comics rec post (mostly for Faye but for whoever's just getting into comics I guess!)
So, this post mostly has comics that don’t require a shitload of continuity knowledge because ain’t nobody got time for all that Wikipedia-ing. Though some might require a little movie knowledge but nothing too crazy. It’s a mix of DC, Marvel, and other publishers. The writers are in parentheses.
Alias (Brian Michael Bendis): I just finished reading this the other week and loved it, even though it took me a lot of tries to get into it. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t require a ton of Marvel universe knowledge aside from what she goes into in the book, but correct me if I’m wrong. Also I don’t think this is on Comixology atm, oop.
Astonishing X-Men vol. 3 (Joss Whedon): Joss Whedon wrote it, which could be a mega turn off/on for some, but I really liked it. The trouble with most X-titles (for me at least) is that there are like ten billion fucking X-Men to keep track of, but this run has a manageable number of familiar characters.
Avengers Assemble (Kelly Sue Deconnick): I started reading at issue #9 because Kelly Sue Deconnick started then, so there’s not a lot to catch up on. Friendships! Jokes! Great dialogue!
Batgirl, volumes 2 & 3 (Cass and Steph, respectively, various writers): I love Cass and I love Steph and I love ladies kickin’ butt and all that jazz, so I love Batgirl. Plus it’s a good way to learn about other characters in the Bat-universe. I started with Steph and went back to read Cass. They both have back history that you don’t really have to know in order to get/enjoy their runs, but you can poke around those issues if you’re into them.
Batgirl: Year One (Scott Beaty and Chuck Dixon): This one is about the first Batgirl/one of my forever faves, Barbara Gordon. It’s basically her origin as Batgirl and the art and coloring is amazing.
Batman (Scott Snyder): It’s kind of bananas. Also I have no idea how Scott Snyder can be such a sweet person on Twitter/in interviews and write the craziest, most fucked up shit ever.
Birds of Prey (various): I think I’ve read the vast majority of Birds of Prey somehow. It’s ladies being friends (most of the time) and kicking butt with fists and knowledge, so I’m into it. I have no idea where a good starting place is though because I don’t remember where I started, but it’s worth a read imo.
Captain Marvel (Kelly Sue Deconnick): I’m behind on this one, but it’s good! Kelly Sue Deconnick is one of my favorite writers at the moment.
Green Arrow: Quiver (Kevin Smith): For whatever reason, I really like Green Arrow even though he can be a huge bucket of dicks sometimes. Plus, Black Canary (his love/complicated whatever) is in it and she’s another forever fave of mine. Quiver’s the beginning of the character’s reboot too.
Hawkeye (Matt Fraction): Shhhh, just read it.
Morning Glories (Nick Spencer): I have no idea what the fuck is going on in this book, but it’s interesting. I’m behind on it, but it’s better read in huge chunks so that you can remember what the fuck happened and who is who. But even then I’m like wat. If you like Lost and being lost, this one’s good.
Power Girl (Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray): I’ve only read the Palmiotti/Gray parts because I like their writing and also Amanda Conner art aka amazing art. It’s really fun. Plus, there’s a cat and cats make everything better.
Saga (Brian K Vaughn): Shhh, just read it and gaze at the amazing art.
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man vol. 2 (Brian Michael Bendis): Sweet. Lil. Miles. Morales. I adore him so much. I’m pretttyyy sure this is one of the first Marvel titles I read consistently? Basically all you have to know is that there are two Marvel universes and Miles is Spider-Man in this one. Plus there’s Ganke, his BFF, and lovely art.
Y: The Last Man (Brian K Vaughn): I actually read this years ago (in high school I think?) but I’m about to start rereading it. It’s about the only man to survive this event where all the men in the world die. It’s pretty rad, from what I remember.
I think that’s it for now! I just went through my Comixology account because standing and going to my room means effort.
Work In Progress X-Men Comics Masterpost
I’m mostly just posting this here for my own personal reference, to keep track of links and such. But tagging it so maybe someone else can get some use out of it. These are all torrents and are all .cbr/.cbz format. LifeHacker has a good article on their top five .cbr readers for all three major OS. I use ComicaRack for Windows. I’ll update this pretty regularly as I find some of the others I’m looking for.
Uncanny X-Men (1963-2011; previously titled X-Men, vol.1)
1-93 | 94-200 | 200-300 | 301-461 | 462-499
X-Men
1. The first character I first fell in love with:
Storm!! she just means so much to everyone and is such a fundamental poc character in fiction that i have always loved her! the mohawk cemented it.
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now
Emma Frost! she’s the kind of character that teen-me hated, but now i’m pretty fond of her!! also namor, lmao.
3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t
looking @ u scott summers
4. The character I love that everyone else hates
JUBES!!!!! this isn’t really a tumblr problem but the rest of the universe likes to make fun of her style and her powers. They are wrong.
5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer
Kitty Pryde. i don’t actively dislike Kitty or anything, i just… meh. meh.
6. The character I would totally smooch
LAURA!! Dani Moonstar, Kurt, Dr. Reyes, Hank, Ororo, Hisako…
7. The character I’d want to be like
Jubes and her optimism is a good inspiration for me right now.
8. The character I’d slap
Logan. you don’t need to be in everything, logan.
9. A pairing that I love
JUBES x LAURA
10. A pairing that I despise
SCOTT x EVERYONE
new teen titans!
let’s all laugh at my inability to keep the formatting between these consistent.
1. The first character I first fell in love with: Dick Grayson was my gateway guy into NTT!
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: VIC. I didn’t like him much in the cartoon.
3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Wally is kind of a dick in this series. i don’t think people actually like him though.
4. The character I love that everyone else hates: i… don’t know who people hate in NTT but people who hate Kory are honestly a dealbreaker for me. i remember blogging about going to nerd club like first week of college, trying to make friends, and someone shamed Kory and i just went “nope” and walked straight out of there. Made like no friends that year but i don’t want to be friends with anyone who would shame Kory.
5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Garfield, loved him from the cartoon because FOOD and his redemptive love for Terra, and that love was kind of transplanted when i first started reading NTT, but nah…
6. The character I would totally smooch: dick, vic, kory, donna, raven
7. The character I’d want to be like: DONNA!!!
8. The character I’d slap: Gar you deserve it. also, terry, lol.
9. A pairing that I love: My love for Donna/Kory is enough to fuel the planet. Donna/Redemptive love, Kory/Redemptive love.
10. A pairing that I despise: i… can’t think of any pairing i HATE. Wait, Raven/Wally.
F A S T
Oh you :’)
F- A character nobody likes but I love
MARTIAN MANHUNTER. Okay the thing about j’onn is not that people hate him, it’s just most people don’t have any feelings about him and i love. him. so. much. for being one of the few aliens who actually read as non-american POCs, who feel the sense of isolation and alienation at being tossed in a totally new world and who learns to adapt to it? j’onnnnnnnnn
A- A pairing I hate (canon)
Superman and Wonder Woman. ~________~
S- Least favorite movie adaptation
The Dark Knight gets all my rage forever, hating is as fun as loving it. (BUT IF YOU LOVE IT THATS OK I JUST REALLY DISAGREE WITH THE GRIMDARK BATMAN THING IT OVEREMPHASIZES HIS OPPRESSIVE-WHITE-DUDE-IN-POWER THING)
T- Least favorite actor cast in a movie adaptation
can i steal your answer and say fassbender??? if not… i’m gonna say tom hardy as bane even though i didn’t see the movie because of this absolute ridiculous racist fuckery surrounding the Bane voice (tw: racial slurs) here. it’s one thing to pretend we live in a ~post racial~ society, it’s another to totally shit on multiple cultures at the same time
hi! can you rec me some shippy comics with steve/tony in them? i've read avengers prime and some avengers comics, but i don't know what to read next and i know you ship them a lot. :) thank you!!
Hey dear! This is an excellent post to start with— it gives descriptions of all the comics and kind of gives you a place to start with their canon continuity. And that post has a link to it already, but this livejournal post has comic scans of all the ‘shippy’ moments in a LOT of comics (it’s the most comprehensive list I’ve seen so far!), so that’s a good place to start.
Also, there’s a series going on right now (though there are older issues but this is another new volume that starts with #633) called Captain America & Iron Man, and just. Wow, boys, flirt more. The newest issues are SO GOOD.
What do you even mean that her writing is an embarrassment? Oh and they are in fact at the same level, they are both high ranking SHIELD agents.
lmao christ you really only seem to not be mad about my comics opinions when they’re in line with yours, as i’m assuming you’re the same anon who has occasionally popped up in my inbox before
i’ll indulge you. sharon’s only role for years has been as steve rogers’ uncomfortably similar-to-peggy love interest. she has a lot of potential as a good woman SHIELD agent that is underused and she instead is defined by her great-aunt and her relationship to steve rogers and a weird gross miscarriage arc (thanks brubaker!!!!)
it’s boring trite bullshit and if she had more interesting canon to pick up where this stuff fails we could be having a different conversation but unfortunately that’s not the case
and i don’t think you quite understand about what “being on the same level” means— it’s not about a character’s rank in a secret agency or the strength of their powers and measure of skills or whatever but about their integrity and realism as a character
