I’ve had the oppotunity to check out a few graphic novels on my now-regular weekly visits to the library with the family. They have a basic collection, with a large chunk made up of thick Essential and Showcase sets by Marvel and DC respectively. I suppose it’s adequate for my needs at the moment. I’ve actually been seeking out books from the smaller publishers though; focusing more on one-shots and anthologies than the regular mainstream titles. I think I’ve officially been cut off from the ‘comics-collecting-collective’. I haven’t checked out a single issue of any series in ages, and I won’t know where to jump back on titles like “JLA”, “Green Lantern”, “Batman”, “Daredevil”, “Thor”, “Avengers” and “X-Men”, regardless of how much I loved reading them as a kid. Even when they published those collected trades of these series which can be considered stand alone story arcs, I always feel like I’m missing chunks of significant backstory. And then what happens after that arc? Too much effort needed to find out probably.
Anyway, here are the books I’ve borrowed:
- “Invincible” Vol. 2. They didn’t have Vol. 1 on the shelf and I’ve always wanted to find out if this title is as good as some people say it is, so I had to check it out. Verdict? It’s got some pretty good characters and the artwork is clean and appealing. I liked the premise and the way the story was heading overall. Not hankering too much to follow up on it though.
- “Inferno“. It reminds me of Vertigo’s “Sandman” series in terms of concept and execution. Not surprisingly the writer went on to work on “Lucifer”, a series spun off from that classic title. A man murdered, awakened in an interestingly conceptualized hell, fights his way to the truth aided by non-ordinary characters. The art is raw, rough, black and white. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
- “Channel Zero”. I like the idea of a young idealist rising up against the system, but the story overall was pretty average. The graphic design style artwork was serviceable but wasn’t really my cup of tea.
- “Popgun” Vol. 2. This has a nice thick collection of short stories. Stories and artwork are a mix bag. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the titles I especially enjoyed, but they involved the easter bunny, bigfoot, clockwork people and bounty hunters just to name a few. I do know which one I really did not enjoy in terms of story and art; “Bastard Road”.
- “Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others”. Mike Mignola. Love his artwork. Old myths and obscure legends dug up and re-interpreted. Love the concepts. Basically, love this book! I’m so looking forward for more.
- “24Seven”. I’m in the middle of reading this right now but I like the premise so far; robot noir.
Contrary to how it may seem, I haven’t given up completely on Marvel or DC books just yet. I would love to read about Hal Jordan’s return in “Green Lantern”, and the recent “Sinestro Corps War” storyline sounds interesting. The classic tragic tale of the “Squadron Supreme” in complete trade paperback and Walt Simonson’s more mythology-centric collected run of “Thor” are also on my ‘to read’ list. Those Essential and Showcase collections sure appeal to my penchant for nostalgia.
I had to flip a few of the drawings horizontally to make them all face the same direction. Drawn individually then arranged in Photoshop.
