Comics for me to read?

[Mr.Krusher]

The only real experience I have with 'comic' books are 70s Marvel and a little DC, and the horror stories from Charleston and EC.
I really enjoy monsters, scary stories, and certain superheroes, and would like to know more of the 'classic' stories of the Avengers and the Justice League.
Has anyone got any recommendations for me? Or better still, any "quarter box" type of stuff that you might have thats tattered/'worthless'/etc. that I could get on the cheap?
I dont care about the condition one bit, they are strictly for reading material...

Swamp Thing, Monsters, House of Mystery, JL, DC, Marvel, Conan, Unknown Soldier, Weird Tales, Jonah Hex...I used to love these...

Thanks!

[thunderbolt]

I have some Hellboy trades that I am getting rid of in favor of the Library editions. Also a big pile of man-Thing reader copies I was going to put in the Marketplace.

[Mr.Krusher]

Sounds great! Want to swap them for something or sell them to me?

How many issues of Man-Thing, and what do you mean by "Trades" and "Library Editions"?

Thanks!

[Fire Marshal Bill]

I really like reading Deadpool.

[Random Axe]

Charlie

pm me your address. I think I have some bathroom reading comics for you. Ill have to check my box of fun when I get home.

Scott

[Brazoo]

Trades of the 70s/80s black and white magazine "Savage Sword Of Conan" are available pretty cheaply - printed on newsprint in phonebook style collections. The only real drawback is that you don't get the awesome covers in colour.

[thunderbolt]

Sounds great! Want to swap them for something or sell them to me?

How many issues of Man-Thing, and what do you mean by "Trades" and "Library Editions"?

Thanks!

I have to gather up all the Man-things and as far as Hellboy, I have old trade paperbacks that I am upgrading to the Library Editions which are basically oversized Archive hardbacks like the DC Absolute Editions.

[johnnystorm]

DC has been issuing "phonebook" style trade paperback collections in black & white through their Showcase editions. They run something near 500 pages with 30 or 40 issues in each & cost around $15 dollars, but you can find them cheaper if you search around or have Borders Rewards membership where you can get them at 40% off. There is a Jonah Hex one, as well as Unknown Soldier, House of Mystery, early JLA, and a lot more. Marvel has issued the same thing only they call their brand Essentials.

If you are interested in newer stuff, I cannot recommend The Walking Dead enough. Really. It's excellent.

[johnmiic]

Did you ever read Swamp Thing by Alan Moore in the 1980's??? That was one of the best run's on a horror title ever seen! There are collections but you'll have to shop around. Recently they re-released his work to include an oft overlooked debut story. Maybe look for an older edition that starts off with the story The Anatomy Lesson. Totally re-invents the whole character in good ways.

Amazon.com: Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing (9780930289225): Alan Moore, John Totleben, Steve Bissette: Books

or the new collection:

Amazon.com: Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 1 (9781401220822): Alan Moore, Steve R. Bissette, John Totleben: Books


Doom Patrol in the 1990's. Look for a collection that starts with the story, The Painting that Ate Paris. Very off beat, wierder that X-Files stuff.

Amazon.com: Doom Patrol, Book 2: The Painting That Ate Paris (9781401203429): Grant Morrison: Books

Amazon.com: Doom Patrol, Book 1: Crawling From the Wreckage (9781563890345): Grant Morrison: Books

Sandman. This series is mature but will make your skin crawl. Very imaginative; subversive horror.

Amazon.com: Sandman: Books

Jack Staff/The Weird World of Jack Staff. Like the old Marvel and DC comics of the `70's? Paul Grist has taken the best of the best and put a British spin on it. Very fast paced! Reading a few issues feels like reading months of continuity. Contemporary comics may not do it for you but this may bring you back to your youth.

Amazon.com: Jack Staff Volume 1: Everything Used To Be Black And White (9781607063803): Paul Grist: Books

I would also recommend looking into Astro City, Y: The Last Man, The Walking Dead. The Hellboy collections are great. Hellboy is very like Jack Kirby's classic creations ala Ben Grimm/The Thing but in a horror vein. Did you read John Byrne's run on The Fantastic Four, Walter Simonson's on Thor or Frank Miller's on Daredevil in the 1980's?

Nexus is great, like a mix of Space Ghost/Green lantern but sophisticated, sci-fi if. Not always clear cut black and white good or bad. If you can find back issues/collections cheap I recommend it. Amazon's description:
Nexus is Horatio Hellpop, a young man who grew up in isolation after his parents fled to a planet filled with mysterious technology. As he matures, he begins to have unbearable nightmares that drive him to kill mass murderers—of whom this galaxy has an endless supply. A flashback reveals how Nexus's first dream compelled him to kill his own father, a dictator on the run, and this larger-than-life tale takes off from there. In the present day, reporter/spy Sundra Peale comes to write a story about Nexus, now a godlike but mysterious celebrity, and ends up helping him liberate thousands of peoples & aliens decapitated, telepathic heads, collected by the slaver Clausius to power his plans of domination. Space opera at its finest, the initial story line spins off into a dozen other plot threads, fueling this book's original 100-issue run in the '80s and '90s.

[Boston71]

I love Walking Dead, Deadpool and The Boys. PM me your Address and I'll hook you up with the first Walking Dead trade paperback.

[torgospizza]

The DC Showcase volume of Warlord is pretty good too, if you like Mike Grell.

[thunderbolt]

I've got the War that Time Forgot Showcase, too. WWII soldiers vs. dinosaurs!!

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I would suggest hitting a book store and picking up a few things you'd normally never get; just to try something different. The more different the better. There's SO MUCH out there it seems a shame to limit yourself to the same old same old.

Don C.

[Mr.Krusher]

THANKS guys!

Boston71 - You are FAR too kind sir!

Scott - DITTO - that'd be AWESOME!

JohnMiic - Thanks for the GREAT info, I'm looking at various Alan Moore stuff now...

Thanks so much again guys!

[thunderbolt]

And a Rampaging Hulk Essentials volume. PM me if you want any of it.