A Beautiful Gory Display: Things You Should Buy
Of course, you’ll probably want to get something awesome, which is where we come in. Here are some recommendations that should be readily available at your local store. Of course, any of my earlier recommendations from this year still stand. Haven’t read Watchmen yet? Hey, this would be as good a time as any! But I’ve already written about Watchmen, Tales of the Beanworld, Bloom County: The Complete Library and others. Here are ten fresh new recommendations (in no particular order) that’ll help keep the heat on at the comic store and give you a fine reading experience at the same time.
1. Batman: The Long Halloween (DC) – One of Batman’s best mysteries. This miniseries has Batman trying to catch a killer who commits a murder every month, on a holiday. It’s great storytelling from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, with cool, moody art. It’s got the last days of the Gotham mob, the earliest days of the freak villains, and a legitimately perplexing mystery. It’s especially recommended for fans of the Christopher Nolan movies, as it’s the first appearance of Carmine Falcone, who was a major character in Batman Begins, and it presents a Harvey Dent who’s very close to his portrayal in The Dark Knight.
2. Wondermark (Dark Horse) – This is fantastic. Dark Horse has published two collections of David Maliki!’s online strip. The strip is made up of clip art from 19th Century advertising, so you get to see men with monocles trying to steal wireless Internet. There are no recurring characters – just looney set-ups and consistently hilarious and surreal punchlines. Two collections are available: Beards of our Forefathers and Clever Tricks to Stave Off Death. Frankly, if those titles alone don’t sell you, I’m not sure what else I can do.3. Astronauts in Trouble: Master Flight Plan (AiT/PlanetLar) – This handy collection includes all of the Astronauts in Trouble stories, and it’s a must-have. It’s a world with an alternate version of the space program, and it’s way cooler than ours. The world’s richest man brings a TV news team along to document his mission to make the moon his own personal property. Also, the mob has first strike nuclear capability. This book is a ridiculous amount of fun, and it is written by spunkybuddy (and Lost fan) Larry Young.
4. Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? (Marvel) – This series follows homicide detectives in a world of superheroes. They investigate crimes involving the “Powers” in stories that show superheroics from the outside, looking in. Brian Michael Bendis writes terrific, Mamet-style dialogue and has obvious affection for both cops and superheroes, and artist Michael Avon Oeming has a gorgeous style that manages to be both cartoony and gritty. There are plenty of Powers collections to choose from, but it’s best to start at the beginning.
5. Seven Soldiers (DC) – There are four books collecting Grant Morrison’s mega-series, and I love them dearly. In simple terms, it’s about the universe trying to defend itself from another reality. The threat can only be defeated by a group of seven heroes, but only if they never meet. There are seven individual series which weave through and around one another, and it’s absolutely fascinating. Each series stands up on its own, but the way they interact with one another is unprecedented. The leads are a nice mix of all-new characters, new versions of old characters, longtime favorites, and a Shakespeare-quoting Frankenstein who fights Martians with an atomic shotgun. Heck, this is a series where key plot points are only revealed if you take the time to complete a crossword puzzle that appears in the final issue. I can not even tell you how mind-blowing it all is.
6. The Complete Peanuts (Fantagraphics) – I’ve mentioned this before, but I absolutely love
Peanuts. There are, in fact, few things I love more. And thus, these collections from Fantagraphics are among my favorite things in the world. Each hardcover collects two full years of the strip, starting from the beginning. They’re just getting up to the 70’s now, which means there’s plenty of wonderful material in print. If you haven’t read Charles Schulz’ earliest work, you owe it to yourself to check these out. Back in the 50’s, his art style was markedly different, and it’s really striking. These early strips have a surprising edge to them, as well. This series gets my highest possible recommendation.
Peanuts. There are, in fact, few things I love more. And thus, these collections from Fantagraphics are among my favorite things in the world. Each hardcover collects two full years of the strip, starting from the beginning. They’re just getting up to the 70’s now, which means there’s plenty of wonderful material in print. If you haven’t read Charles Schulz’ earliest work, you owe it to yourself to check these out. Back in the 50’s, his art style was markedly different, and it’s really striking. These early strips have a surprising edge to them, as well. This series gets my highest possible recommendation.7. Queen and Country: The Definitive Collection (Oni) – Greg Rucka’s excellent espionage series has been collected in a series of big books, which is the ideal way to read his intricate stories. Tara Chace is an agent of MI-5, and she’s as far from James Bond as you can imagine. Her adventures take place in a realistic setting, where diplomatic relations and governmental regulations are real concerns, and Tara herself is self-destructive and alone. It’s an interesting personal drama that combines well-thought-out spy work and real-world consequences. Basically, it’s what Tom Clancy would write if he had a female protagonist and didn’t get a boner over patriotism and descriptions of weapons.
8. The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (Marvel) — Still my favorite Punisher story – writer Garth Ennis added a healthy dose of black humor and created a rich environment for a character who really doesn’t need one. While the Punisher himself is a single-minded engine of destruction, this book gives us an interesting and funny supporting cast. Spacker Dave, the hapless Detective Soap, the unkillable Russian, and a trio of vigilantes inspired by the big man – they help ratchet the violence and comedy up to truly intense levels. Heck, this is the book where Punisher punches a polar bear, and I’m not sure what more you could ask for.9. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DC) – Forget the movie – check out the original book from the mind of Watchmen’s Alan Moore. The greatest heroes of Victorian literature are brought together to defend England. Mina Murray, Alan Quartermain, Dr. Jekyll, the Invisible Man, Captain Nemo, and others all come together in a bizarre patchwork. Moore brings a literary quality to the whole thing while Kevin O’Neill’s edgy art makes it a little grotesque. Did you know that Dr. Moreau created the creatures from The Wind in the Willows? That’s just one of the clever connections you’ll find here, in between Mr. Hyde’s bouts of killing and eating people.
10. All-Star Superman (DC) – Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely bring a new take on Superman that focuses on everything that’s good about the character. Stripping the mythos down to its basics, they created a compelling and moving series about the world’s most famous fictional character. Nobody in years has exhibited a better understanding of Superman than Morrison – he gets why Superman is important, and he gets why Superman is cool. He gives us Superman’s origin in eight words, and writes the definitive Luthor scene, in which Lex’s entire character is revealed, and he never even has to speak. It’s a series where Superman trashes a giant robot and then flies off to talk a scared goth girl out of jumping off a ledge. The series is beautiful, and near-perfect, and a stunning example of American mythology.
So there you go. Stop in, help out your local retailers, and tell them spunkybean sent you. They’ll have no idea what that means, of course. Still, we could use the Google hits.
Happy Holidays from A Beautiful Gory Display! We’ll see you next year when we will almost certainly have more to say about Batman.
