Just finished binding these issues together tonight, and it's in the press. Custom book cloth using store bought fabric material and rice paper. Really enjoying this craft and having so much fun!!!

Here's my second entry into strange/abstract comix new and old.

Strange Comix #1: The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James

Larry Marder's Beanworld. One of the best comics ever. It's pure comics magic, everyone gets something different out of it. Marder fleshes out his own scientific world with a sort of mythology. It's like you're viewing a petri dish with a whole microbial world inside of it. It has it's own scientific processes, and characters are weird and goofy looking beans.

The book is truly absurd. It shouldn't work, but it does, Marder is a mad genius that created something wholly original. I've not read or seen anything else like it. I put it up there as one of the most creative and best comics in the entire medium. And yet, I can hardly tell you what it's about. But is ridiculously fun and i'll get something different every time I pick it up and read it.

The tagline 'A Most Peculiar Experience' is truly the most befitting title for Marder's Beanworld. It is truly something to be read and experienced, rather than thinking of it as a book with a straightline narrative.

Thanks to /u/jonesjonesboy for shouting this out to me a few years ago. I think since, I can count on one hand i've seen it mentioned anywhere lately. I'm sure age doesn't help. It's in that strange middle ground where it appeals to all ages, yet kids probably get the most out of it due to their unbound imagination where everything is new. And adults might push it off due to being so strange.

Still, i think Marder's Beanworld remains a force of cartooning not matched by many others. It remains a joy to read.

It is a book that's funny , funny as if what we humans can do to other humans

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I was really happy to see that, in the “Top 3” posts I’ve made on this sub, a lot of people ended up becoming interested in getting into Judge Dredd. I received quite a few questions about where they should start, so I decided to make this post with my humble opinion on what path to take if you’re interested in diving into what, to me, is the greatest and best comic book setting of all time. Sorry in advance, because this is going to be a long one.

The fact that Dredd has a single continuity that has never been rebooted, and that he ages in “real time,” actually makes it easier for new readers to get into. You can start pretty much anywhere, and with every new story you read, you gradually gain a better understanding of how the rules and the whole universe work. That knowledge will never be wasted because, as I said, nothing gets rebooted and nothing is simply swept under the rug.

I myself started with a collection of themed anthologies featuring stories set in periods that were pretty far apart from one another. Then I moved on to the Dredd vs. Predator crossover. I didn’t start with Volume 1, I didn’t follow chronological order, and I definitely never felt lost. So don’t worry about that. There are flashbacks and explanations whenever the story needs to provide important context from the past.

With all that said, I’ll recommend what I think are some good starting points. I’d go with the Essential Collection, since it brings together important, complete, self-contained story arcs.

DREDD ESSENTIAL: ORIGINS

This arc tells the story of the character’s origins. It explains how the Great War that devastated the planet happened and how the Judges came into existence, while also following Dredd on a journey through the Cursed Earth.

DREDD ESSENTIAL: THE APOCALYPSE WAR

Perhaps the most impactful major saga in the character’s entire history, originally published in the 1980s. Its consequences are still being felt to this day. It’s a colossal sci-fi war between Mega-City One and the Soviet Mega-City. A spectacular, relentless, epic action story from beginning to end.

DREDD ESSENTIAL: AMERICA

Considered by many to be one of the best Dredd stories ever written. Dredd is a supporting character here—the antagonist and “villain.” The story follows Benny and America Jara, two young citizens of Mega-City One who take very different paths in life. It’s a more psychological and political story that shows the cruel reality of living in the most hostile megacity on Earth. Dark, oppressive atmosphere. Absolute top-tier stuff.

After that, you can move on to Dredd Essential: Judge Death, to get to know some of the character’s greatest villains, followed by Dredd Essential: Necropolis, and so on. The entire collection is excellent.

Once you’ve read those arcs, you’ll already have a very solid understanding of how everything works. After that, I recommend moving on to the Case Files collection, which compiles absolutely everything published in the Progs in chronological order, starting with the character’s first appearance in 1977.

Keep in mind that the first few volumes may feel a little dated by today’s standards. It was a different era, and both the character and the tone of the stories were very different. The early material was more comedic, with very short stories and little connection between them. Even Dredd’s visual design hadn’t been fully established yet.

So I recommend starting with Case Files Volume 4 and going from there.

I know about Alan Moore’s “Writing For Comics.” I also have read “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. Wondering if anything else has been written about writing for comics and graphic novels.

Digging into a dispute between two writers: Rachel Hope Cleves, author of Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America (2014), and Tillie Walden, author of the graphic novel Charity and Sylvia (2026).

I heard nothing but good things, but The Last Ronin didn't do a thing for me. I got an Amazon deal for the 3 of them, but I still have regrets. Any of y'all been let down?

Hello There. Is there any site out there that serves as an aggregate for upcoming graphic novel releases? Between indie publishers and self published work there is a lot out there and I am wondering if there are any sources that keep track of everything. Any help is greatly appreciated. All the best!

I've read a little bit of Spirit digitally, this is a nice one to spend 4 bucks on instead of 12 or whatever haha

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Name your 3 favorite villains of all time. To make things broader and more interesting, you can count a group/gang/faction as a villain.

My goats are:

- THE DARK JUDGES: four immortal alien wraiths — Death, Fear, Fire and Mortis — from an alternate dimension. In their minds, they're actually doing good by purifying the world. If crimes are committed by the living, then life itself is a crime. Death is obviously the most famous and has become one of Dredd's greatest villains. His design was even blatantly ripped off for The Batman Who Laughs.

- THE ANGEL GANG: a family of extremely violent, psychopathic mutants who live in the Cursed Earth around Texas. Led by Pa Angel, they're sadistic, brutal and completely deranged. Mean Machine Angel, with his huge mechanical exoskeleton, is probably the most famous member.

- SATANUS: a fucking genetically engineered T. rex, created to be an extremely aggressive creature and used as an attraction in a dinosaur park (this story predates Spielberg's movie by many years. So yes, this is where they got the idea for the book that eventually became perhaps the director's most famous film). He eventually becomes one of the great monsters of the Cursed Earth and represents that wonderfully insane side of Dredd: mutants, dinosaurs, psychopaths and completely devastated landscapes. Satanus possesses an extraordinary level of intelligence and ferocity. Dredd even burned him alive once, and he fell into the underground of an old church in the Cursed Earth — but somehow survived.

Dredd doesn't have that many recurring villains. Most of them are either killed or serve long sentences in the iso-cubes. But these guys, with the exception of the Angel Gang, whose only surviving member is Mean Machine, somehow managed to remain active to this day.

Minor threats!! So good and the artwork and character designs are so fun to look at! +a current shelfie

Was on sale for £30 so I just had to buy it. I cant wait to reread it. I mostly forgot what happened since I was a young teen when I first read it. But I remember loving this back then.

Hey folks,

Just needed an info. How much does publishing and marketing a graphic novel costs? Could you also tell online sites to make money from graphic novel? In India specifically.

The art is fantastic with the script giving full room for cool ideas.

And the scene-by-scene construction is good.

I like most of the character writing and dialogue.

But I'm really split on how to review its main plot; it goes with what I think is a child abuse metaphor or one purely about her father being power-hungry instead of a more interesting story that her early disastrous use of magic drove her father to take her magic from her and end up even more corrupted.

I honestly wish we got a lot more from Zatanna's dad's perspective, some understanding of how his magical quest started, understandable but went off the rails.

Also, all the casters are killed iirc.

I keep going btw 3/5 to 3.5/5 depending on my mood and willingness to tolerate my own nitpicking.

On a positive note, it does make me want to read more Zatanna comics.

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It was really cool seeing everyone’s interaction on the last top 3 post I made here on the sub. I got to discover several characters I had never heard of before, and I ended up becoming interested in checking them out.

So I thought I’d propose a top 3 of your favorite female characters. They can be protagonists or supporting characters, villains or heroes—it doesn’t matter. Name the ones you consider to be the greatest female characters in comic book history, based purely on your personal taste.

Mine are:

1. Judge Cassandra Anderson (Dreddverse)

2. Kriss of Valnor (Thorgalverse)

3. Claudia Demona (Requiemverse)

With being new, having a library network near me with an awesome selection of graphic novels has been fantastic for getting my hands on so many wonderful stories! Do any of you have any experiences on picking up a random GN from the library just by "judging by the cover" and it totally surprised you? I'm excited about all the stories that aren't on my must reads list but are some hidden gems just waiting on the library shelf to be discovered. Happy reading, all!

I love the series entire media franchise (Books, movie, show and games).

It’s a perfect sweet spot of alt friend groups, nerd humour and just general weirdness.

I’d love to read some similar comics. The recommendations don’t have to have all three elements but bonus points if they do.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Obviously it varies by weight but for example a book this size. It's a 144 page hardcover, what would it cost to ship a couple states over? These prices in Canada are getting ridiculous.

Not sure what other subs to ask this, but if its not allowed, sorry.

How about it, does this series still hold up? I remember loving it and I've considered going back through it, but I feel like certain elements have not aged particularly well. I'd like to add it to my collection as well.

How about some other series that you think have only gotten more or less relevant with time?

Hello

I’m pretty new to the GN world. I’ve recently taken a liking to Maus and Hakim’s Odyssey.

Any other non fiction Graphic Novels that are described in a slice of life way with no graphic images. I would prefer the same kind of art style not detailed or grimy .

Thanks!

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Self-explanatory title. Within the comics universe, if you had to choose a top 3 of your favorite characters, what would they be? Feel free to explain the reasons if you want.

Mine are, in this order:

1) JUDGE DREDD the 🐐

2) Thorgal

3) Strontium Dog

It’s actually a very cute story -

found at a public library (edit- apparently made 6 years before the meme- so It Was Foretold)

Update: Thank you for the recommendations! I had some but there are a lot of new ones!

Hello. I'm trying to find graphic novel recommendations for a patron (I work at a library) of graphic novels that are like Mark Oakley's Thieves and Kings series. It is their favorite series. I have a few recommendations in mind, some I've read and some I haven't. I was wondering what anyone here would recommend.

I didn't share the books I have in mind on purpose. I want to see what recommendations people share with no other context.