Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Your 5 CURRENT favorite titles

Behind on my reading...but here we go (in no particular order):

American Vampire - Just a great book all the way around, and I am not that big of a fan of Vampires.

The Walking Dead - The best book I read at the moment probably. The first one I want to read when I get a new issue anyway.

Chew - Funny, twisted and the best book that not enough people are reading.

Green Hornet: Year One - Remember that movie that came out with Seth Rogan...this is nothing like that. This is unbelievably good. Need to catch up though.

Alpha Flight - Actually enjoying the hell out of this book and looking forward to it more than any other 'hero' book out there right now. Who would have thunk.

Yay another alpha flight fan. I'm a long time AF follower and have stuck with them through thick and thin. It is the only other group that recieved thier own photomanip gallery on my site (of course the Legion has 5 unique galleries!)

My list in no particular order:

Alpha Flight
Legion of Superheroes
Walking Dead
GI Joe
Lenore (though this one is kinda spotty on being published regularly)

Drake, may I recommend:

Uh oh. I made a mistake spending too much time here in Gym'll's. I'm starting to think about checking out some of these books I've never considered before. Publishers should pay you guys.

Duh. Maybe they do!

We're corporate shills, I tells ya!

There are two on Lardy's list that I do not read at this point...but would feel completely safe in picking them up, and will at some point (in trades). He and Cobie will not steer you wrong.

Scalped and Morning Glories, eh? Can't wait for you to check 'em out!

Soon enough. I'm enjoying the hell out of the Dynamite stuff I am getting right now, and Planet of the Apes from Book.

Hard to go wrong with Dynamite! Did you ever check out the Lone Ranger series that recently ended?

Looking for it. Money is tight, so I am doing what I can.

Might be at you library. It's REALLY good!

I picked up American Vampire #10 today. It was the earliest issue they had at the shop. I only got it because you guys--even vampire non-fans like me--laud it so much. I liked the story and art except for the vampire parts. I'll have to give it another read to see if I wanna pick up more.

I'm liking Kirby Genesis a lot.

I'm really liking Kirby Genesis too, LT! Would love to read you review it!

Right now my 5 current favorite books are (in alphabetical order):

BATWING -- I've always loved the art for this book, and right now the story is a non-sentimental portrayal of an African Bat-hero who is rising from his violent past as a child soldier.

DAREDEVIL -- Humorous, quirky, suspenseful on several levels. The writing and art are an excellent match. Always in the background is a blind man's not-so-hidden bluff.

KIRBY: GENESIS -- I always thought Kirby created outstanding, iconic characters, and I loved the concept of his art, but not so much the rendering itself. In this book, the character designs come to new life, in a way I like. And for a story with so many characters that are new to me, it's been easy to follow without being simplistic. The young Kirby has been a perfect viewpoint character.

NIGHTWING -- Dick Grayson and I have grown up together. Unfortunately, I've aged faster than he has. I haven't really kept close tabs on him over the years, except here and there in Teen Titans. But I'm really liking the guy out from under the Bat wings and living his own life. And not a typical super-hero life, but one grounded in his past with the circus. There are some interesting possibilities here, and so far it looks like those stories will be well-told.

WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN -- Although I've not been a big Wolverine fan, I am a fan of stories about young (or not) people finding their way. I also usually enjoy team books more than solo characters, but you could hardly call this crew a team. But it has a charming collection of strange characters and some good writing and art. It's a fun read.

I'm surprised to have two Bat-books on this list and three solo character books. But these are the ones that for now I most enjoy getting each month.

I must say that any Legion book is still what I read immediately upon purchase. But it's like one might do with an old, dear friend...you care about what's going on in their lives, even when what's going on now isn't the most fun to hear about. That's how Legion is for me at the moment, so although the LSH is in its own favorite category for me, right now it's not in my 5 favorites list.

My 5 current fave titles are...

The Walking Dead - Stilll loving this book after all these years. Wonder how long he'll continue it?

Ghostbusters - I love this book. It's fun and feels like a good continuation of the movies.

Animal Man / Swamp Thing - I know...but these are two books that feel like opposite sides of the same coin.

The Flash - This is a beautiful book. The art in this compliments the story in way that very few books can achieve.

The Shade - It feels like going home again. JAmes Robinson at his best when he is writing tales from Opal City characters.

This is pretty difficult for me because there are so many great series that I’m currently reading. So I’ll include a few notable mentions and limit my list to only ongoing series (no one-off miniseries, though series of miniseries included).

Walking Dead – this continues to be a juggernaut in the industry and the high quality remains totally intact. The recent storylines show Kirkman’s willingness to evolve and keep the series going forward.

Unwritten – In 2011 and early 2012, this series jumped up my list from “one of the better series out there” to “one of my favorites”. I’m just loving how three years in, the series is firing on all cylinders. Mysteries are revealed and even though these are some heavy concepts, they are explained in a way that is concise and intricate.

American Vampire – I’m blown away month in and month out by how well written this series is.

Atomic Robo – series like this justify the reason this medium even exists. It’s essentially a perfect series on every level.

Daredevil – Hands down the best superhero comic book going, and certainly the best comic book produced by either DC or Marvel; every issue is just a big creative victory and it’s a pleasure to be part of.

Honorable Mentions
Morning Glories – probably my #6; great writing, amazing art, brilliant characters and a tone & moodiness to it that are unlike anything else going.

Scalped – I only leave it out because I haven’t read the latest trades since the last time I did this; but I suspect it really belongs in my top 5 as it’s a contender for best comic book series of the last 20 years.

Fables – this series has been consistently in my top 5 since it was created. It remains a high favorite of mine; maybe I’m guilty of the annoying habit of taking for granted a good thing by not including it here, but just right now I feel the five series above get me more juiced up. Still, this is certainly a top 10 candidate

Flash – this is probably the single best DC comic out right now and the only on that can compare on a quality level with the other titles I’ve mentioned. I think Manupal and Buccelato have done an amazing job of making sure every single panel has something strong going on from a story-telling perspective.

All-Star Western – sometimes a creative team have so mastered a character that all it takes is for them to write that character in a new setting, with a new supporting cast, or a new artist, to take the series to a whole new level. That’s what has happened with Graypal & Jonah Hex.

Journey into Mystery – its about time Marvel had a series this strong. It’s basically Tales of Asgard written in a slight Neil Gaiman-esque way while being entirely its own thing.

Chew – the funniest comic book series of the last 10 years, it also has a ton of heart, great characters and a damn intelligent plotline.

Green Hornet: Year One – didn’t include it because its essentially over; it’s by far the very best mystery man superhero story to come out in many a year.

Wolverine and the X-men: sublime silliness and the wackiest cast I can recall.

Journey into Mystery: the telling of a new myth: but is the weight of history inescapable?

Avengers Academy: teenage soap with the Avengeriest aroma!

LSH: Love the art and the method. Just needs a little more heart.

Fantastic Four: Most ambitious. Johnny' s return settled any quibbles. Want more Inhumans.

The Fearless, X-factor, Nightwing, Flash, Teen Titans are all titles I considered, but each has something about it holding it back.

Action Comics - I am liking this return to Superman's roots

Batgirl - Gail Simone

Justice League International - Liking the team. Liking the "new" characters.

Superman - Good story line so far

Hawk & Dove - Nah just kidding. Legion of Superheroes - I find myself warming to Dragonwing and Chemical Kid, which I thought would not happen.

I haven't done one of these in a while.

Wolverine and the X-Men (surprise surprise)
The Shade
Hellblazer
Powers
Unwritten (has made a big comeback for me)

Some contenders for the number five spot:
Journey into Mystery
Scalped
Fatale

I just realized I only get like 12-15 comics a month now!

with Uncanny X-Men, OMAC,
X-Factor, Uncanny X-Force, iZombie .... and some randoms!

It is so nice to see an X-Book among people's favorites!

finally!

You guys are really selling me on this Wolverine & the X-Men business... you can't toss out words like "sublime silliness" and "wackiest" and NOT interest me as a comics fan... plus Cobie has been telling me how good this is too. It's probably, like, already on issue 22 or something though...

I got into a couple of comics late (one being Milligan/Allred's X-FORCE) and sometimes it's tough to track down those back-issues... (X-FORCE was WAY worth it!!)

It's been 6 Mr. Lash.

They have a TPB that collects 1 thru 5. (which is strange because it's mid plot .... hmmm)

It's on like #7 or so. I suspect should be a little easier to find than Milligan / Allred X-Force, but let us know if you can't find some of them! The LMB will come to the rescue!