A few Comic Book TPB questions (no spoilers please):

Cafe Society
1

A few years ago, I dropped monthlies for TPBs.

And somewhere along the way, I dropped most TPBs as well.

The only regular TPBs I look for are Fables and Queen and Country.

But I am going on vacation and want to get a few for the plane.

I doubt a new Fables or Q&C book will be out soon, so I wondered about the following:

The Walking Dead Vol.4- I read Vol. 1-3 when I saw 28 Days Later. Is this series still going and if so, when will Vol. 4 be out in TPB? The series has a high cheese factor, but it is fun.

Ultimates #2 Vol. 1- I liked the first series, so I will try the second one.

Wanted- I know the TPB is out, but is it worth it?

Rising Stars- Did they ever finish this thing?

Sleeper Vol #2: I bought Vol. 1 when I got the Walking dead trades, but I heard Vol. 2 was on the way. I like to read them at once.
Anything else I’ve missed since about 2003? I don’t really like mainstream superhero books anymore, but don’t mind the genre if there is a little twist to it.

Any NON-superhero books out there that I might have missed in the last few years?

2

Have you tried Lucifer?

3

She-Hulk. You wouldn’t think so, but the latest 12-issue miniseries by Dan Slott was really terrific. It is collected in two TPBs, *Single Green Female * (#1-6) and *Superhuman Law * (#7-12). Both deal a lot with She-Hulk’s dual life as a sexy superheroine AND an attorney of some repute in the Marvel Universe. There is a lot of humor related to the inherent ridiculousness of comic book superheroes, metafictional jokes and references to Marvel’s history and continuity, and just general laugh-out-loud moments. But it’s not all slapstick and cheesecake – there is a lot of heart, much like the best moments of Justice League International. Wil, since you’re a lawyer and you like your superheroes with a twist, I have to recommend these to you. It’s the most fun I’ve had reading a Marvel book in many years. I even got Wolfian to pick them up, based on my recommendation, and he liked them too.

Did you ever read The Losers, the Vertigo series by Andy Diggle and Jock? I’d have to describe it as an “action movie in comic book form,” or more appropriately, an updated version of *The A-Team * where people can get shot and die, and the stakes are a lot higher. If you like Sleeper and Queen and Country, definitely give the first Losers TPB, Ante Up, a chance.

Ed Brubaker turned Catwoman into an excellent noir antiheroine on the outskirts of the DC Universe. Brubaker’s two TPBs Dark End of the Street and Crooked Little Town feature some excellent art by the likes of Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred, Brad Rader, and Cameron Stewart, and essentially do for Catwoman what James Robinson did for Starman: carved out a little corner of the DCU, fleshed out a compelling protagonist and a wonderful supporting cast, and made characters who act very much like real people, despite the occasional use of masks and costumes. Catwoman is definitely dark and edgy and atmospheric enough to make it an honorary Vertigo book, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

Finally, *Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days * is the first TPB of a Wildstorm series about Mitchell Hundred, the mayor of New York City, who was formerly a superhero called The Great Machine. It is set in the “real” world (Mitch was the first and only superhero, and he grew up reading DC Comics), and is full of snappy dialogue, realistic drama, and political intrigue. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The West Wing on TV, who doesn’t mind smart and thoughtful politics blended in with their escapism. Again, Wil, I know that’s you. Plus the art by Starman’s Tony Harris is absolutely gorgeous, and Brian K. Vaughn’s writing is probably the best of his career.

4

I read the first one and gave it mixed reviews. The second volume, I didn’t finish from lack of interest.

This sounds interesting. Will there be a second volume or did the series end?

5

They did, in fact, finish Rising Stars. While I thought the Born in Fire trade was the best, it’s certainly well worth finishing if you like the series.

6

Ex Machina is planned for about 50 issues. I think it’s great, but I know Y - TLM leaves you a bit cold (it must be that part of your brain where they dropped you as a baby). I’m not sure if Ex Mach would be your cuppa. It’s a very different environment than Y, and there’s stuff going on with the main character that’s very different than Yorick, but – hmm, this is hard to describe – well, if you scrubbed the credits off and then tossed several issues of both Y and Ex Mach at someone who was generally comics-literate, he would not be at all surprised to learn they’re written by the same dude.

I love it, though. So far only one TPB; I assume #2 is coming out sooner or later, but that arc was only over a couple issues ago.

–Cliffy

7

I really enjoyed Y until that S&M volume came out. The series TOTALLY took a left turn on me!

8

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend Wanted. It seemed very cliched to me, like Millar was saying “look at me, I’m being bad.” No sense of plot or character.

You might want to check out the Powers or 100 Bullets collections.

9

That pretty much describes most of Millar’s work! :smiley:

I have read several volumes of each (five or six of 100 Bullets). Both kind of ran out of steam for me. Powers just started getting stale and 100 Bullets became more about the backstory than a moral tale about a person given a license to kill. Which was a shame because the first three volumes were excellent.

I anticipate re-reading all the volumes of 100 Bullets when the series is done and I can read them straight through.