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Self-contained recommendations

ryuprechtryuprecht Registered User regular
edited July 2007 in Graphic Violence
I did some searching and didn't see a related thread, so I feel free to lock it and refer if it's been done to death.

I'm not a big comic book fan, but I've read some graphic novels recently that I liked a lot, and I was looking for recommendations. I don't want to get into a monthly, serialized read though, as I greatly prefer my reading to be self-contained, with a beginning, middle, and end. In the last few months, I have read:

Bone
Watchmen
Ronin
300
Dark Knight Returns
Akira

I'm looking for things that are similar to this. Thoughts? I think I would tend not to go for Manga, but I could easily be persuaded to if needed (Akira is something from my childhood, which is why I bought the whole set to read).

Thanks!

ryuprecht on
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Posts

  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Sandman is great - it has a beginning, middle, and end, although it is epicly long.

    Y - The Last Man follows this pattern as well, although it hasn't run to its completion yet.

    KalTorak on
  • fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    We3 - pretty self contained, awesome story.

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  • Bad KarmaBad Karma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Well, if you like Westerns, every issue of Jonah Hex has a beginning, middle, and end. Trades are available.

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  • JCMJCM Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Preacher - Texans want to fuck god up, and theres an immortal cowboy god of death

    The Invisibles - Think Xfiles on a bad acid trip

    Hitman - Forget preacher, this is Ennis´ greatest work

    Transmetropolitan - Whoever thought that a story about a Journalist could be this fucking good?

    Hard Boiled - Frank Miller and Geof Darrow´s massterpiece, this shit inspired Matrix

    JCM on
  • Mai-KeroMai-Kero Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    JCM wrote: »

    Hard Boiled - Frank Miller and Geof Darrow´s massterpiece, this shit inspired Matrix

    I'm pretty sure The Invisibles "inspired" Matrix.

    Mai-Kero on
  • Cosmic SombreroCosmic Sombrero Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    actually "The Matrix" was inspired by a screenplay called Third Eye that the Wachowski brothers stole.

    Cosmic Sombrero on
  • JCMJCM Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Mai-Kero wrote: »
    JCM wrote: »

    Hard Boiled - Frank Miller and Geof Darrow´s massterpiece, this shit inspired Matrix

    I'm pretty sure The Invisibles "inspired" Matrix.

    Living a virtual life, the whole pod was copied off, among with lots of quotes and tech from the comics... and the Matrix creators even name-dropped Geof Darrow as their inspiration (and hired him to draw them a story, and made 2 Matrix animated shorts in his style)

    JCM on
  • hughtronhughtron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    JCM wrote: »
    Mai-Kero wrote: »
    JCM wrote: »

    Hard Boiled - Frank Miller and Geof Darrow´s massterpiece, this shit inspired Matrix

    I'm pretty sure The Invisibles "inspired" Matrix.

    Living a virtual life, the whole pod was copied off, among with lots of quotes and tech from the comics... and the Matrix creators even name-dropped Geof Darrow as their inspiration (and hired him to draw them a story, and made 2 Matrix animated shorts in his style)

    uh, Geof Darrow did all of the conceptual art for the Matrix movies.

    So yeah, he did kind of steal the pod-image from himself.

    hughtron on
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  • hughtronhughtron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Also: The Invisibles is the bestivez.

    It's the Matrix meets the X-Files meets 90s Drug Culture meets the Justice League.

    hughtron on
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  • hughtronhughtron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Also also: Isn't Hard Boiled an adaptation of a Phillip K Dick short story?

    hughtron on
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  • ServoServo Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    i'm gonna recommend stuff that actually IS self-contained in one trade so


    the first ghost in the shell

    we3

    the filth (yes yes y'all)

    uncle sam

    1602

    planet hulk

    scooter girl

    last of the independents

    fantastic four/iron man: Big in Japan

    and there's stuff that has a self contained story in one trade, but there's more if you felt like looking (which is really the beauty of comics)

    welcome back, frank (the punisher)

    any of the queen and country trades, though it helps to read them in some kind of order

    punisher max: the slavers

    sin city

    the human target

    Servo on
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  • BalefuegoBalefuego Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Y isn't done yet but it's pretty damn close, only 3 more issues to go.

    I'd add Kingdom Come and Marvels up there.

    Balefuego on
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  • ServoServo Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    i never read marvels

    Servo on
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  • blanknogoblanknogo Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I recently read Spider-man: Blue and thought it was pretty good and self-contained.

    blanknogo on
  • ServoServo Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    and, actually, don't start human target unless you want to be forever frustrated, because it has the worst case of being canceled before the end of the series that i've ever seen

    Servo on
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  • BalefuegoBalefuego Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Marvels is pretty awesome Servo

    Balefuego on
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  • BlankspaceBlankspace __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Why haven't you ingrates mentioned New Frontier?

    Blankspace on
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  • ServoServo Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    i'm waiting until i can read ruins and marvels back to back

    Servo on
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  • BlankspaceBlankspace __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Servo wrote: »
    i'm waiting until i can read ruins and marvels back to back
    Servo you will smile and then cry and then vomit

    Blankspace on
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  • AlgertmanAlgertman Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Mai-Kero wrote: »
    JCM wrote: »

    Hard Boiled - Frank Miller and Geof Darrow´s massterpiece, this shit inspired Matrix

    I'm pretty sure The Matrix ripped off The Invisibles.

    That's what you mean.

    I mean MY GOD! The first TPB lines up perfectly with the movie.

    That's borderline Greg Land bull shit right there

    Algertman on
  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I don't remember Neo's "O' Face in The Matrix.

    I mean, he had his whoa face but that's not the same thing.

    The Lovely Bastard on
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  • AlgertmanAlgertman Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I don't remember Neo's "O' Face in The Matrix.

    I mean, he had his whoa face but that's not the same thing.

    Doesn't matter

    Invisibles will always be better than The Matrix? Wanna know why?

    Grant Morrison that's why

    Algertman on
  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited July 2007
    Marvels is fantastic. I really wish there were more books where you get to see superheroes through a normal person's eyes (and Front Line doesn't count)

    DJ Eebs on
  • HooraydiationHooraydiation Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Blankspace wrote: »
    Servo wrote: »
    i'm waiting until i can read ruins and marvels back to back
    Servo you will smile and then cry and then vomit

    Yeah, geez, don't read Ruins. I imagine that double feature would be something like spending an evening with the most beautiful girl in the world, and then having to spend another night with her after she's been mangled in a car accident that launched through the windshield and into a wheat thresher.

    And also, despite the experience, she's much less interesting to talk to now as well.

    Geebs: Astro City's made use of that device on more than one occasion. I shouldn't assume you haven't read any of the series, though, because it's hardly obscure.

    Hooraydiation on
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  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited July 2007
    I haven't read Astro City. I've only really been picking up comics for about three years maybe, and only started seriously picking up a bunch in the last two, so I'm still catching up on a lot of stuff.

    DJ Eebs on
  • ServoServo Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2007
    geebs why are you admitting weakness

    Servo on
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  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited July 2007
    admitting weakness is a sign of strength

    also a sign of "nobody talk to me like I know what happened in astro city"

    DJ Eebs on
  • HooraydiationHooraydiation Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Oh, well if you're interested in "man on the street" stories, then Astro City's worth checking out. Stories range from a small time crook discovering a prominent hero's secret identity to a woman being retconned out of existence by a battle through time, and the phantom pains her husband experiences as he deals with the loss of a woman who was never truly born.

    Now that I think about it, about half of the stories are not from the hero's perspective.

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  • hughtronhughtron __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    ALSO: The latest storyline, 'The Dark Ages', was orginally written as a sequel to Marvels. So there you go.

    hughtron on
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  • DJ EebsDJ Eebs Moderator, Administrator admin
    edited July 2007
    That sounds really cool. unfortunately I just used up my trade budget (hah, like I can budget) picking up the ninth volumes of Fables and Y, so I'll have to check it out later.

    DJ Eebs on
  • KumaKuma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    vic and blood

    Kuma on
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  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    edited July 2007
    ryuprecht wrote: »
    I think I would tend not to go for Manga, but I could easily be persuaded to if needed (Akira is something from my childhood, which is why I bought the whole set to read).Thanks!

    I know what you mean, cause I often feel the same way about manga, but the thing is, if you're looking for stories that have a clear beginning, middle and end, they've really got the market cornered. Like with Akira, the story might encompass four or ten or twenty-five volumes, but when it's done it's done.

    I'm not big on the giant robots and the little girls and so on, but the cool thing is manga has enough genre diversity that whether you're into autobiography, crime, or whatever you can usually find it. One of my all-time favorites is called Sanctuary - it's a very realistically-done (well, in a "Dallas" sort of way) crime/poltical thriller about two former friends - one a rising politician, the other a member of the Yakuza - who seem to be enemies, but are actually secretly working together to take over and reform Japan from the inside out. Aside from being massively entertaining and in parts quite moving, it's also a pretty educational screed about the inner workings of both local and national politics, and the sense of disconnection Japanese have from their government. It's a complete story in, I believe, twelve volumes and I can't recommend it enough.

    Pretty much everything people recommended here is good - allow me to add my vote to The Invisibles (one of modern comics' few genuine tours-de-force, it's a Lovecraftian/sci-fi/international espionage thriller about the meaning of life), We3, and Astro City (an ongoing series, but almost every issue is a self-contained story).

    Jacobkosh on
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  • Toji SuzuharaToji Suzuhara Southern CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Is Sanctuary still even in print? It was kind of before the big ten-dollar-book boom, so I imagine it's hard to sell $18 volumes now. It's still worth every penny, though, and then some. It's definitely in my top three comics of all time list.

    Toji Suzuhara on
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  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    edited July 2007
    Good point, I got it years ago and just sort of assumed it'd still be around. Well, even if ryuprecht has to do a bit of hunting, it'll be well worth it.

    Jacobkosh on
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  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Is "Justice" any good? I read the first book but haven't been able to find the second one. Nice art tho.

    KalTorak on
  • HooraydiationHooraydiation Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Is "Justice" any good? I read the first book but haven't been able to find the second one. Nice art tho.

    It's great, but it's also far from a primer on any of the featured characters and I therefore think it's moreso for longtime fans than people looking for an introduction.

    Batman's files at the ends flesh things out a bit, though, and it works well enough if you want to see what the DCU has to offer without really understanding any of it.

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  • Bad KarmaBad Karma Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    KalTorak wrote: »
    Is "Justice" any good? I read the first book but haven't been able to find the second one. Nice art tho.

    Justice was very, very good. I imagine its even better reading it all in one sitting, versus on a bimonthly schedule. Great art and a huge cast of characters.

    :^::^:

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  • Avro_ArrowAvro_Arrow Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I'm pretty surprised no one's mentioned Kingdom Come. It's a decent story with a beginning middle and end in one book.

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  • BalefuegoBalefuego Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I mentioned it on the first page

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  • AzraelAzrael Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Everyone needs to read Watchmen and Transmetropolitan.

    Does the first Sin City count? You don't have to read the rest after all.

    Crimson is rad in my opinion, especially if you dig Humberto Ramos' style.

    Azrael on
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