Posted by Horrid, May 18, 2007
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman: The definitive goth comic series. Gaiman weaves a long, dark fairy tale of rich characters and a mythos that dominates cultures across the universe. The main character Dream (Sandman), and his family (Death, Destruction, Desire, Delirium, Despair, and Destiny) are older and “above” all other gods and goddesses. Some of the highlights throughout the series are: Satan deserts Hell, leaving it to Sandman as revenge; Sandman goes on a road trip across the world with Delirium to find their long lost brother Destruction; a serial killer convention; and the end and re-birth of one of The Endless. Gaiman is also a novelist, and wrote American Gods, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Preacher by Garth Ennis: Garth Ennis is an intelligent, obnoxious,= and hilarious writer. He breathed new life into The Punisher, told comic tales of WW2, and penned his crown jewel, The Preacher. Long story short; Jesse Custer, a small town preacher, ends up possessed by the spirit of a baby born from a demon and an angel giving him the “voice of God”. He has numerous zany and violent exploits in trying to find God to basically kick his ass. Over-the-top violence, massive blasphemy, and colorful characters (the grim reaper’s replacement is a really pissed off cowboy) make this series hard to put down. Expect a cable TV adaptation coming soon.
Hellboy by Mike Mignola: Amazing art, crafty storyline, entertaining movie and really neat cartoon, Hellboy is adorable. As a working class hero demon, he kicks the asses of classical mythical beings and monsters and gets his ass kicked in the process. Any demon who likes pancakes and kittens is a hero of mine.
30 Days of Night and Cal MacDonald by Steve Niles: 30 Days of Night blew me away the first time I read it, I have not followed the series but number one is really, really good. Imagine how fucked you would be if night did not end for a month and vampires came to town. Cal MacDonald is a private investigator who can see the supernatural and has really bad luck. Ghouls are his friends, and everyone else, alive and undead, is not. He pops pills, drinks like a fish, and is an overall prick but he gets the job done. Hilarious and entertaining, I love this character.
Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman: Not just another zombie series, the shit really hits the fan when a cop tries to lead the living through the land of the dead. Zombies will fuck you up, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.
The Goon by Eric Powell: A goofy violent world of talking spiders, zombie gangsters, and The Goon. This series is a classic.
Writhe and Shine by Robert Tritthardt: Insider goth jokes and complaints, this book portrays goth and industrial culture through the eyes of someone who knows it and can tell it. There is no violence, no monsters, just club politics and complaining. Also check out Jesus Was A DJ. You will laugh.
Transmetropolitan, Planetary and Fell by Warren Ellis: Amazing stuff, Transmetropolitan really parallels our current government in a wacky interpretation of our not-so-far future. Main character Spider Jerusalem is an anarchist journalist who uses his typewriter (and bowel disruptor) to right the wrongs committed by “The Smiler”; the current president. Planetary is a trio of super beings investigating the ultimate global conspiracy in an effort to bring it down. You will be surprised to see who is really in control. Even if you don’t like superheroes, you may like these. Fell is a dark story of a police detective in a really shitty city where disgusting and weird crimes are routinely committed. The artwork is by Ben Templesmith who also did 30 Days of Night and Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse. Also good reading are Ellis’ Stormwatch and The Authority – more super heroes but really good characters.
Kabuki by David Mack: I’m not a fan of black and white comics, but Kabuki is an exception. It’s intricate, beautiful, and full of sexy violence. Taking place in future Japan, Kabuki is a female assassin who is part of a sexy all female assassin squad who kills a lot of Yakuza guys. It’s full of conspiracies and violence -- I highly recommend it.
Evil Ernie by Brian Pulido: Long story short: abused teenage boy becomes super evil crazy monster guy after making deal with super hot Lady Death, makes a lot of zombies, kills a lot of people, and eventually blows up nuclear devices in an attempt to destroy the world for Lady Death. His sidekick is Smiley, a talking happy face pin. This comic is metal.
Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse by Ben Templesmith: When I first picked this up I laughed my ass off. Now I’m on #7 ands still laughing. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s a talking worm, living in a corpse, bodyguards/friends; a clockwork man and hot punky girl with living tattoos. Their exploits with demons and leprechauns and what not kept me laughing after I put the comic down. Check it out if you have a sense of humor.
Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller: This is one pissed off Batman. Old and bitter, Batman returns to the night and wreaks havoc on all that’s bad in his city. The government gets pissed and sends Superman to clean him up. Even though Superman does the job, Batman gives the ‘Big Boy Scout’ an ass whippin’ he’ll remember forever. This comic is very dark and is considered a classic.
Grendel by Matt Wagner: I can’t tell you the plot -- it’s way to intricate – but I’ll try. It starts with a gifted, violent young man (Hunter Rose) who writes novels by day and runs a criminal empire by night. He kills a lot of people and even roughs up Batman (he may be small, but he’s quick). After he dies, the story jumps ahead two generations in the near future, with Hunter's granddaughter Christine Spar taking on the identity of Grendel to avenge her dead son. Then it launches into a Road Warrior-esque far future with gangs of warriors emulating the original Grendel and basically just killing a lot. (I told you it was an intricate plot.)
Other classics include Jhonen Vasquez’s Johnny The Homicidal Maniac and Roman Dirge’s Lenore, and keep a look out for the new generation like Sean Dietrich’s Industriacide and local Portland heroine J. Me’s Tuff Kitty.