Can anyone recommend a good indy comic

[DerekPowers]

ive been meaning to branch out of the dc universe w/ my comic readings, and figured why not go in the opposite direction and read an independent comic.

anyone here read any good ones youd recommend?

ive seen stray bullets, 8-ball, and a few others that seemed interesting. i also pick up acme novelty library from time to time, which is pretty cool. does anl always deal w/ the little jimmy character?

anyway, thanks for the info. peace.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Ghost World (mini-series, finished, had a movie of it)

Love and Rockets

[Dub]

One word: BONE


Jeff Smith is quite frankly, amazing ^^

I'd also suggest Strangers In Paradise by Terry Moore.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

I don't read many of the Indies these days, but the ones I used to like were:

- Kurt Busiek's Astro City. There are 4 trade paperbacks collecting all the Astro City comics ever released. Some don't like the last one much (The Tarnished Angel), but I thought it was a great homage to film noir/pulp detective fiction stories. In the same neighborhood as DC, but stunningly well done.

- Sandman. OK, it's still DC, but I get the impression you're asking for "non-superhero" books instead of "non-DC" books. The entire run is in TPB.

- Cerebus, at least the first 2 "phonebooks." The series began as a takeoff on Conan, but has turned into a 500-issue limited series. The first phonebook is screamingly funny, and the second one (High Society) encompasses a really BIG storyline while maintaining a number of great individual moments. Jaka's Story (the 5th phonebook) is totally mindblowing, too, IMO, but will make no sense whatsoever without reading what came before. Haven't read the book recently (especially after Dave Sim started in on a serious anti-woman crusade), but the original books were tremendous.

- Concrete. Takes a basic superhero idea and completely upends all the conventions of the genre. There are a number of trade books from Dark Horse Comics readily available. I like the orignial collected stories and the short story anthologies.

- I'll second the recommendation for Bone. It's kind of like a smaller, more accessible Cerebus, but no less high-quality.

- Mage: The Hero Discovered. Finally back in reprints. Fresh, original, early Matt Wagner. The sequel, Mage: The Hero Defined wasn't anywhere near as satisfying, IMO, but still good.

These aren't even the "real" indies, but they're a good first step, IMO. The suggestions above should only set you back about $2000 =8^), so I'll stop here. Post again if you want more.

-- Ed/Ace

[Jack Napier]

If you can find 'em...

Ralph Snart Adventures. The story is about a mental patient whose brain holds the secrets of the cosmos. The book is really about his fantasy world and the zany adventures he gets into.

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is also a good read...

And if you would consider Preacher indy then pick it up. Even if you don't it's still one of the best comic books ever writen.

Jack Napier

[LastSonofKrypton]

Second the nomination for Ghost World, but also want to add Barry Ween, Boy Genius from Oni Press. Created and written by Judd Winick, the current writer on Green Lantern, this is nothing like mainstream DC stuff.

A good description of this comic would be sort of a cross between Dexter's Lab and South Park. It's a bout a 10 year-old boy with an IQ of 350 and the foulest mouth around. Don't read it if you're the sensitive type. But if you're not, it's funny as all hell.


Originally posted by DerekPowers
ive been meaning to branch out of the dc universe w/ my comic readings, and figured why not go in the opposite direction and read an independent comic.

anyone here read any good ones youd recommend?

ive seen stray bullets, 8-ball, and a few others that seemed interesting. i also pick up acme novelty library from time to time, which is pretty cool. does anl always deal w/ the little jimmy character?

anyway, thanks for the info. peace.

[kid_flash]

POWERS!!!!! It's a really well done book.

And RISING STARS, which is just incredible.

[Eraserhead]

Usagi Yojimbo! :bosko:

[Karkull]

Savage Dragon

Erik Larsen's work is so cool. Plus, he's consistently done each issue since number one.

Johnny the Homocidal Maniac, Squee, and I Feel Sick

If you loved Invader Zim you'll probably love Jhonen Vasquez's earlier work.

Milk and Cheese and Dork

Evan Dorkin does great comics--they're funny and actually provoke some thought. He's also the Dennis Miller of comic books (just read his Eltingville strips).

Scud the Disposable Assassin

It ended a long time ago, but you can still find trade paperbacks of it around. It's bloody good fun, Tex Avery style.

[Kathy Kane]

I like Scud too!
But I recogmmend Queen & Country, a good spy book which is writen by Greg Rucka, it's very reallistic look at Britsh spying not anything like a Bond flick.

[jwoo10]

If you're into all-ages comics, I highly recommend Mike Kunkel's "Herobear and the Kid" (whenever it's published). It's a great blend of animation and comic book.

I also like Jack Staff from Dancing Elephant Press. It's a warped rendition of Marvel's Union Jack.

Powers I can't recommend enough, nor Liberty Meadows (Frank Cho is the man!)

[Calhoun07]

Cerebus is a 300 issue series, and is nearing it's final 25 issues soon. Dave Sim has just been amazing on this series. It's the best thing America has got (well, it's from Canada...North America has got then!) that even begins to touch epic works that are more common in Japan.

And don't just stop at Ghost World. Daniel Clowes is an amazing creator. Eightball is a great comic book, but he's also got several books out.

I also recommend Optic Nerve from Drawn and Quarterly.

Two favorite indy companies I look at all the time are Drawn and Quarterly and Fantagraphics. You can find some of the best indy creators working for those companies.

[The Green Hornet]

The late 80's-90's run of the Green Hornet by NOW Comics was OUTSTANDING -- i loved EVERY issue and mini-series

also funny was their Married....with children comic (the Cosmic Quartet was funny indeed)

Ralph Snart was done by NOW as well

they also did the Ghostbusters comics in the late 80s-90s

NOW was god

[Calhoun07]

NOW also gave Michale J Strakynsky (sp??? Of Babylon 5 fame) his first comic book gig. A cinnabun to whomever can tell us which comic book it was!

They were a really good comic book company. And Malibu too, at least with their Deep Space Nine comics. Too bad they didn't last for too long.