The lights are on
Veteran Member - Level 13
There seems to be a lot of crossover between comic fans and video game fans, but there are a lot more gamers than there are comic geeks. I’ve been reading comics since I was a kid, and the artform has only continued to improve. If you are at all curious about comics, here are five books worth reading right now.
Locke & KeyAfter their father is brutally murdered, the three Locke children relocate to an estate in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. The children quickly discover that their new home is not what it seems as they find keys that open doors to the spirit realm, fix broken objects, and allow one to remove memories from their own head. Written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke and Key is both beautiful in its artistry and haunting in its storytelling. Read more here.
BatmanDC Comics' 52 reboot helped relaunch the company’s entire line, but Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman might be the best of the bunch. The current run revolves around the Court of Owls, a mysterious secret organization embedded into the very architecture and history of Gotham City. When Batman begins to investigate a few mysterious murders, he quickly finds himself caught in the Owl’s snare. This story is still running in the pages of DC’s Batman, but I can’t wait to see how it finishes. The first trade comes out in May.
ChewTony Chu isn’t your average police detective; he’s a special agent at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He’s also a Cibopath, meaning he gets psychic impressions every time he eats something. He can eat a carrot and learn about where it was grown and the kinds of chemicals used in its production, or he can chow down on a dead body and receive memories of the last moments of a suspect’s life. Chew is charmingly gory and bizarrely humorous. The first several trades are already out, so catch up now before the rest of the world learns about this brilliant comic.
Ultimate Spider-ManIn 2000, Brian Michael Bendis helped Marvel relaunch Spider-Man with a series that stripped away the character’s continuity and focused on what made Spider-Man special. Over a decade later the book was still going strong, but the new charcter had developed his own mythos, so Marvel did the unthinkable; they killed Spider-Man. The new Ultimate Spider-Man line follows Miles Morales, a lower-class teenager who discovers that he has many of Spider-Man’s classic powers. How Morales chooses to respond to his new-found responsibilities is just as engaging as the classic hero he was born from.
PreacherI figured I’d throw at least one classic in here. If you think comics are all about superheroes in spandex then Preacher can set you straight. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon tell the story of an unlikely preacher who becomes possessed by a supernatural entity that grants him the power to tell anyone what to do. So what does this man of the cloth decide to do? He teams up with a hard-drinking Irish vampire and an invincible undead cowboy and sets off to kill God. Just buy it.
Email the author Ben Reeves, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer.
The comic book world has been a place I tried to get into. It was difficult, but the comics were still good. By now, I'm just a soliod gamer, but I am not saying that comics are bad. Their just specific to some people, like certin foods or drinks and stuff. I hope to one day get back into the comic book world, but until then, I'm gonna wait for the new episode of psych to start. Thank you for the great read ideas!
-J
I could not ignore your title.
Locke & Key and The Walking Dead got me into comics and I've since become an X-Men junkie.
The new 52 got me back into comics. That Batman owl cover is striking and has been staring back at me begging me to read it every time I get home from work.
I ALMOST had my first experience with Preacher as I was in a store with all the graphic novels in a line. But they were missing the first part so I passed.
Heard good things about Chew before and I may read that soon.
might check out ultimate spider man, a new character sounds very interesting
I love your title. Really good attention getter :)
They sound like a good idea to read.
I am going to try to read as much of the new 52 as I can once the TPB come out.
I have never been a big comic guy, but comics like Preacher are an art form that should be appreciated more, and I might consider trying it out.
I'm loving New 52 Batman. Snyder has a real handle on the character.
That last one sounds...terrifyingly awesome; I'm gonna try to find somewhere that offers digital copies of it. I could use something interesting to read.
I've liked the new Ultimate Spider-man so far, I didn't like when SHIELD got involved though, it just took away the focus on Miles' character, and made me upset that they just give him his costume. Lamest way to get a costume ever. I do like the ultimate version of the scorpion they've introduced.
I've been really wanting to get into reading Batman and Spiderman. With the new 52 reboot from DC, this should be a great time to be fully introduced to the Darkn Knight, and the new Spider-Man is an okay place to go from too, I would guess. Thanks for this!
Awesome! Thanks for this blog post! I've really been wanting to start a comic collection, but every time I walk into my local comic shop I'm sort of intimidated by the massive selection and have no idea where to start. Chew and Preacher sound especially interesting, so next time I have a little bit of extra cash I'll definitely pick those up.