What is your favorite comic book?

Of all time? Probably a toss-up between four different ones. Hate by Peter Bagge, Love & Rockets by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, and the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby run on Fantastic Four.As for what's being published right now, I'd say Usagi Yojimbo.

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It's been a long time since I bought comics, but 2000AD was my all time favourite.

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If you still have certain issues of 2000AD with Zenith stories in them lying around, I might be willing to buy them off you. I'd have to look up the specific issues, though...

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I mainly collected CABLE until they ruined it, then turned it to Soldier X, what is that?

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As I heard it, and this might just be internet rumor, Rob Liefeld still had a pseudo-copyright on several names he created that Marvel was using. So every time these names were used in print, Liefeld got some cash. To avoid this in the future, Cable became Soldier X, Deadpool became Agent X, and X-Force became X-Statix. They're not using the names; they don't have to pay him.Ordinarily I'd be pissed off at something like that, but all three titles bore such little resemblance to the ideas Liefeld initially created that it was silly to be paying him to use the names. Plus X-Statix is wonderful.

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You guys read that comic "Hellboy"? I've always wondered if it was any good. Looked kind of cool.

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I just got into Hellboy recently, and I've loved what I've seen. I'd definitely reccomend it. "Seed of Destruction" is the first volume, so you might want to start there. (Although my favorite that I've read so far is "The Right Hand of Doom.")Mignola is a psycho-talent, and he writes stories with cyborg nazi gorillas. I mean, who couldn't love that?

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I have the whole Strife vs. Cable series and the first Cable too, and the last one, you guys know if any of that is worth anything?

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I doubt it. Even if the price guides are saying it's worth something, nothing is ever worth more than what you can get someone to pay for it. And when those were coming out, anyone who would ever have an interest in it already bought a copy.A good rule of thumb is that nothing published after 1970 is worth much at all.

I think we've been through this before, but I'll try a different angle. It all depends on where you look in American comics. The people widely holding certain Americans to be the best are the equivalent of those who hold Friends up as the best show on TV. While there is gorgeous work coming across from all over Japan, (Rumiko Takahashi being a notable example) I have yet to see anything that matches (in no particular order):Winsor McKay (Little Nemo)
George Herriman (Krazy Kat)
Jack Kirby (a-duh)
Eddie Campbell (Alec, From Hell)
Dave McKean (Cages)
Charles Schulz (Peanuts)
Bill Sienkiewicz (Stray Toasters, among others)
Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)
Wally Wood (Various EC titles, most notably early MAD)
Will Eisner (Spirit, Dropsie stories)Among others... this is all off the top of my head, and I'm sure to be lacking some key names. Of course, when you get right down to it, the best cartoonists in France blow America and Japan out of the water, but that's a whole different rant.One note on LoEG, though. The art is supposed to look like crap illustrations from a Victorian adventure novel. Neat trick that makes it painful to look at sometimes. If you want an example of an excellent artist Moore is working with on the ABC line, check out Promethea.-Dan Carroll: educating the world... one comic at a time.

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Sandman is a clear winner, mmm... Neil Gaiman.

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Go read Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Far as I'm concerned, best thing Gaiman ever wrote. (And McKean is always a treat and a half.)Not disparaging Sandman, mind you... wonderful stuff.

Well first off, taking a strip each from one series that lasted a decade and another that lasted half a century is horribly unfair. But yeah, I'll place them squarely ahead. Watterson and Schulz, as I see it, have the ability to do more with about two or three lines than most artists can do in twenty panels. Is it simple? Undoubtedly. But simple in a very Raymond Carver sort of way. Economy of form, rather than skimping out. Both artists are writing simple characters with straightforward motivations. Complex or vibrant art would be entirely out of place.There's a wonderful Calvin and Hobbes strip from years back, which is one long silent panel. Suzie is face-down in a crushed, half-completed snowman. Calvin and Hobbes are covered in snow from head to foot, and pointing at one another screaming. There are sled tracks leading straight to where Suzie would have been standing, and the sled itself is up in a tree.This is what I think of when I think of Calvin and Hobbes. You look at that drawing, even if you've never read a C&H strip before, and you know what happened for at least five minutes before the moment in which the drawing takes place.That, my friend, is story-telling skillz.This is why, no matter how many people love him, I could never get behind Todd MacFarlane. No story-telling to his art at all. He draws a lovely single panel, but that's about it. If the artist isn't out to tell a story with what he/she draws, why are they doing comics in the first place?While that Marvel drawing you posted sure makes with the pretty, it shows me nothing but somebody standing with... I don't know, what is that... some sort of glowing ovaries?(As for the avatar, yeah, I think it's just you. )

Incidentally... to make a distinction:Simple, but not necessarily skilled: Simple, but quite definitely skilled:

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I mean, who would you pick to illustrate Dune: The Graphic Novel: Charles Schultz or Joe Madureria?

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Actually, I'd pick Frank Quitely. But now we're into a whole different idea; the right artist for the right story.I love Katsuhiro Otomo. But I wouldn't ask him to illustrate a story like Jimmy Corrigan. Does it mean Otomo's not skilled? Not at all, Akira is one of the better sci-fi/adventure comics of all time. Jack Kirby is one of my personal heroes, but I wouldn't sit him down to pencil Jar of Fools or I Never Liked You.

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Is it Pick on Scot Kurtz week or something?

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Every week is pick on Scott Kurtz week!He's like that annoying fat kid who picks on the easy targets at recess, and you just wanna throw rocks at him because... damn it, look at him there, you just wanna throw some freakin' rocks at him!

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First Home - Penny Arcade and now you.

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Tycho and Kurtz have a pretty funny running "I rip on ya cuz I luv ya" thing going on. Kurtz gives as good as he gets.

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I used to read spiderman, x-men, and fantastic four almost religiously when I was younger. So this may make the first time I am in agreement with messenjah.

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As fullbown comic book series go I think the above, and perhaps batman, are the best... or personal favorites since art is subjective.

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It depends on what run you're reading. The Romita run on Spiderman is a contender, as is the Claremont/Byrne X-Men, or the Walt Simonson FF. (Although Kirby FF stomps them all in the nutsack until they die.) But god damn... read some Lobdell X-Men, or whatever hacks they've had doing Spiderman or FF down the years... you want to vomit until you die of dehydration.And I know people like Byrne's FF run, but I don't.Same deal with Batman... for every Year One or Killing Joke, there are 500 horrific Batman stories to contend with.

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Graphic Novels, and cartoons are something completely different.

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Why's that? Sandman was a monthly, serialized comic like X-Men for almost ten years. Swamp Thing for even longer. Eightball, Hate, Love & Rockets, etc.I've never been crazy about different standards for different genres. There are superhero writers and artists who step up to the plate and deliver something on par with the very best. They're rare, but they're out there. It almost seems... I don't know, disrespectful to their efforts to judge them off in a different category.

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Alan Moore has to be one of the best creators of Graphic Novels. I actually thought Watchmen was one of the best graphic novels ever. I can still pick it up at any time and just start reading. In fact, layered with so many styles and storylines I can pick and choose what to concentrate on.

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To me, Watchmen is like a clock without hands to tell time. Sure, the gears are put together in a beautifully intricate fashion. But ultimately, there's very little beyond the intricacy to reccomend it.As the first mainstream comic to try something techincally ambitious, it holds a special place in my heart. But that's about it. Especially since Moore went on to write From Hell, which I loves so much, yes I do.

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There are many great cartoonists. Peanuts was great, even if tame, and eventually lame. Calvin and Hobbes was definitely better.

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That depends. If you look at the last ten years, when Schulz couldn't even hold his pen steady, yeah. Calvin and Hobbes towered over it. But I'd be hard pressed to find a better daily strip than Peanuts in the mid-to-late sixties."Tame" is not the word I'd use for sixties Peanuts. "Human Misery on Parade," maybe. That comic was pretty much Jimmy Corrigan a few decades ahead of schedule.

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But to my mind the best cartoon series was Segar's original Popeye series. One might even include his Thimble Theater, but that is what I think allowed him time to develop the environment necessary to create Popeye.

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I am woefully underinformed on Popeye. Do you know of any collections that exist?Fun trivia though: Kirby's first job was working in Fleischer animation studios, doing Popeye cartoon cells.

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How about Joe Matt's peepshow series?

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Matt's good. I guess. I'd put him in with Jules Feiffer, Chester Brown, or Glenn Dakin, or any number of other talented cartoonists who just don't make the "of all time" cut, you know? I actually wouldn't have put Bagge in if the conversation was focusing there initially. He's a personal fave, not a best.[This message has been edited by Dan Carroll, 10-06-2003]

Hey man, it's cool. Ain't no problems with Hirschfeld here.

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X-men totally took a dive which is about the time I stopped buying comic books.

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Actually, you might want to pick up the recent run by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Fun stuff. The first collection is called "E is For Extinction"

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Sandman I simply haven't read. I guess I have to now.

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Uh... YEAH.I don't mean that as a slam at you, I just mean DAMN, man, you're missing out.

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As for the other genres I'd say love and rockets was a comic book series but Hate and Eightball were cartoons.

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Why? Because of the style. That is it.

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Um... you might want to elaborate. The definition I've always heard is cartoon = one panel, comic = multiple panels. That's why I didn't bring up guys like Hirschfield (but wouldn't argue against the talent. Only a damn fool gets into an argument he can't win.)

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To me a series is a series no matter what the subject and style. A Graphic Novel is a one shot story line (even if originally presented in parts) and could be any subject or style but so far have been serious or dark in nature.

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You need to read up, big guy. A lot's happened in the last ten years. Hm... maybe it's time for a new reccomended reading list...

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Sorry you didn't like Watchmen, but that's why art is totally subjective. The mutiple storylines using essentially different media within one book was not only innovative, but I found interesting.

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Oh, don't get me wrong. I like Watchmen. I just don't see it as the Holy Grail of comics that most seem to see it as.As I said... technically stunning. But at the end of the day, what does it give us? The knowledge that, when you get right down to it, dressing up in tight spandex and beating the crap out of people is a little creepy?Yep. Thanks, Alan. Never would'a guessed.

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The problem with most Popeye collections is that it focuses on Popeye, instead of its creator Segar. That's when you end up with all the dreck that followed. If you are looking for a good collection, make sure it doesn't go later than 1939.

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Nice, thanks for the heads-up.The next strip collections I'm eager for is that Fantagraphics is reprinting the complete Peanuts... ever strip ever published. Yee-haw!

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I agree with the pantheon of talent you placed Joe Matt, though personally I never got into Chester or Seth. Bagge was cooler.

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Oh, Bagge's way cooler. That's what happens when your 1992 comic is about slackers in Seattle who are drinking and fucking, instead of about a lonely Canadian man who likes 50s memorabilia. But I'd reccomend giving Seth and Brown another read-through. It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken is a solid read, and I Never Liked You is one of my personal faves.[Edited for stupid formatting mistake][This message has been edited by Dan Carroll, 10-07-2003]

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What about Todd McFarlane, his artwork is really good.

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I'd reccomend checking out work by Art Adams. That's the guy MacFarlane got his schtick from, and Adams does it (far as I'm concerned) much better.Mind you, I'm only speaking about MacFarlane's stuff on Spiderman. I never really got into Spawn, so I don't know if his style changed over time. (Although from what I understand, he handed off the art chores to Greg Capullo pretty quickly.)

Ohhhh, yeah, Gahan Wilson. One of those ones that doesn't really occur to me, but every time I see his stuff I yell "DAMN!" Paul Pope was like that with me too, for a while.Charles Adams, I don't know anything about. The closest I've gotten to his work is Raul Julia and Anjelica Houston.

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On Watchmen, I took away a lot more than what you described. It was also a breakdown of what comics mean for the writers and readers. Kind of a deconstruction hidden within a construction.

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And I think that's part of the problem for me. It's going to have a hard time meaning something to anyone who doesn't already read superhero comics.There's so much circle-jerking in comics as it is, that a comic that analyzes the cookie isn't going to sit well with me.

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Since you are in Chicago, where do you shop? I haven't been to Quimby's since it moved (which was a while ago), and usually just pick stuff up from eclectic stores like Hard-Boiled.

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Chicago Comics when I can, Graham Crackers when I'm pressed for time. (Which, unfortunately, is most often.) I'm down in Hyde Park, so it's either 20 minute schlep to the loop, or a forty-five minute haul to Clark and Belmont.See, I'm originally from Rhode Island; anything over 20 minutes might as well be an epic journey across time and space.I've been meaning to get up to Quimby's for... damn, for years now. Funny how that happens. Still haven't gone.

Good God, man! I like Goose Island as much as the next guy, but damn!

Booooo...