Could anyone give me a recommendation for a comic or graphic novel with “real” people in it?
Not necessarily a real person like “American Splendor” but just reality, like “Ghost World”. Something personal is fine, but also maybe something with humor/violence. . .even if it is a detective story.
Maybe something with a low-down seedy main character? Maybe a drinker/curser/fighter kind of guy.
Just looking for something with real stories/people. Nothing too supernatural.
Oh – also would appreciate links to places on the net to buy?
If you liked “Ghost World”, Adrian Tomine was mentioned and he’s a decent pick, but I’d recommend the rest of Daniel Clowes’ work first.
“Love and Rockets” by the Hernandez Bros. It’s been described as “magical realism”, though I don’t recall anything supernatural, and that phrase just describes stylistic links to Latin American literature, not ghosts, etc.
Jack Jackson did some EC-type horror stuff, but also plenty of historical works about the southwest like “Los Tejanos”.
Plenty of hard-boiled crime stuff out there. I hear “Road to Perdition” is good, I’m gonna read it this weekend.
How about Sin City ? One of my personal favourites (although I’m not the comic expert many others around here are). It is however extremely violent. If you do like it Mr Miller’s done a bunch more in the same series, none of these are however as good as the original.
Humor, autobiography, and “slice of life” stories:
Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson (a deep, funny, sad, touching story with many characters - one big TPB)
Why I Hate Saturn, You Are here, The Cowboy Wally Show, and I Die At Midnight, all by Kyle Baker (all hilarious and wonderfully illustrated - separate graphic novels)
Fortune and Glory and Total Sellout, both by Brian Michael Bendis (separate TPBs)
A Complete Lowlife by Ed Brubaker (very depressing - one TPB)
Strangehaven by Garry Spencer Milledge (two TPBs that I know of, so far)
Crime, mystery, action, and “noir” stories:
Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner, Stephen Seagle, and Guy Davis (a 70-issue DC/Vertigo series for mature readers, it is set in the 1930s and features an updated take on one of the earliest “mystery men,” a bookish sort who wore a gas mask and trench coat and gassed his foes with a truth-telling/knockout gas. One of my favorite series ever, it is starting to be reprinted in TPBs.)
Sin City by Frank Miller (several TPBs, each with a self-contained story)
Nowheresville by Mark Ricketts (one TPB)
Jinx, Goldfish, Torso, and Fire by Brian Michael Bendis (each a separate TPB)
The Losers by Andy Diggle and Jock (one TPB so far)
Road To Perdition by Max Allan Collins and Piers Rayner (one TPB)
Whiteout and Whiteout: Melt by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber (two TPBs)
Queen and Country by Greg Rucka and various artists (multiple TPBs)
Stories that you may very well like anyway–despite having some people with super powers, fantastical elements, and the occasional costume, these are not typical superhero books:
Starman by James Robinson, Tony Harris, and Peter Snejbjerg (ran from 1994-2001, and the majority is already reprinted in eight or nine TPBs)
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (one TPB)
V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (one TPB)
Catwoman by Ed Brubaker and various artists (two TPBs so far)
Sleeper by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (two TPBs so far - I can’t recommend it highly enough!)
Point Blank by Ed Brubaker and Colin Wilson (one TPB)
Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli (one TPB)
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (several TPBs so far)
Terminal City by Dean Motter and Michael Lark (one TPB - a “retro-futuristic” story, if you will)
Because you said this, I will push Sleeper and Point Blank (a prequel to Sleeper) to the top of my recommendation list. These people might have some powers, but they don’t wear costumes and they sure as hell aren’t “superheroes.” I think these will be right up your alley!
As for buying, check out www.Amazon.com for 30% discounts on trade paperbacks, and www.Artbomb.net for a primer on non-superhero graphic novels and a lot more recommendations!
You might be able to find Hard Looks by Andrew Vachs and various artists in the cheap bin. Vachs is an attorney who wears an eyepatch and writes crime novels. 2-3 stories per issue, each one with Hitchcockian style twist endings.
Stray Bullets by David Lapham is about the very depths of human depravity, with lots of violence. But given the nature of the stories, it’s not excessive, really. It’s just enough to make you not want to talk to another human being, ever.
For more humorous everyday guy and gal type comics, pick up Peter Bagge’s Hate, Terry Laban’s Cud, or the Canadian anthology [Drawn and Quarterly**.
As for best place to get individual comics online, can’t say I can recommend anything, as the ones I’ve tried out don’t keep their inventories updated and often didn’t have what I ordered. Search on Google. Maybe you’ll find something.
Thanks to all (in particular BBVL). I’ve got it all cut and pasted to a sheet, and printed.
I’ve actually borrowed a “Sandman” from a friend, but I haven’t started it, yet. He lent me that and “Alita: Battle Angel” which I read first because I didn’t think I’d like it as much, and I didn’t like it at all.
The ones I’ve seen mention of before are “Maus”, “Whiteout”, and “Why I hate Saturn”.
Since I love both comics and movies, I’d just like to note some of the books mentioned here that are soon to be movies…
Daniel Clowes’ Art School Confidential - directed by Terry Zwigoff (who did the great Ghost World adaption), and starring Max Minghella, John Malkovich, Anjelica Huston, Steve Buscemi.
Brian Michael Bendis’ Jinx - starring Charlize Theron (no director yet, but Bendis is doing the script).
Steven Griffin & B. Clay Moore’s Hawaiian Dick - directed by Shane Black, and starring Johnny Knoxville.
Frank Miller’s Sin City - directed by Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller and Quentin Tarantino, and starring :deep breath: Maria Bello, Kate Bosworth, Johnny Depp, Jason Douglas, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Jaime King, Mickey Rourke, Marley Shelton, Nick Stahl, Katherine Willis, Elijah Wood, Rick Gomez, Jessica Alba, Makenzie Vega, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, and Clive Owen.
I know the Jinx script has been kicking around for a while, but I hadn’t heard that there was any movement on actually doing something with it. But … Charlize Theron?! Not as bad as Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, but … Happen to have a link to the latest news?
… which reminds me of another book the OP should definitely consider: Fortune & Glory, a hilarious true-life look at the process of selling and writing scripts for Hollywood (including the script for Jinx). It’s a terrific GN.
All I can do is second (third? fourth?) Stray Bullets, Frank Miller and Hate. And the rest of Dan Clowes of course.
:eek: Facing Kenue Reeves’ Constantine and an equally dismal looking Preacher (has anyone mentioned Preacher? It’s supernatural, n’all, but it fits the OP otherwise) , dare I hope there might be some good comic book movies coming up? Be still my heart.
James Marsden (X-Men) has been mentioned for the lead role in a Preacher film. He’s perfect for a boring pretty-boy like Scott Summers/Cyclops, but Jesse Custer? That might even be worse that Keanu Reeves as John Constantine.
Although it’s not a comic, Charlize Theron will also be playing the lead in an Aeon Flux film, based on the old MTV cartoon. (I can’t wait to see her costume. ) I get all my superhero movie news from Superhero Hype!
And here’s another comic that I believe fits the OP’s request, and is being adapted to film - John Wagner & Vince Locke’s A History of Violence, directed by David Cronenberg :eek: and starring Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello.
Facing Kenue Reeves’ Constantine and an equally dismal looking Preacher (has anyone mentioned Preacher? It’s supernatural, n’all, but it fits the OP otherwise) , dare I hope there might be some good comic book movies coming up? Be still my heart.