The Previously.TV Comic Book Book Club

[Chip]

This is David T. Cole hijacking the first post for the poll. Let's vote until EOD Monday.

I assumed that any giant epic series, we'll just do the first book/thing available.

[girlonthepark]

I am in for this! I am slightly brain dead right now so I will return to this thread later with suggestions. :)

[Danny Franks]

I would be up for this, if it didn't involve me having to start buying comics again. So I'd only really be up for rereads.

[Chip]

What books do you already own, Danny?

[Danny Franks]

Oh, crikey. Lots.

I was going to suggest, due to the movie just coming out, that the Captain America: The Winter Soldier arc would be a good place to start.

Preacher, Y: The Last Man, Charley's War, loads of X-Men and Batman, all of BoP, all of Nightwing volume 2, all of Akira, all of the old Transformers comics, Runaways, Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Richard Morgan's Black Widow minis, X-Factor (the Madrox led version), DC: The New Frontier, We3. Some old 2000AD stuff (Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Nikolai Dante).

And more besides.

[Chip]

I've never read Winter Soldier, so that's a good idea. Let's see what else people suggest.

[Monty]

I love the idea of Comic Book Book Club. It's like a book club, but with pictures! And I'll read anything people tell me to, which is a good trait to have in this situation.

[David T. Cole]

I'm in! I'm currently trying to read League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on semi-gloss stock. Who signed off on that decision? A fan of spectral highlights, that's who.

[Wilowy]

Fray is always on the top of my suggestion list - and Melaka's my icon, too. :) As always, I prefer the trade to the single issues. 

For those unfamiliar, she's a slayer in a dystopian future. She doesn't know very much about it, she's just compelled (virtually no Slayer history), and the book is as much about self-discovery and empowerment as it is guarding the planet. There's also world-building, massive destruction of the status quo, and heartrending twists. 

It's incredibly well-written, the art is amazing from all different perspectives, and the language is inventive and spot on to how our 'today-speak' might evolve. 

If anyone else has read it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. 

[Chip]

Danny and Willowy suggested the following, although to be fair, Danny was listing what he already owned so didn't really suggest ALL of Batman or X-Men.

 

• Fray
• Captain America : The Winter Soldier arc
• Preacher
• Y: The Last Man
• Charley's War
• X-Men
• Batman
• Birds of Prey
• Nightwing
• Akira
• Transformers\
• Runaways
• Avengers Disassembled
• House of M
• Richard Morgan's Black Widow minis,
• X-Factor (the Madrox led version),
• DC: The New Frontier,
• We3.
• Some old 2000AD stuff (Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Nikolai Dante)

 

I'll pin this to the top of the thread and update from other suggestions until early next week, then edit it down to a couple that are manageable and make a poll. We can decide through next weekend and then start.

[Omar G.]

I'd be interested! Most of the stuff I've been reading I'm caught up on (close to being caught up on Walking Dead next), so I'd love to check something new/different out.

[Wilowy]

Hey check it out! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A820VGI/

Don't know if y'all are into reading comic books on Kindle (I prefer the actual trades myself, even though I have a NookC), but this is really a great deal! 

[Chip]

I saw that and was coming to post this, Willowy. I own the individual issues somewhere in the vast reaches of my comic collection, but I'll buy it anyway because it's cheap.

[Wilowy]

A man of exemplary taste!

[girlonthepark]

Hey check it out! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A820VGI/

Don't know if y'all are into reading comic books on Kindle (I prefer the actual trades myself, even though I have a NookC), but this is really a great deal!

Thanks for the tip-off Willowy! I have never read Fray so I will give it a go!

(Also, it turns out I had a credit on my Amazon account so it only cost $0.46 - awesome!)

[David T. Cole]

Here's my pitch: Everyone here gets to make one nomination until EOD Friday after which I'll put the nominations in a poll and we can vote on it for a few days.

[timmik]

I just bought Fray to re-read with that Amazon deal and I was considering the two Winter Solder volumes since I didn't start reading comics regularly again until Civil War. I'm up for either but since I already bought Fray I vote for that.

[Wilowy]

Another for Fray!

[Chip]

I like Dave's idea of everyone throwing out an idea and then creating the poll on Friday. I unpinned to the big list from the top of this thread so it would not confuse people.

[David T. Cole]

I'm going to nominate Preacher Book One.

[girlonthepark]

I finally have brain power!
Of the things already suggested:
Fray (Just bought this and haven't dug into it yet!)
Y: The Last Man
Birds of Prey
Runaways

Other things that I like that could be good:
Fables
Chew
The Unwritten

I am pretty flexible about title so I am interested in seeing what wins!

[Monty]

I will nominate: the first book of Locke and Key ("Welcome to Lovecraft").

[David T. Cole]

You only get to nominate one thing Girlonthepark :)

[girlonthepark]

Whoops! Fair enough!
I nominate Fables then. I have been playing "The Wolf Among Us" and it is making me want to re-read the books.

[Chip]

I was going to suggest Alias from Marvel, but it seems to be out of print which is unfortunate. So, I'll go with Runaways Vol 1 which seems to only be $1.99 on Comixology right now.

[Omar G.]

Matt Fraction / Chip Zdarsky - "Sex Criminals." Trade paperback of the first five issues just came out this week. (though unfortunately it doesn't have the letters column from the individual comics, which are fantastic.)

[Monty]

I just started reading Sex Criminals! I finished the third issue thirty minutes ago.

[Wilowy]

You guys must like it or you wouldn't still be reading, but I'd like to hear a mini-review of Sex Criminals! I've heard both pros and cons. Currently re-reading Sandman, and on the third trade of Saga, but more is too slow in coming and I need something new, too (greedy me). So what's y'all's opinions? 

[Omar G.]

I'm in the bag for Fraction -- I really like his style of writing and "Hawkeye" is one of my favorites. With this one, I can't really tell where it's going exactly, but the exploration of teenage sexual awakening and the awkward ways it shapes us I'm finding really interesting. The log line I keep seeing is, "Woman's orgasms can stop time, so she starts robbing banks," but that's not really what it's about to me.

It's funny, but I feel like there's a lot more going on that the porno puns and inherent sex humor in it. 

[Monty]

It's pulling me along (har har) by not explaining the situation. There are some crazy things about the world that haven't been explained by the end of the third issue. And I enjoy the idea of a comic that slowrolls the exposition like that.

I picked it up because I saw Matt Fraction on a couple of panels at Emerald City Comicon and I was reminded that I've always enjoyed his work, going back to the Five Fists of Science. And I wanted to see what he was up to in his non-Marvel work, where he can kind of let himself go. Which is definitely what he's doing.

[Wilowy]

Sweet, thanks. Well that definitely piques my interest, I'll be picking it up my next trip to Austin Books & Comics. 

Oh, what did you think of the art?

[Omar G.]

LOVE the art. I'm a sucker for background detail and silly puns/jokes embedded into the artwork and this has a ton of that.  And the covers, even on the reprints/variants, have been phenomenal: http://www.allthingskevyn.com/2014/02/the-many-variances-of-fraction-zdarskys.html

[vmayo]

I'm in for this! I've been wanting to get back into comic books and had no idea where to start.  Looking forward to reading whatever wins the vote.

[halgia]

I've only recently started getting into comic books at all, mostly based entirely on this forum, and am also looking forward to whatever The People pick here. :)

[Monty]

Do we have a winner?

[Wilowy]

Looks like. As luck would have it, I just sold my Runaways. 

[David T. Cole]

Winner winner Runaways dinner!

So, uh, how does this work now? I have never been in a book club before because books are not videogames.

[Wilowy]

We all get our hands on the first trade, then pop in back here to talk about it in - and this is where we decide - a week, or two weeks? What would you all prefer?

[halgia]

To clarify, first trade = 6 issues = this, yeah? Either one week or two sounds fine; I figure I'll probably read them in one or two sittings, but I wouldn't complain about spacing out my spending on these. :)  (My library lists the trades in their catalog but then doesn't have any copies...the teases.)

[Wilowy]

That's the standard, yes. :) 

 

And shame on your library Dougal, sometimes they can get it for you in a day or so through intra-library transfer as long as there isn't a waitlist. 

 

Runaways is cute, I got it for my son, then sold them after he read them. I like the Whedon run (shocker!), but some have griped about it. 

 

I confess I'm kind of bummed it won. It really isn't anything special, imo. Y is, Fray is, Fables is. Saga is fucking awesome, Sandman is... necessary. 

 

Maybe we'll do one of those next. :)

[jellysalmon]

I'm one of the biggest defenders of super-powered teen romps, but I agree with Willowy that it's not that special. For a niche audience? Yes. For mass appeal? Not so much.

That being said. I do enjoy it. It's a super-powered teen romp after all. Also I really like Molly Hayes and Alex Wilder.

[Chip]

Want to say two weeks? Discussion to start around May 8?

[Wilowy]

Agreed!

[David T. Cole]

[gavel]

[David T. Cole]

While we talk about Runaways, we can set up PTVCBBC's #2 read. Now taking nominations.

Since I just started it: I'll nominate Sex Criminals (five issues I believe).

[Wilowy]

Fray! 

 

[halgia]

Fray! 

Question: I'm not all the way through Buffy yet (in early S5). Would Fray have any important spoilers for me? Probably not, right?

 

(I did actually already buy it during the big Dark Horse sale a few weekends ago.)

[Wilowy]

It would not spoil you at all. And I love that you bought it at that sale! 

 

Confess: have you peeked at it?

[SomethingClever]

Fray is really, really excellent.

 

I noted this in another thread, but Humble Bundle has a great sale on digital comics right now ($10 gets you the first TPB of several great series). A number of them would make excellent choices. It seems like a lot of people have read Saga, but Chew, Lazarus, or Manhattan Projects could be really good.

[halgia]

Confess: have you peeked at it?

I read like the first two pages and then forced myself to stop. :)