Comic Book Fans....

[Laettner32]

I just saw Sin City (ya..a little late) and I loved it. With the new X men movie around the corner, I was wondering was there anything good to read in the comic book world. I havent read one since around the 7th grade ( Im 34 now ). Just curious, kinda feel like reading one again. Are the X Men comics still good? Thanks for any help.

[Fresh Tendrils]

The Sin City graphic novels are great. I love the art-work. I have a couple Batman TPB which are really good. Hush 1 & 2 is great. If you enjoyed Batman Begins, you should look into the Batman: Year One TPB.

[Laettner32]

What does TPB mean?

[Fresh Tendrils]

Trade Paper Back.

[Laettner32]

Sorry to keep bothering you tendrils...but what is the difference between a comic book and a TPB?

[Fresh Tendrils]

No problem. A comic book is, at least the way I refer to it, is a single issue of a graphic novel, whereas TPBs are several issues collected together, depending on the story-arc.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Laettner32

Sorry to keep bothering you tendrils...but what is the difference between a comic book and a TPB?

Trade paperbacks have become a big trend in comics over the past 5-10 years. A lot of Marvel and DC monthly comics now feature 6-12 issue storylines so that they can be packaged as a TPB. Unfortunately, this means most monthly comics are paced with TPB's in mind, so they contain a lot of setup and filler. The average comic from the mid-80's probably featured 3 or 4 times the action and plot advancement than today's do.

[Misfit]

TPB's on average will save you a couple of bucks.

I've been buying up each installment of the Age of Apocalypse: The Complete Epic as they come out. Pricey but a good, long read and one of my all-time favorite X-Men plots. If you are unfamiliar with the AoA plotline, basically its an alternate reality in which Xavier was killed in an attempt on Magneto's life by the time traveling Legion long before forming the X-Men. Magneto, moved by his friend's sacrifice, decided to carry on in Xavier's place and ends up forming the X-Men while Apocalypse concurs the United States. They currently have the first 3 books available with the last one still to come (probably end of summer or fall). One book will cost you around 30 bucks though, but they contain 10+ comics per installment (I have Book 3 in front of me and it has 14 comics in it). There is another AoA TPB out called The New Age of Apocalypse but it sucks.

DC just released the first book of their 52 series, a sort-off 24 for comics. A new issue will be released each week for 52 weeks. It was set-up by releasing an issue(s) that shows how the DC universe will be at the end of this storyline and now we get to find out what events lead to this happening. It's too much for me to keep up with and I'm not too familiar with DC but it definitly sounds cool.

The X-Men are kind of so-so right now but its getting interesting. The Deadly Genesis saga just concluded and it had some "startling" revelations revealed at the end. You can pick up the last issue in it now and get a feel for where the X-Men are heading.

I'd also recommend the Books of Doom mini series which tells the origin of Dr. Doom. I believe they have released 4 issues now and its a 6 part mini series. I hear it is excellent but I'm waitng for the TPB.

IGN Comics is a pretty good resource as they review the big issues each week and it may help you catch onto something current. Good luck and happy hunting.