7
votes
What are some of your favorite comic book stories for "classic" characters?
I love comic books but just don't have the time to be a regular reader. I like classic characters, though, like Superman, Batman, X-Men, etc but it's always difficult to find self-contained stories that don't require knowing all the ins and outs of what a character has gone through or knowing that certain events happened.
What are your favorite self-contained series or graphic novels in comics? I'm looking for suggestions of things that are great stories that happen to have comic book characters (like Watchmen, Dark Knight, Hush, etc.) rather than cheesy comic book adventures (like All-Star Superman, which is a little too golden age for me).
Superman: Red Son is a fantastic mini-series that explores the idea of Superman crashing and being raised in the Soviet Union instead of the USA.
Was going to suggest the same thing. Easily my favorite Superman story.
Red Son's pretty great. I also love All Star Superman.
This is one of my favorite Elseworlds tales of all time. I've read it before but you've motivated me to read it again. It really is awesome. Definitely in the top next to Kingdom Come.
Uncanny X-Men issues #129 - #142 has both Dark Phoenix saga and Days of Future Past.
Frank Miller's work is problematic as hell, but I'll always think of The Dark Knight Returns as a masterpiece.
On the Marvel side, how about Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle?
We'll see if he holds himself to this, but he seems to realize that he took a dark turn in both in his outlook on life and his work and is trying to do better.
Thanks for sharing that. I'm glad to see Miller's trying to get his shit together.
Miller is a huge weirdo but it's hard for me not to agree regarding DKR.
As for Iron Man, never even heard of it so thanks for the recommendation!!
Did you see the link @Erik shared? Apparently Miller let fame go to his head after the successful adaptations of 300 and Sin City, is less than proud of many of the things he's said and done afterward, and has been trying to get his shit together.
You're welcome. It might be hard to find because it dates back to 1979, but Wikipedia has a summary and there have been trade paperback re-issues.
Under the Red Hood is one of my favourite Batman stories.
I didn't read the run when it was first released and read it as a collection. Always wondered what it would be like actually wondering who the Red Hood was.
Edit to add: I also really enjoyed Batman and Robin (with Dick and Damien). It's collected in three volumes.
I was lucky that I hadn't read or heard anything about Hush. I walked into the local comic book store and asked the guy at the counter what his favorite modern Batman book was and he handed me the books and said "Don't talk to anyone until you've read them". I did exactly that and was kinda blown away.
That's amazing. Hush is definitely another one that I knew a good chunk of the story before I read it.
Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan are classics that step outside the usual Ubermensch framework. If you enjoyed Watchmen, these should engage your interest. Both have engagingly tragic anti-heroes, good-to-amazing illustration, tightly plotted stories, and the cycles are complete within a few volumes. From there, it's very much worth exploring more of Moore's (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell) and Ellis' (Ministry of Space, Injection, FreakAngels) work.
This is probably sacrilege to say, but I liked the movie more. The comic, though still totally worth reading, felt really dated.
For a newer run, I like New 52 Batman and Robin volume 5: The Big Burn.
For Batman stories:
The Killing Joke
Long Halloween
No Man's Land