Things I've noticed: It's time to start hunting for new comics

When it comes to comic books I’m mostly a trade paperback kind of guy, where a collection of 4-10 issues are bound together, sometimes have a nice introduction written and often include notes by the author after the final issue.  But I’ve got to admit there is something nice about a continuing monthly story.

For the last few years I’ve been collecting one or two comic book series issue-by-issue: The Dark Tower, and The Stand, both published through Marvel comics, both adaptations of Stephen King novels I love.  With the adaptation of the The Stand wrapping up a few months back, and The Dark Tower series, catching up to the stories I’ve read in the original novels, I’m feeling it’s time for me to start looking for a new series to follow, issue-by-issue.

Right now I don’t really know where to start – my youngest daughter likes Batman, so if I get those I’ll probably get two readings out of each issue I purchase, but at the same time there are a heck of a lot of Batman and Batman-related titles out there.

Anyway, I don’t really have an idea of which series I’ll be going for, but I’m going to make sure to list whatever ends up gracing my (very small) single-issue comic book space at home.  For the record, the last time I went mainstream was back in 2000 when I collected Brian K. Vaughn’s run on Swamp Thing, featuring the original swamp things daughter, Tefe Holland. (who, come to think of it, would be a great Genre Character of the Week), so I’ve set the bar pretty high for myself there.

Genre Character of the Week: The Swamp Thing

Here’s the thing about The Swamp Thing – my first introduction to the character came from the Wes Craven film; the film follows Doctor Alec Holland, a man who is (like many classic comic book characters) about to make a scientific break-through when he is attacked, doused in chemicals, set on fire and runs off into the swamp (okay, maybe not that many comic book characters).

The thing is, it was only in my teen years that I discovered how incredible this character was – following the comics written by Alan Moore, the reader starts a journey following the transformed doctor and end up seeing the entire series dramatically change shape and form. I can’t quite stress enough how influential this character has been on my love of horror in general and comics in particular.

Seriously, if you haven’t taken the time to read this series yet – go out and do so; it ranks highly in my favourite comic series of all time.

Bookmonkey's Top Five Scary Comic books

As we get closer to Halloween I try to read or see some new scary stuff as much as I can. This is the one month of the year where you can proudly read all sorts of horrific titles on the bus and nobody minds. My biggest problem is actually selecting which stuff to read as there is so much of it out there. My solution - categories.

Two weeks ago I looked at the 5 horror novel classics I figure everyone should check out, today I'm going to look at comic books. So here goes, my five favourite horror titles in comic books:

5. Arkham Asylum, by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean

This comic was actually the first graphic novel I ever purchased. Flipping through it on the shelf at the comic store, I was simply in awe of the artwork; Dave McKean's painted panels freaked the hell out of me, each character looked different than the standard comic book versions but way WAY scarier. The basic idea is that the inmates at Arkham have taken over the Asylum and will only see reason if Batman comes to play. This story is a little hard to read, as each characters word balloons are very different, but believe me, it is totally worth a visit (or revisit) for Halloween.

4. Swamp Thing #1:Saga of the Swamp Thing, by Alan Moore

Really all I can say here (because if you haven't read it I am not going to wreck it) is issue 21 "The Anatomy Lesson." Go get Saga of the Swamp thing #1 (issues 20-27) and start reading. This is some of the freakiest, scariest stuff I have ever come across and for you first time readers I am completely envious of you, this stuff is simply comic gold.

3. Sandman, by Neil Gaiman

Like probably half of the comic book readers who started in the early '90s, this is were I started too. These books are so good I have difficultly trying to break it down into a synopsis. I think my friend Mike described it best as saying "In every issue there is at least one panel that I would classify as Nightmare batter." From Serial Killer conventions to the Cuckoos to the Devil himself, this comic has it all.

2. The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman

I started purchasing this series for my brother-in-law Jeff as he is a big fan of zombie stories, but while they were sitting in my house waiting for his birthday or Christmas to come around I would take a peak, and then another, and then I got hooked. Done entirely in Black and White, these comics go beyond the end of every zombie film you've ever seen and attempt to answer the question "What happens next?" I've been following the survivors of this zombie plague for the last five years and I don't want it to end!

1. Hellblazer, by Jamie Delano

This comic is one of my favourite titles over all, but with one simple rule. Read the comic issue by issue, rather than purchasing the graphic novels. I'm not exactly sure of what DC is trying to do here, each graphic novel is a collected story, but there isn't actually any attempt to label them vol. 1, 2, 3, etc. so if you want the whole story of this very broken, talented bastard, you will have to read them issue by issue. Frustrating, expensive, but totally worth it, as hands down Hellblazer is the scariest comic I've ever read.

So now that you have my top five, how about the rest of you? Any scary comics I should be reading? I'm always looking for more.