, John Constantine, Lucifer and similar throughout the series, but they're really brief and wiki will sort you out on that front.
The complete Sandman is like, twelve TPBs or something, so it's going to set you back to get the whole lot. Why not grab the first one and see what you think?
Anally.
I disagree with bobgorila, the first one is usually the one that sets people off, because it's so different from the others because Gaiman was still finding what kind of story/stories he wanted to tell. Also, the art blows ass in the first volume, and it's hard to get past that without an appreciation for the writing you get from reading some of the other ones.
So I dunno, pick up a random one, they're not completely stand-alone but Gaiman says it's cool to read them out of order. It doesn't really affect the reading too much.
Pick up Season of Mists or something. Or Brief Lives.
You should get it.
Though I wouldn't say the art sucks ass, it's just a very acquired taste.
Anally.
The Books of Magic is also good (the standalone miniseries, not the ongoing series that started off with promise and then went straight downhill).
EDIT: Make sure you read the first Sandman graphic novel at some point if for no other reason than "24 hours". One of the scariest goddamn stories I've ever read.
'Heart of Empire' by Bryan Talbot. Excellent art and story and unfortunately very difficult to find.
'Grendel' and 'Mage: a Hero Discovered' by Matt Wagner. I prefer the Grendel stories set in the future, but the entire series is good.
And for those who wish to read a GN about GNs, 'Understanding Comics' by Scott McCloud.